Help a gamer with a tough desicion (piracy, EA related)

Hazy992

Why does this place still exist
Aug 1, 2010
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So you want to play SimCity but you don't want to pay for it because BF3 was too long and had microtransactions? Am I understanding correctly? Because if that's the case then tough, you want the game then go buy it.
 

Vuliev

Senior Member
Jul 19, 2011
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Don't. Just skip playing the game altogether and boot up SimCity2000 again.

SimCity2000 is best SimCity.
 

ohnoitsabear

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Feb 15, 2011
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A few things:

1. If you're worried about SimCity, don't buy it on launch. See what other people think of it, and see if EA will pull any bullshit post-launch. Actually, this applies to any game. If a game sucks, it's best to find it out from someone else than experience it firsthand.

2. With EA, it's usually best to assume that they are going to rip you off in some way. It's up to you to decide if the game is still worth it to you.

3. I know I probably won't convince you to change, but if you're not going to buy a game, don't play it. I've opted out from playing plenty of games that I didn't think were worth the money (or because of DRM or other bullshit), and my quality of life has not suffered in the slightest. There are plenty of other games out there, and a very large amount of them are worth the investment.
 

shiajun

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Jun 12, 2008
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You should buy it. Consider that game companies can only see their sales and bottom lines, not your intentions. You bought BF3 and hated their nickel and dime scheme, but you will not buy SimCity although you love the game. The economic message you are sending is the exact opposite of what you would like. You may even drive EA to stop making SimCity games altogether and, in some extreme, dissolve Maxis altogether as they are not profitable anymore. You may regret your BF3 purchase. Tell EA about it and also don't forget to tell them why you loved SimCity (it that were the case), or why you didn't buy it in the end (DRM, bad company rep, whatever). If you only take away from SimCity and keep silent about it you will be helping the idea that only way to turn a profit is to make games like BF3 and their pricing schemes. Don't come around complaining when the market is still flooded with CoD clones, and you find nothing good enough for you to NOT pirate it.

My case: haven't bought a Ubisoft game in a loooooong time because of DRM, shoddy PC ports, etc. Will buy Rayman Origins as soon as I have disposable income. Why? Love the game's joyous art and attitude, no DRM, excellent port.
 

tippy2k2

Beloved Tyrant
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Mar 15, 2008
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So you ONLY got a hundred hours of entertainment from Battlefield 3? EA should be burned down and destroyed for such a shoddy product!!!!11111!!1 (I know that's not your point but I felt this had to be pointed out)

I've said it in multiple threads and I'll go ahead and say it here: There is no excuse for piracy for 1st world countries (the 3rd world one is a different argument that I'm not going to go near).

You're concerned that it's going to Nickel and Dime you, a valid concern. However, just wait for reviews to come out (or other customer reviews) to determine if this is the case. If it is the case AND bothers you enough that you don't want to buy the game, you vote with your wallet and not buy it.

Pirating the game just continues the shitty ass cycle that we're stuck in and buying it if you disagree with the business practices (or my favorite, buying it and then pirating it to avoid DRM and feel morally OK about it) just continues the shitty ass cycle that we are in. If the game's business practices affect you enough to not want it, be an adult about it and send them a message that you will not tolerate these practices.

EDIT: Here was my mini-rant at people complaining about Diablo 3's "Always online" practice. Just replace "online only" with "Any business practice I disagree with" (in your case, nickel & diming):
Give me a second, let me grab my soap box that I brought from my high horse who lives in my ivory tower; feel free to implement any other cliched things that I may have missed...alright, I'm ready:

GAMERS! There is ONE vote that matters here and that's your $$$$. If you don't like companies forcing "online only" DRM (and let's face it, that's all this is) down your throat, there is only ONE way to make it go away: Don't buy the game. And no, this does not mean you get to pirate it, that means that you don't play the damn game. Gamers ***** about these "online only" DRM practices constantly and yet they throw their money at a developer who implements these practices. Alright...let me get down now.
 

Wild_Marker

New member
Mar 31, 2011
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ohnoitsabear said:
A few things:

1. If you're worried about SimCity, don't buy it on launch. See what other people think of it, and see if EA will pull any bullshit post-launch. Actually, this applies to any game. If a game sucks, it's best to find it out from someone else than experience it firsthand.

2. With EA, it's usually best to assume that they are going to rip you off in some way. It's up to you to decide if the game is still worth it to you.

3. I know I probably won't convince you to change, but if you're not going to buy a game, don't play it. I've opted out from playing plenty of games that I didn't think were worth the money (or because of DRM or other bullshit), and my quality of life has not suffered in the slightest. There are plenty of other games out there, and a very large amount of them are worth the investment.
True, the fact that there are no Pre-Order bonuses in this case makes it easier to wait for post launch. It's probably the best idea.

tippy2k2 said:
So you ONLY got a hundred hours of entertainment from Battlefield 3? EA should be burned down and destroyed for such a shoddy product!!!!11111!!1 (I know that's not your point but I felt this had to be pointed out)

I've said it in multiple threads and I'll go ahead and say it here: There is no excuse for piracy for 1st world countries (the 3rd world one is a different argument that I'm not going to go near).
Heh, that's true. I gues it's like a relationship, you can have many great hours from it but if it ends badly well... that's what you remember. But yeah, I got my hours, don't regret it in the slightest.

