Piracy

BrenMan 94 · November 19, 2014, 12:24:19 PM

What are your views on piracy? Lately it's become a hot-button issue what with Ubisoft's comments in the past year about pirates being the cause of low PC sales and the conundrum just yesterday where people who had pirated Far Cry 4 before the release date got BTFO. The subject of pirating movies and music is also mixed with controversy. It's projected that piracy costs the music industry $12.5 billion per year.

I'm not going to pretend that I don't pirate media. I pirated Euro Truck Simulator 2 some time ago just to see if I liked the experience. I bought it today when I saw it was on sale. This is what I tend to do with games that I pirate and end up either (a) enjoying or (b) playing until the end. I also consider pirating games to be an alternative to getting a demo. While console gamers are able to spend a few bucks and have full access to a game for a few days, PC gamers don't have that luxury, and with all of the different hardware configurations out there, no one can be 100% certain a game will run well on their machine unless they test it out themselves. I don't pirate music or movies. I have a Google Play Music subscription for all-access music and I can usually find movies on one of the on-demand services my parents are subscribed to.

Ásgeirr · November 19, 2014, 12:34:09 PM

I dont really care if people pirate stuff. I do it myself, been doing it since i got my PC.

Id buy the games i like if i had the money. Exceptions being Ubisoft and EA games.
Especially music is something id buy, since i mostly listen to single artists who really deserve and need the money.

Lemy the Lizerd · November 19, 2014, 12:34:15 PM

A wonderful way to listen to music without breaking the bank or giving ~~satan~~ Google ad revenue.

Mordo · November 19, 2014, 12:36:55 PM

It doesn't matter if it's digital. It's still theft no matter how you look at it.

And yes, I've actually heard people use that as a justification for piracy. "HURR, U CAN'T STEAL SOMETHING THATS NOT THERE AHYUCK HYUCK"

Lemy the Lizerd · November 19, 2014, 12:38:16 PM

Quote from: Madman Mordo on November 19, 2014, 12:36:55 PM

It doesn't matter if it's digital. It's still theft no matter how you look at it.

And yes, I've actually heard people use that as a justification for piracy. "HURR, U CAN'T STEAL SOMETHING THATS NOT THERE AHYUCK HYUCK"

It's not as if it's a finite resource being depleted.

Mordo · November 19, 2014, 12:45:08 PM

Quote from: Lemy the Lizerd on November 19, 2014, 12:38:16 PM

Quote from: Madman Mordo on November 19, 2014, 12:36:55 PM
It doesn't matter if it's digital. It's still theft no matter how you look at it.

And yes, I've actually heard people use that as a justification for piracy. "HURR, U CAN'T STEAL SOMETHING THATS NOT THERE AHYUCK HYUCK"
It's not as if it's a finite resource being depleted.

The entertainment industry as a whole isn't finite anyway. Doesn't justify taking someone's work without compensating them for it.

Lemy the Lizerd · November 19, 2014, 12:46:37 PM

Quote from: Madman Mordo on November 19, 2014, 12:45:08 PM

Quote from: Lemy the Lizerd on November 19, 2014, 12:38:16 PM
Quote from: Madman Mordo on November 19, 2014, 12:36:55 PM
It doesn't matter if it's digital. It's still theft no matter how you look at it.

And yes, I've actually heard people use that as a justification for piracy. "HURR, U CAN'T STEAL SOMETHING THATS NOT THERE AHYUCK HYUCK"
It's not as if it's a finite resource being depleted.
The entertainment industry as a whole isn't finite anyway. Doesn't justify taking someone's work without compensating them for it.

If I hear it on the radio, should I have to pay, then, too?

Mordo · November 19, 2014, 12:47:45 PM

Quote from: Lemy the Lizerd on November 19, 2014, 12:46:37 PM

Quote from: Madman Mordo on November 19, 2014, 12:45:08 PM
Quote from: Lemy the Lizerd on November 19, 2014, 12:38:16 PM
Quote from: Madman Mordo on November 19, 2014, 12:36:55 PM
It doesn't matter if it's digital. It's still theft no matter how you look at it.

And yes, I've actually heard people use that as a justification for piracy. "HURR, U CAN'T STEAL SOMETHING THATS NOT THERE AHYUCK HYUCK"
It's not as if it's a finite resource being depleted.
The entertainment industry as a whole isn't finite anyway. Doesn't justify taking someone's work without compensating them for it.
If I hear it on the radio, should I have to pay, then, too?

