is pirating games unethical?

[warzkaz]

if you have it on another platform or if you have a physical copy but don't have Dvd drive anymore

[PlayStation 2]

I.... uhhh.... I have mixed feelings about it.

anyways, inb4 lock

[Jacktastic-Mofo]

if you have it on another platform or if you have a physical copy but don't have Dvd drive anymore

We can't condone it but IMO if you've already bought it than it's half okay. 

[JLCitadel]

Yes. Does it matter or mean you have bad / poor / low  ethics / morals? No.

[fire219]

As far as legality, if you do own it on the platform for which you are looking to obtain it, it's probably ok. This does not apply if it's a different platform.

 

I am not a lawyer, do not just take my word on it, yada yada

[Kingcomicbook]

what you're saying is just like the controversy with emulation ... if you have the game its fine. But people who dont have the game will still download them anyways. I have many friends that play all the new games but never pays for them ... I personally think  pirating for any reason is wrong, Its all up to you when it comes down to it.

[warzkaz]

Depends on you.

post count ain't shit

[Kobathor]

Ethics are subjective.

[warzkaz]

As far as legality, if you do own it on the platform for which you are looking to obtain it, it's probably ok. This does not apply if it's a different platform.

 

I am not a lawyer, do not just take my word on it, yada yada

law wise, it's all illegal because you don't own the game but just a license to use it

[Xarvz]

[DanielPC]

If you do it, we'll just look the other way

[Kingcomicbook]

"YOU WOULDN'T DOWNLOAD A CAR"

[warzkaz]

what you're saying is just like the controversy with emulation ... if you have the game its fine. But people who dont have the game will still download them anyways. I have many friends that play all the new games but never pays for them ... I personally think  pirating for any reason is wrong, Its all up to you when it comes down to it.

it cuts both ways

if all pc gamers pirate games then less game will be released on pc, on the other hands, you see most pirated games are released by Russians and downloaded by them

and they have lowest prices on steam

[Kingcomicbook]

it cuts both ways

if all pc gamers pirate games then less game will be released on pc, on the other hands, you see most pirated games are released by Russians and downloaded by them

and they have lowest prices on steam

the more people that didn't pay for the game the less money is made on the PC platform, hence the "less games are released" as you mentioned. Pirating is a very touchy subject and people could be and probably will argue about it forever. As for your situation, you can do whatever you're comfortable with.

[niofalpha]

if you have it on another platform or if you have a physical copy but don't have Dvd drive anymore

Under these circumstances, yes.

 

If you just do it without paying anything to the devs, then no. It's not ethical.

I "pirated" a game with the intention of buying it once it gets on steam.

[Vitalius]

law wise, it's all illegal because you don't own the game but just a license to use it

You mean it's legal if that's the justification. 

If I have a license to use it, and that's the whole point, then me getting a copy of it is fine. Because the laws are entirely about whether I have the right to use it. And I do, so if I have a license, it's fine.

[AMDisTheBEST]

Not if you buy a genuine copy afterwards. I personally torrent games just so I can try them out. If i like them, I buy em on steam. if not, they won't last more than 15 minutes on my hard drive. 

 

Also, I despise DRM. I have been trying to purchase on GoG whenever possible. 

[techguru]

pirate it..test it out...if you don't like it..delete it..if you do like it...delete it..and buy it on steam

thats what most of my clients do

[MattLantis]

I think it's alright to try a game out that you're tentative about. Take Sniper Ghost Warrior 2.

 

I got a copy of it definitely legally, shut the fuck up, to try it out. 

 

I'm glad I didn't waste $20. Most boring game I've played in a while.

[Suika]

Pirating is plainly illegal and unethical. The only exceptions I see are for say,

1) Cracking DRM on a legally purchased game, because seriously, if you have to crack it, it probably shouldn't have been implemented and screw the developer and/or publisher.

2) Repairing or replacing lost files, say your game is broken but a known crack or uploaded patch fixes it.

3) You aren't able to purchase the item in the first place due to region restrictions. This is a gray area, I personally wouldn't do it but I don't object to it, but seriously, if the developers don't want your money, then they won't get your money.

If you want to "demo" the game or "can't afford it," what you're doing is illegal and frowned upon, there is no reason for it.

[grayperview]

well, games are not cheap unless you wait for sales, i can happily justify torrenting a game and then buying it in the sale, given the practices of EA, with the likes of battlefront, and Rocksteady with Batman.

 

If you want me to pay full wack on a game give me the whole game right of the bat, not make me pay extra. Until you do that ill happily torrent away and get the game when its on sale and is the game of the year version or pick it up and key site for cheap.

 

Also you have to take into account on pc, is how the game is going to run, so torrenting it for this reason is totally justified.

[AMDisTheBEST]

Pirating is plainly illegal and unethical. The only exceptions I see are for say,

1) Cracking DRM on a legally purchased game, because seriously, if you have to crack it, it probably shouldn't have been implemented and screw the developer and/or publisher.

2) Repairing or replacing lost files, say your game is broken but a known crack or uploaded patch fixes it.

3) You aren't able to purchase the item in the first place due to region restrictions. This is a gray area, I personally wouldn't do it but I don't object to it, but seriously, if the developers don't want your money, then they won't get your money.

If you want to "demo" the game or "can't afford it," what you're doing is illegal and frowned upon, there is no reason for it.

The same argument has been made in the music industry.contrary to many people's intuition, the more a music is pirated, the higher its sales are. Weird.

[Delicieuxz]

What substantiates as appropriate for an individual case? I think there isn't a hard set rule that covers all instances.

 

Lots of game developers, including renowned game developers, pirated games when they were younger and couldn't afford them. Yet if they hadn't pirated and played the games that inspired them, and led them on in their passions, they might not have become developers who make great games that people love now.

[SteveGrabowski0]

 

So is it ok to copy that floppy now that games don't come with manuals?

[EChondo]

In a few countries it's legal.

 

I consider it ethical if the game is no longer purchaseable OR if you want to test the game out(pc can handle it or not) before buying it if the game doesn't have a demo on Steam/other service.