As for the 1st world/3rd world thing... well I'll let you know it's 3rd world here, so any game that I buy instead of pirate is kind of a big deal. But like you said, let's not go into that argument, not the point of the thread.
shiajun said:
You should buy it. Consider that game companies can only see their sales and bottom lines, not your intentions. You bought BF3 and hated their nickel and dime scheme, but you will not buy SimCity although you love the game. The economic message you are sending is the exact opposite of what you would like. You may even drive EA to stop making SimCity games altogether and, in some extreme, dissolve Maxis altogether as they are not profitable anymore. You may regret your BF3 purchase. Tell EA about it and also don't forget to tell them why you loved SimCity (it that were the case), or why you didn't buy it in the end (DRM, bad company rep, whatever). If you only take away from SimCity and keep silent about it you will be helping the idea that only way to turn a profit is to make games like BF3 and their pricing schemes. Don't come around complaining when the market is still flooded with CoD clones, and you find nothing good enough for you to NOT pirate it.

My case: haven't bought a Ubisoft game in a loooooong time because of DRM, shoddy PC ports, etc. Will buy Rayman Origins as soon as I have disposable income. Why? Love the game's joyous art and attitude, no DRM, excellent port.
The thing about sending the message "Yes EA, I want more colorful SimCity instead of more brown shooters" seems good on paper. But the problem is you're also sending them the message that you stand for their bullshit. I'm not really going to use my money to send messages, as a consumer, it's probably best if I spend it simply thinking of what works best for me. Not sure what message that sends...
 

shiajun

New member
Jun 12, 2008
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Wild_Marker said:
shiajun said:
You should buy it. Consider that game companies can only see their sales and bottom lines, not your intentions. You bought BF3 and hated their nickel and dime scheme, but you will not buy SimCity although you love the game. The economic message you are sending is the exact opposite of what you would like. You may even drive EA to stop making SimCity games altogether and, in some extreme, dissolve Maxis altogether as they are not profitable anymore. You may regret your BF3 purchase. Tell EA about it and also don't forget to tell them why you loved SimCity (it that were the case), or why you didn't buy it in the end (DRM, bad company rep, whatever). If you only take away from SimCity and keep silent about it you will be helping the idea that only way to turn a profit is to make games like BF3 and their pricing schemes. Don't come around complaining when the market is still flooded with CoD clones, and you find nothing good enough for you to NOT pirate it.

My case: haven't bought a Ubisoft game in a loooooong time because of DRM, shoddy PC ports, etc. Will buy Rayman Origins as soon as I have disposable income. Why? Love the game's joyous art and attitude, no DRM, excellent port.
The thing about sending the message "Yes EA, I want more colorful SimCity instead of more brown shooters" seems good on paper. But the problem is you're also sending them the message that you stand for their bullshit. I'm not really going to use my money to send messages, as a consumer, it's probably best if I spend it simply thinking of what works best for me. Not sure what message that sends...
Well, of course, you should spend your money as you see fit, but keep in mind what the comapny will see, specially if your fundamental conflict is one of supporting certain practices. If you don't want to think about it, just do what you're more comfortable doing, but, I repeat, send a letter. It may be small, but if everyone did this I think there would be less guessing on what consumers find acceptable and what not.
 

Wild_Marker

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Mar 31, 2011
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That sound good. I should probably find an e-mail adress or something, of someone important from within. Then go to SimTropolis (the biiiig sim city community) and organize a mass e-mail campaign or something.
 

sanquin

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Jun 8, 2011
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I would just like to point out that you clocked over 100 hours in BF3 according to your own account, and paid only 60 dollars for the game. That's less than 60 effing cents an hour for value. Yet you wish you could still bring it back?! Sure, micro transactions suck. But you got far more than your money's worth out of the game already. If you don't like it any more, stop playing it! And otherwise, sell it second hand or something. And if it's a digital version, well...your own fault then, tough luck. Stop being so entitled.

As for buying the new simcity or not. Don't. Don't buy it at launch. I've come to realize that EA will always screw you over these days. In one way or form, they will. So don't buy it at launch, wait for other people to see what they think of the game. Read some user reviews (not official reviews!) after launch. Then after that decide if you want to buy the game.
 

malestrithe

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Aug 18, 2008
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Unless you know 85 percent certain that you are going to like it, never buy the game at launch. Wait a few days and get it that way.

Or, Don't. Either way decide.
 

redisforever

New member
Oct 5, 2009
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boag said:
Dude, just follow this simple advice.

FUCK EA.
Well, don't. They'd charge you for doing it.

Just ignore them. They'll run out of money, and go away if we all band together and do a mass ignore.
 