If you want it advertisement free, then yeah.

challengerX · November 19, 2014, 12:49:20 PM

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Mad Max · November 19, 2014, 01:01:51 PM

IMO, piracy is acceptable in these cases:

1) you have taken reasonable measures to attempt to buy the media legally, but it is not sold in your country/region
2) you have taken reasonable measures to attempt to buy the media legally, but it is no longer in publication

Other than that, you just want something for free.

More Than Mortal · November 19, 2014, 01:06:07 PM

Piracy should be subject to the punishment of fines, which is then passed on to the content creators. The fines should also be heavier than the highest price of the material pirated.

Cheat · November 19, 2014, 01:06:16 PM

I justify any piracy i might or might not do by going to the movie theater regularly.

TorrentDay is amazing, though.

Word Wizard · November 19, 2014, 01:07:07 PM

I pay for everything unless it's that's not for sale, say rap freestyles or leaked unreleased songs that never went up for sale. I prefer having the physical content.

The Lord Ruler · November 19, 2014, 01:13:17 PM

I pirate music because I don't have money. Soon as I get a job I'll gladly pay.

Mr. Psychologist · November 19, 2014, 01:14:24 PM

I don't pirate games as a general rule of thumb, I've made one exception to that rule ever but that's because the game wasn't released outside of grorious nippon so a fansub was necessary >.> If the game becomes available to buy properly, and doesn't cost £400 to import it then obviously I'll buy it.

I don't pirate films, I always buy the ones that I want to watch/see them at the cinema. I'll detail why after the grey area.

The greyer area that I lurk in is to do with watching TV shows online, to put it simply - it's fucking hard as hell to watch and keep up with TV series in the UK, none of the channels air the shows that I want to watch until about a year or two after it's aired in the USA - COMING SOON TO CHANNEL 5 THE ALL NEW SEASON OF THE WALKING DEAD. SERIES 3. 2014.

...

Fuck off.

So with things like Game of Thrones you are either at the mercy of the internet for spoilers, or you watch it on some shitty megaupload spin off site and then buy the DVDs when they release in the UK about a year later than in the USA.

If media companies spent more time and effort on globalising their fucking products and not just spending forever whining about piracy then I would expect to see the levels of it decrease. If I can watch it on netflix when it airs in the USA at roughly the same time - why would I watch it on some dodgy upload site?

I said about explaining why I buy films rather than stream them, well with a film there is usually little reason to watch it again unless it's really good. So if I watched it online, I wouldn't buy it in person. With a TV series, you get a lot more involved and there is more reason to buy the DVDs (for me) because of rewatchability.

Netflix is a godsend and if the media bitches put their support into it rather than making their own shitty and expensive knockoffs so you can watch one or two shows properly, then I would be quite happy.

I guess what I'm saying, is that they need to make it easier to access content legally/properly/affordably rather than giving a gigantic fuck you to the world outside of america because then the rest of the world says fuck you and pirates your shit.

._.

/rant

Mad Max · November 19, 2014, 01:15:00 PM

Quote from: Lord Ruler on November 19, 2014, 01:13:17 PM

I pirate music because I don't have money. Soon as I get a job I'll gladly pay.

You can't afford like..$10/mo for Spotify or something?

Mad Max · November 19, 2014, 01:18:01 PM

Quote from: Mr Psychologist on November 19, 2014, 01:14:24 PM

it's fucking hard as hell to watch and keep up with TV series in the UK, none of the channels air the shows that I want to watch

Same for us on the other side of the pond for UK shows. There's a handful of British shows I really enjoy, but it's impossible to watch them here.

The Lord Ruler · November 19, 2014, 01:18:57 PM

Quote from: Mad Max on November 19, 2014, 01:15:00 PM

Quote from: Lord Ruler on November 19, 2014, 01:13:17 PM
I pirate music because I don't have money. Soon as I get a job I'll gladly pay.
You can't afford like..$10/mo for Spotify or something?

Nope :/

And I'd rather not give my parents another bill to pay. Money is tight as it is. But like I said, I just applied for a few jobs so I'll gladly pay for google play music or whatever once I start making the green.

big sponge · November 19, 2014, 01:24:06 PM

Ubisoft is just butthurt because Unity got BTFO on day one by a port of a 6 year old game.

The fact that Sega put actual effort into delivering a good PC port while Ubisoft crapped out a broken and shoddy game couldn't have possibly factored into this at all.

