An excuse for Piracy.

[freedomweasel]

Well a good example is Mother 3, which was never released in NA due to licensing and copyright issues with some of the content in the game. So in order to play it "legally" you would need to get a Region Free Nintendo DS or GBA, a Copy of the Game (that is now several years old) and then you would need to find a way to apply the translation patch to the cartridge itself, something that is beyond many people in terms of technical skill.

It's similar with DVD's from the UK, certain things (like a lot of the older Dr. Who stuff) just isn't available in North America, and even if you got a friend in the UK to send it to you, or you imported it, you would still need a region free DVD player to watch them (these can be quite hard to find). My sister-in-law has this problem with a lot of the stuff she brought back from Australia, as it won't work on NA DVD players. Even then you're technically bypassing standard Importing, Royalty and Licensing Laws.

Videogame and Anime Soundtracks from Japan are another good example, these are hard to legitimately acquire as they are not officially "released" in North America in many cases. But most of these can be easily imported online, so I suppose it's not a great excuse.

These are cases where I think piracy is "okay" at least, though not entirely "right" as far as properly rewarding creators goes.

I had forgotten about all that region lock business..

I guess I would say that I see these as cases that could be "understandable" but still, not "right".

 

[hyperhammy]

I the only song I ever downloaded off a bittorrent site was: Good Evening by Outasight. The musician published it for free on his web site, but you could only download it in America, and I couldn't find the single on Itunes.

I'm against piracy, just because it fucking destroyed Peace Walker.

A ton of my friends pirate, but what do I care. I think both sides need to shut the fuck up.
If you have to pirate, go ahead. But just think about the people you are stealing from.
If you're against piracy, then voice your opinion, but don't be an ass about it.

 

[PettingZOOPONY]

If you have to ask yourself if its wrong then its wrong.

 

[Mimssy]

Only excuse- If it is impossible (in the sense that it is no longer in circulation, not the "I'm too lazy to look for it in more than once place") to obtain through legal means. Other than that, no.

 

[esperandote]

So today I got into an argument with a friend who labeled me a criminal because I pirate a fair bit of software. I've used up all my usual reasoning on him until so I had to think of something new. It was today that I also downloaded Linkin Park's new album, A Thousand Suns and the only word I can think to describe it is just bad. It's really bad, it has nothing of the Linkin Park of old and even if it wasn't by them it would still be a shitty album. This is what I used in my argument, that if I paid good money for that at a store I would be outraged that I had wasted my hard earned cash. As it is I'm just annoyed that a band I used to quite like has gone so downhill (though that's not new news or anything).

So Escapists, I pose you two questions.
1. What is your excuse for Piracy?
2. What did you think of Linkin Park's new album? It's alright you can say it's bad.

Have you deleted and bought all the albums that you downloaded and liked? If not then excuse void.

My excuse is that i can't afford buying all the games a want to play, music i want to listen, movies to watch and tv shows i want to watch before they transmit them here.

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

I had forgotten about all that region lock business..

I guess I would say that I see these as cases that could be "understandable" but still, not "right".

Pretty much my take on it. They make you jump through a lot of hoops for legal acquisition, but it still doesn't make piracy the "right" option, you still aren't paying people for their hard work.

 

[oppp7]

He was acting like a punk-ass ***** and I already had the knife out-
Oh, piracy?
I don't pirate...

 

[Something Amyss]

No you saying the piracy laws are 'just' is like suggesting that execution or forced transportation for stealing a loaf of bread in 18th century England was 'just'.

I get the feeling you have never actually read any of the laws your saying are 'just' and just assuming that they are.

I get the feeling you're drama queening based upon comparing execution to piracy laws. Which is far more valid than your feeling.

The lion share of rights laws are not unjust. That's not to say that all of them are fair, but you're going to make wild comparisons and claim I haven't read them because I've come to a different conclusion, so whatever, I guess.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

I don't pirate anymore, but when I did...
Music - Too many times where I hear one good song from a band, but the CD, and the rest of the CD is trash. Other times I wanted sound tracks, like the one for Brutal Legend.
Games - Couldn't find them anywhere (Undying) or the demo wasn't long enough for me to figure out if I liked it or not (World in Conflict), but all the games I pirated in the past I have bought except Undying since I still can't find it anywhere...
Movies - Well, the only 'legal' way to get them on my iPod was to get them from the Apple store which is a rip off and their movie selection sucked at the time (and probably still does).

But, like I said, I don't pirate stuff anymore because it is bad and wrong...

Oh, and I grew out of Linkin Park in middle school, and then they did that rap shit and I'm kinda glad I grew out of them...

 

[Fridge]

I've not heard the new album yet so I can't comment there.

I say one thing which is, I don't really care if I get branded a criminal or an offender.

 

[The_Prophet]

Well there is one excuse for piracy here in my country. Here most Games, Movies and Albums cost much more!
Australians complain but they have it VERY EASY there.
The average person here gets 300-400 leva (1 euro is 1.94 leva) and the average PC game is 80 leva. 80...
A console game is 120-130... Thats why no sane person buys consoles, get a gaming PC for 1300 leva and game BETTER.
Its unfair with movies too, and most albums.
I do not pirate, but I understand the reasoning.

