The problem with Piracy...

[NFG]

The problem with modern piracy is a problem with language.  The modern act of copying software demands new language!

It's not "Theft" by the dictionary definition, since no physical objects have unlawfully changed ownership.  Unlawful duplication, perhaps - copyright infringement, for certain.

It's not "Piracy" since that word also implies theft.  Yes, "Piracy" was used to describe the act of copying manuscripts and books in the middle ages, but in those instances the word was also tied to profit-taking, which almost never applies in the digital age.

Or something.  Just a random thought I wanted to jot down before I forgot.  =)

[Vertigo]

Another problem with piracy is that games aren't given the time or attention they deserve. A 5-minute blast may not be enough to actually see if a game's worth playing but who cares when you've got all these other ROMs/ISOs to get through, where if you'd paid 40 quid for the privelege, you'd want to have more of a go at it before trolling off to GameFAQs board to 'review' it.
So you end up with a vast wave of dickheads with short attention spans who never get to enjoy what games really have to offer, but on the internet they're the ones with the loudest voices.
Still, F them, what's the point of getting games if you're not going to play and enjoy?

[brianleb]

Another problem with piracy is that games aren't given the time or attention they deserve. A 5-minute blast may not be enough to actually see if a game's worth playing but who cares when you've got all these other ROMs/ISOs to get through, where if you'd paid 40 quid for the privelege, you'd want to have more of a go at it before trolling off to GameFAQs board to 'review' it.
So you end up with a vast wave of dickheads with short attention spans who never get to enjoy what games really have to offer, but on the internet they're the ones with the loudest voices.
Still, F them, what's the point of getting games if you're not going to play and enjoy?

Quite right, quite right. I'm a self-admitted pirate, and I've been aware of my inability to finish playing anything lately. I've gotten rather sick of it (and I got a job, which is a factor), and now I'm going to fix the problem. Starting this Christmas with the advent of my new Gamecube, I will be buying games I want and finishing every goddamn one of them.  Of course, pirating PS2 games is still cheaper than renting them, but I don't know if I'll be buying any games for that. Old habits die hard (yea, that's a good excuse, quote an adage. They'll never see through it).  But I guess a step in the right direction is better than nothing. Unless I step on a square that makes me go back to squares. *looks at the ground*

[Vertigo]

Well I found that after a while of having SNES and N64 copiers, the novelty tends to wear off and they become more of a try before you buy facility, especially considering that in the UK and Australia there's no decent way of renting a game like there is in America, and getting hold of imports to try out simply isn't going to happen any way other than piracy. I know I'm in the minority with that though, but in the cases of games that there's absolutely no chance of getting, it's nice to be able to play them on proper hardware and controls instead of via emulation.
I do have a question that tends to divide people though. I own an original copy of Mother 2, which isn't playable due to me not being able to read Japanese, so am I therefore entitled to play Earthbound on a copier without having to feel any sort of guilt? I think so, some do, others don't. Oddly, the reason I actually bought it in the first place was because I loved Earthbound but wasn't about to be extorted to get an English version.

[brianleb]

I don't see anything wrong with that. You bought the game, you should be able to play it. It's not like there are enough differences between them to warrant it being a whole new game.

On a bit of a side note, I never could get into playing cart systems on emulators. I don't know why, but I just like owning original carts.

[Guest]

It's not "Theft" by the dictionary definition, since no physical objects have unlawfully changed ownership.  Unlawful duplication, perhaps - copyright infringement, for certain.

It's not "Piracy" since that word also implies theft.

Usage and understanding are problematic for their own reasons, not the stem of the language. That's my catch-all take from my admittedly artsy-fartsy university degree perspective.

Intellectual theft I think is a real concept and the words we have already, when used properly, describe it well. Piracy involves theft of the copyright--a copyright is a person or entity's ability to control how a thing is copied. If someone other than the copyright holder copies it, they have just taken that "right," the "right to copy," the copyright. Makes pretty good sense when you break it down that way. The hinge of this on the action done is the thing and less with the property involved--if it were real physical tangibilities then we're closer to counterfeiting. But I don't think that counterfeiting can be substituted for terms as this implies a faslity of the duplication, which certainly need not apply in the instances we're dealing with. It's also a bit rare that this kind of duplication happens for the purpose of defrauding someone, both of which are tied in with the nature of counterfeiting.

Until I run into something better, I'm prepared to deal with the theft of abstractions. Oftentimes that is what is going on, anyway. How many irc rooms, ptp swaps and other channels have you seen where nobody cares about what's changing hands--just that everyone GIVE something in trade? I have a hard time playing through one new game in a weekend, what these yahoos do with their thousands upon thousands other than duplicate and swap again I have no idea.

[Endymion]

Argh!    

[phreak97]

Collecting game iso's becomes addictive.. i have 30gb of game isos and i only play one of the games i have regularly, sure iv tried them all out, but mostly i just like to get as many as i can, if there is a new game floating around irc then i must have it. even if i never play it.

for me i dont see that i am doing anything wrong by the people who rightfully produce the games since i dont get alot of money and almost definately wouldnt pay to own the games anyway. so either i get the game without paying for it and the game producers get no profit or loss, or i dont get the game at all and the game producers get no profit of loss. and also if i do get the game it gives the possibility of me telling other people how good the game is, in turn possibly causing somebody else to legitimately buy it.

[Scared0o0Rabbit]

I tend to pirate games fairly often, but then if I play the game at all, I tend to also go buy it (though I contine to play my copy, I'm super anal about my originals being damaged, still pissed about that creative dvd-rom eating my powerslave for saturn ARGH  <_< ).