Signa

Noisy Lurker
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Jul 16, 2008
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Seems the most fair and practical thing for a person in your situation can do is "play" it, and then buy the GOTY version if that comes out. If it doesn't, then it probably will see a price drop, and then you can justify getting nickled-and-dimed a bit for the extra content you want. That way you get to not truly support EA's greedy practices while still maintaining a fair budget.

Disclaimer: I'm not actually telling him to pirate or supporting piracy. The OP is going to do what he's going to do despite what this forum tells him. I'm just voicing a suggestion on how to conduct his illicit affairs so as to harm the fewest people. If that is still too much for the moderators, please let me know so I can change the post before handing out punishments.
 

Worgen

Follower of the Glorious Sun Butt.
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Apr 1, 2009
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Whatever, just wash your hands.
Buy tropico instead. I loved me some simcity also back in the day but even though the new one looks good, I'm expecting ea to fuck it up beyond just requiring origin or the weird social things its gonna use.
 

Caliostro

Headhunter
Jan 23, 2008
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Wild_Marker said:
I don't have to buy something if I want to play it and that's how I grew up.
This is not an acceptable excuse and piracy is not acceptable around here.

"I'm sorry, but I kill and cannibalize people instead of going to the supermarket. That's how I grew up."


That said, and on to the topic at hand, if you can't support the company then don't. I absolutely loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove (I honestly can't emphasize it enough) the Assassin's Creed series. It seems tailor made for me. I refused to buy ACII until they changed their bullshit always on DRM. I was excited for MW2 (before it started looking like a pile of shit), but as soon they revealed a few very important policy changes, I refused to endorse them with a single cent. Same happened with Street Fighter x Tekken. Hilariously, both of those games turned out to be trash, so... Karma. I haven't touched anything from EA in a while as well.

I've said this elsewhere already today: Have some fucking cojones and stand by your principles. If you can't support a company, don't. Don't "pirate their games to give them a lesson!", that's just giving them ammo (and effectively shooting down any complaints you have, as you're using their morally questionable practices to support your own morally questionable practice). Don't play it. You're not going to die over not playing a game. You don't have to play EVERY game.

Seriously, people used to DIE for their fucking principles. Some still do. Now we can't even consider NOT playing a videogame to stand up for something?
 

Wild_Marker

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Mar 31, 2011
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Signa said:
Seems the most fair and practical thing for a person in your situation can do is "play" it, and then buy the GOTY version if that comes out. If it doesn't, then it probably will see a price drop, and then you can justify getting nickled-and-dimed a bit for the extra content you want. That way you get to not truly support EA's greedy practices while still maintaining a fair budget.

Disclaimer: I'm not actually telling him to pirate or supporting piracy. The OP is going to do what he's going to do despite what this forum tells him. I'm just voicing a suggestion on how to conduct his illicit affairs so as to harm the fewest people. If that is still too much for the moderators, please let me know so I can change the post before handing out punishments.
That sounds like another good idea, though one version has multiplayer and the other does not. And I do like the sound of conected SimCity.

I think a lot of people are missundertanding the meaning here. It's not a piracy advocating post (I just got a warning from admin!). The real question isn't "should I pirate it?". It's "should I give EA my money?". The piracy and third world thing is to give some context, in this case the context reads as:
"I can't buy everything I play so when I do buy it, I always over-consider it's value. So how much value does this have?"

Bhaalspawn said:
If you don't want to give EA your money, don't play SimCity.

If you want SimCity, buy it.

If you're going to pirate the game, don't pretend you're doing it to protect your rights as a consumer. Everyone who has pirated has done it for the same reason. They are cheap and want free stuff.

If the game is still worth playing despite all the complaints against EA, all your justifications for piracy are rendered meaningless.

For fucks sake, I don't know about anyone else, but I'm getting sick of so many people crying about the very thing they begged for in games when Valve managed to push Online DRM and Mircotransactions.

Buy it or don't play it at all. Simple black and white choice. There is no grey area here. If you don't like EA, don't play their games.
I'm not pretending to protect my right as consumer by pirating. Never said that. I am simply asking for opinion on this matter. Like we've been saiyng since the start of the post, this is not a thread about advocating or justifying piracy. (though your argument of black and white... I can't agree with it, there ARE grey areas on the matter but again, NOT THE POINT OF THE THREAD)

kingthrall said:
BUY IT- SECOND HAND that way your not feeding EA. and your not pirating!
Not really possible since it locks up to an Origin account once you activate it. Also, used PC games in south america are er... not something you can actually get. Anywhere. We don't have the big Gamestops and such. But yeah, it would be a good idea if it was possible. (and then someone would step up to tell you about how bad you are for buying used games instead of new but whatever)

Conclusion: I believe saying the word "piracy" got this thing blown in a different direction and waaay out of proportion. Didn't mean for that to happen. Though I really don't like the admins getting so worked up about it. It's a thing that happens, and we should talk about it, not hide it under warnings. If gaming and press sites talked more openly about piracy without fear of reprisal, perhaps things would be different. Oh well, in any case I got some very good sense of the courses of action I can take. Thanks a lot to everyone who posted here, and for your understanding (er... those who had it). This is the end of the thread for me, bye guys!