Thats actually only about $10 more for games than Australia has it, but that still is a fair bit to pay. You poor, poor bastard.

Thats not so funny when the average amount of money a person makes on a month is 360, is it?

Same problem here, only in dinars, and a bit more expensive.

 

[rddj623]

1) There's really no excuse for piracy.

2) haven't heard it yet.

 

[MagnusShalefist]

I used to pirate quite a bit, but I don't do it anymore. Why? Partly because I'm scared of getting caught and partly because I don't feel like I can justify my actions. I don't have a right to unlawfully enjoy the works of others without giving them compensation. Still, I don't preach to my friends about it.

Also I haven't heard LP's latest album.

 

[Plurralbles]

did you immediatly delete the music off of your computer after realizing you didn't like it?

that would help.

Second, if it was an ear-gasm to listen to, would you buy it?

If neither, you're just worthless and I take your friend's side.

 

[manaman]

"It's the law" arguments don't work either. Say it was the law that women can't vote, or blacks no longer are allowed to attend school past primary education.

Thankfully, people actually changed the laws regarding women and blacks. I doubt much will be done in the vein of fighting these laws, in part because piracy is primarily self serving while civil rights are not. Of course, when Martin Luther King broke the law, he still paid the price. Most acts of civil disobedience will result in some form of punishment. And it used to be that people actually paid the price. Now it seems like people want to be martyrs without any of the actual suffering.

Sorry, Charlie.

There are very few exceptions in which the laws regarding piracy are unjust. Most excuses for piracy don't trump the rights of the author or owner. Don't like it? Fine, but that doesn't make it unjust.

Of course when you only take one little part of my post it looks like I am comparing piracy to civil rights, and saying copyright laws are unjust and therefor advocating piracy.

I wasn't. You have to read the post I responded to to get the whole picture. The person I responded said there was no excuse for breaking the law. There most defiantly can be an excuse for breaking the law.

I ended the post by basically saying that copyright laws seem to be doing a pretty damn good job already so don't get it in your head that draconian laws proposed and invasion of privacy by these are simply fallout from a righteous war they are waging against piracy.

Piracy losses even by the industries own estimates, are on par with big block retailers losses to theft. Which means it's a problem, but not a problem of the proportions they lead most people to believe.

 

[Snotnarok]

I usually pirate when there's no demo for a game, I'd like to see if my PC can run the game and I'd like to see if I like it. Being there's no return policy on games it makes it hard to try it no? So I grab a torrent and try it, if I like it, I buy it. If not why the hell would I keep the damn game on my PC?

To you silly people saying there's no excuse to pirate, there is, and I just said it. If the company wont provide a demo then I'll make my own.

check the hardware specs and read reviews maybe?... your argument isn't really absolute

Hardware specs are a bunch of bullshit, my friend couldn't get Gears of War to work and his PC was well over the requirements. Epic Studios wouldn't answer any emails either, forum moderators ignored him too. So that's 50 dollars well spent when a demo could have really shown us what would work instead they basically just ripped him off and got away with it.

I usually pirate when there's no demo for a game, I'd like to see if my PC can run the game and I'd like to see if I like it. Being there's no return policy on games it makes it hard to try it no? So I grab a torrent and try it, if I like it, I buy it. If not why the hell would I keep the damn game on my PC?

To you silly people saying there's no excuse to pirate, there is, and I just said it. If the company wont provide a demo then I'll make my own.

That's not a real excuse. Why? Because 99 % of the times, people don't buy the real game, and besides, your argument has no legal support.

You say that like you're 100% positive most people don't buy them, I do, and that's all I need to know when I do it. Legal support? You think a court would honesty have a case when I own the game? All 5 games that I actually did pirate to test I bought, or someone gifted it to me.

Let me ask you this, a company puts out a game but release no demo which helps test if they made a good version, if it works on my PC (in todays world there's plenty of games that are incredibly poorly ported (GTAIV, Saints Row 1&2, Bad Company 2, big name titles mind you) , if I like it? Review sites are bribed so it's hard to get an accurate view on if the game is good. To top it off, you cant rent, return or borrow a friends copy with PC games. With a console sure you've got at least 60 options for trying it, not with PC games. Mind you I stated clearly that I demo it on a pirate version THEN I buy it if I like it, and to restate if I don't like it, why would I bother keeping it.

You just pirate games I bet and don't buy them!:

Spoiler

Wrong!

So you're saying that its wrong for me to "find my own demo" to see if it works before I go spend 50 dollars for a game that might not work at all? And just hope that my 50 bucks will be well spent? And that this multimillion dollar company didn't just shovel it on to PC and hope to make a quick buck? You know like Borderlands had no working multiplayer for about 2 months on PC?