Anonymous (User Deleted) · November 19, 2014, 01:37:10 PM

Ehh, I consider it stealing and I don't do it. But it's difficult to defend stupid business practices.

Sometimes there's stuff I want that isn't sold where I live. I don't want to buy an address in Japan just to get a legal file of a song from an anime I watched. (Or worse yet, I don't want to buy an entire music album just for one song that I liked on it.)

There's really no reason in this day and age to not sell products internationally, or have exclusivity deals for things primarily available on the Internet. That's basically asking people to pirate your shit.

It's simple, really--just shut the fuck up and take our goddamn money, no strings attached.

Isara · November 19, 2014, 03:43:43 PM

All the opinions here are lacking the whole picture, and instead tackle the view from some really convenient angles whilst ignoring all the variables that come into play with such a huge issue. Doesn't really encourage me from investing time to realistically enter into the argument.

BrenMan 94 · November 19, 2014, 05:18:15 PM

Quote from: Isara on November 19, 2014, 03:43:43 PM

All the opinions here are lacking the whole picture, and instead tackle the view from some really convenient angles whilst ignoring all the variables that come into play with such a huge issue. Doesn't really encourage me from investing time to realistically enter into the argument.

You're implying that opinions can't be changed.

Piracy is a relatively new thing to me. I've only pirated two games so far (Euro Truck Simulator 2 and Assassin's Creed Unity). I started to torrent Far Cry 4 but stopped because I decided I'd wait for it to be in a Steam sale and buy it then. I'm open to different points of view, and I'm sure others here are as well.

Rinev · November 19, 2014, 06:28:59 PM

The way I see it, someone created something and they're asking money for it. If I think what they made isn't worth what they are asking for it simply don't buy it. I find it more rewarding to actually have to work for luxuries. Also not pirating give the person more money to work with for their next project.

ban me · November 19, 2014, 08:35:45 PM

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Mad Max · November 19, 2014, 09:41:40 PM

Quote from: Iberian Husky on November 19, 2014, 08:35:45 PM

I don't pirate games unless I can't obtain them in the US. I fully understand and respect the amount of time and effort it takes to produce most videogames. Not paying for them is just wrong. Same goes for movies.

Music on the other hand? Absolutely should be pirated. It's a fucking 2-3 minute sound clip. It takes minimal time and effort to edit and produce. Musicians can make their money by actually touring and entertaining. The Music industry is a fucking cancer.

While I do agree that musicians can and should make most of their money from touring/performances/merch sales, it's certainly not easy to write a good song.

Naoto · November 19, 2014, 11:47:34 PM

I'm knowingly hypocritical when it comes to piracy.
Music - DGAF
Movies/TV - DGAF
Games - I don't pirate games. Outside of old ass ROMs where that's the only way to play said game. Nothing within a gen or two. If I like the game I want to support the dev to make more. That said if it was more accessible and less likely to be virus ridden I could see myself doing it for games where I despise the devs.

Super Irish · November 20, 2014, 05:59:36 AM

There was a study a while ago saying that those who pirated heavily already buy tons of digital/ entertainment products far more than the average person. Now, that doesn't mean it's totally justifiable to do, of course, but I thought I'd throw that in there.

Also, where did the 12.5 billion revenue lost figure come from? I hope they took into account that if it wasn't available online, I doubt everybody who pirated things would just buy it instead.

I've pirated a lot of things, but in fairness a large quantity of these I then went out and bought legally after. I've pirated music, got interested in the artist and then resulted in me buying their albums. I've pirated games (mostly to test them on my shitty laptop), and then bought them because I know they can run well, and I get more features that the pirated version has restricted.

Now I won't justify my actions any further than this. By definition, I am a criminal.

big dog · November 20, 2014, 11:07:17 AM

If you pirate, you're being a dick. End of.*

Spoiler

*Unless the content isn't actually available in your country/anymore so there is no legal way of obtaining it for you.

Flee · November 20, 2014, 11:26:47 AM

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Super Irish · November 20, 2014, 11:29:43 AM

Quote from: Flee on November 20, 2014, 11:26:47 AM

Quote from: SuperIrish on November 20, 2014, 05:59:36 AM
I hope they took into account that if it wasn't available online, I doubt everybody who pirated things would just buy it instead.
They did. They account for 20% of all downloads to be done by people who would've otherwise bought the product.

Ah fair enough then.

Wait a minute...that figure is only 20%?
Shit. That's a lot.