 

[AhumbleKnight]

--snippy--

I've tried that here in america and all they do is say "not our fault your old favorite band is now a bunch of whiney emo pussies, find someone else who gives a damn you're holding up the line" no company is in no way obligated to give you your money back just because they company that created your product failed to meet your expectations. Basically they same thing in both gamestop and hastings here in the shitty old USA.

Yeah, I don't know the deal in the US but I think it would be worth your time researching the actual legislation. I have had the same thing said to me here but then I cited the legislation and got my way. Chances are, the dude behind the counter won't know what your talking about and they definantly won't care. Thats when you ask to see the manager. Again, this is why I say read the legislation.

 

[Shycte]

I usually pirate when there's no demo for a game, I'd like to see if my PC can run the game and I'd like to see if I like it. Being there's no return policy on games it makes it hard to try it no? So I grab a torrent and try it, if I like it, I buy it. If not why the hell would I keep the damn game on my PC?

To you silly people saying there's no excuse to pirate, there is, and I just said it. If the company wont provide a demo then I'll make my own.

check the hardware specs and read reviews maybe?... your argument isn't really absolute

Hardware specs are a bunch of bullshit, my friend couldn't get Gears of War to work and his PC was well over the requirements. Epic Studios wouldn't answer any emails either, forum moderators ignored him too. So that's 50 dollars well spent when a demo could have really shown us what would work instead they basically just ripped him off and got away with it.

I usually pirate when there's no demo for a game, I'd like to see if my PC can run the game and I'd like to see if I like it. Being there's no return policy on games it makes it hard to try it no? So I grab a torrent and try it, if I like it, I buy it. If not why the hell would I keep the damn game on my PC?

To you silly people saying there's no excuse to pirate, there is, and I just said it. If the company wont provide a demo then I'll make my own.

That's not a real excuse. Why? Because 99 % of the times, people don't buy the real game, and besides, your argument has no legal support.

You say that like you're 100% positive most people don't buy them, I do, and that's all I need to know when I do it. Legal support? You think a court would honesty have a case when I own the game? All 5 games that I actually did pirate to test I bought, or someone gifted it to me.

Let me ask you this, a company puts out a game but release no demo which helps test if they made a good version, if it works on my PC (in todays world there's plenty of games that are incredibly poorly ported (GTAIV, Saints Row 1&2, Bad Company 2, big name titles mind you) , if I like it? Review sites are bribed so it's hard to get an accurate view on if the game is good. To top it off, you cant rent, return or borrow a friends copy with PC games. With a console sure you've got at least 60 options for trying it, not with PC games. Mind you I stated clearly that I demo it on a pirate version THEN I buy it if I like it, and to restate if I don't like it, why would I bother keeping it.

You just pirate games I bet and don't buy them!:

Spoiler

Wrong!

So you're saying that its wrong for me to "find my own demo" to see if it works before I go spend 50 dollars for a game that might not work at all? And just hope that my 50 bucks will be well spent? And that this multimillion dollar company didn't just shovel it on to PC and hope to make a quick buck? You know like Borderlands had no working multiplayer for about 2 months on PC?

If you really do buy the game that all fine with that. But, I am pretty sure that the court would have a case because you still downloaded one illegally. That doesn't go away just because you later bought one. Might differ from country to country though.

I can understand why you pirate and agree with it some point, but the rules are like they are and sometimes you just gotta bend over and like it.

 

[Lotet]

Let me ask you this, a company puts out a game but release no demo which helps test if they made a good version, if it works on my PC (in todays world there's plenty of games that are incredibly poorly ported (GTAIV, Saints Row 1&2, Bad Company 2, big name titles mind you) , if I like it? Review sites are bribed so it's hard to get an accurate view on if the game is good. To top it off, you cant rent, return or borrow a friends copy with PC games. With a console sure you've got at least 60 options for trying it, not with PC games. Mind you I stated clearly that I demo it on a pirate version THEN I buy it if I like it, and to restate if I don't like it, why would I bother keeping it.

You just pirate games I bet and don't buy them!:

Spoiler

Wrong!

So you're saying that its wrong for me to "find my own demo" to see if it works before I go spend 50 dollars for a game that might not work at all? And just hope that my 50 bucks will be well spent? And that this multimillion dollar company didn't just shovel it on to PC and hope to make a quick buck? You know like Borderlands had no working multiplayer for about 2 months on PC?

ahh, I was wrong about you, you do have good morales in the end. the only reason why I don't care about wasting money is because I likely have much less responsibilities thn you so I don't have to worry about these things.

but frankly, you're the best case scenario for a "pirate". there are plenty of people who rip thousands of dollars from the creators and local businesses, they make a larger majority than people like yourself.

 

[gamefreakbsp]

This new excuse that if you can't afford it, then pirate it, is completely ludicrous. Simply because you cannot afford to purchase something, does not mean you are entitled to steal it. Trying to honestly say that that is a legitimate reason is arogance beyond measure.

Comfortable there in your nice warm middle-class life there, are you?

And you base this assumption of of me being middle class because I have morals? The reason I can afford to buy games is because I have a job, not because I have parents who make 6 figures a piece.