Poll: Does pirating a game to test it make it okay?

[unstabLized]

I was trying to convince a friend to purchase Payday: The Heist through steam so that we can play co-op together. However, she has a pretty weak laptop (2 years or so old). She can run some older games, along some F2P games like NFS: World on Medium, or sometimes high, so I did a bit of research to see if she can at least run Payday on minimum settings. After a bit of researching, it seemed like too close of a call, so I suggested that maybe she can, for this once, pirate the game, just so that she can actually test if the game can run with a decent FPS on her computer. She would simply install the game, jump in a game, move around a bit If it was playable, and then uninstall and delete the crack. Then she would immediately buy the game. And from there on, we got into arguments about piracy, if it's okay or not, blah blah blah.

So I ask you this escapists, is pirating okay if you're planning to test a game and then later on, buy it? Is pirating ever okay, under any condition?

 

[Maxtro]

Such a grey area.

Most PC games don't have demos. And of course you can't buy a game, see if it works or not, and return it if it doesn't.

 

[crazyrabbits]

Just tell your friend to watch a playthrough online and see if he likes the plot/has an impression on gameplay.

 

[tippy2k2]

No it is not (although I've found my stance on piracy to be one of the harshest on this site...basically, it's never OK unless you literally can't get the item in question due to it's age).

There are sites that you can go to that will tell you these things.

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri (like this one! I'm sure there are others but this is the one I personally use)

EDIT: Not that I mind all this attention but please see post 8, 108, & 194 before you quote this saying how wrong I am; I have probably responded to it. Thank you!

This topic has blown up so much that I don't hold it against you if you missed it but my poor inbox is getting flooded

 

[unstabLized]

No it is not (although I've found my stance on piracy to be one of the harshest on this site...basically, it's never OK unless you literally can't get the item in question due to it's age).

There are sites that you can go to that will tell you these things.

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri (like this one! I'm sure there are others but this is the one I personally use)

Yes, I was aware of System requirements lab. A trustworthy site, but even that sometimes makes mistakes.

Also, I know that pirating a game for testing should be last resort, but if it DOES come down to a last resort, should you go that far?

 

[StriderShinryu]

No it is not (although I've found my stance on piracy to be one of the harshest on this site...basically, it's never OK unless you literally can't get the item in question due to it's age).

There are sites that you can go to that will tell you these things.

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri (like this one! I'm sure there are others but this is the one I personally use)

I pretty much agree with this. While I can see some merit when the testing is actually of a "can my system actually run this" nature, I still see testing as a pretty slippery slope.

 

[tippy2k2]

Also, I know that pirating a game for testing should be last resort, but if it DOES come down to a last resort, should you go that far?

Is this question directed right at me or are you just asking in general?

Well, either way, here is my answer: Still no.

It's very easy to say "I just want to try this one out" and try it for a while...then you try it for a little while longer....then a little while longer....then you're done with the game and decide "You know, I didn't like it very much, I'm not going to buy it". If your system isn't very good, either you take the risk like everyone else or don't play PC games.

 

[sdfgsdfgdfsg]

I stopped pirating not because it was morally wrong or whatever, but because i simply want to support the developer, so the only thing that matters is if a give them my money.With that said, i think it's absolutely okay to pirate anything as long as you'll pay for it afterwards.You can even finish the game you pirated if you'll pay for it after.All fine in my book.I don't really understand some people's stance on piracy where they treat it as if it's some ungodly sin upon commiting which you go the hell immediately.For me it's all just about simply respecting other people's work.

 

[unstabLized]

Also, I know that pirating a game for testing should be last resort, but if it DOES come down to a last resort, should you go that far?

Is this question directed right at me or are you just asking in general?

Well, either way, here is my answer: Still no.

It's very easy to say "I just want to try this one out" and try it for a while...then you try it for a little while longer....then a little while longer....then you're done with the game and decide "You know, I didn't like it very much, I'm not going to buy it". If your system isn't very good, either you take the risk like everyone else or don't play PC games.

That was for the public, but still, thanks for your take And yeah I know what you mean. Once you have it, you don't have the will to let it go. Cause what the hell, its free! Still, in my opinion, if there is self control, then it's not a terrible thing.

 

[psyco]

There are sites that you can go to that will tell you these things.
http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri (like this one! I'm sure there are others but this is the one I personally use)

See, for me this site tells me that I can run Sleeping Dogs. I am well above the recommended specs. Thing is, I can't. It crashes all the time and the devs still haven't fixed it (and I am not the only one, check their forums).

I did buy the game, but had I tested it first I would have known that it crashes so often I can't even finish a mission sometimes. I can't get a refund either, yay steam and so on. Definitely converted me to pirating to test things... system requirements don't account for bugs and/or buggy games.

Just anecdotal evidence, I know, but thought I'd throw this in anyway.

@unstabLized: Should be obvious by now, but imo pirating to test is perfectly fine if there is no demo available. If one is worried about self-control, one can always set an alarm clock to... dunno, half an hour or something.

 

[mohit9206]

there are some games that deserve to be pirated. take ubisoft games for example. i bought AC2 and had to go through so much trouble just to able able to play the game due to ubisoft DRM and the Uplay bullshit. i would have pirated AC3 had it had the same crap DRM from AC2 but glad it does not so i will be buying the game soon.
i believe if buying a game and having to go through so much trouble even though you payed for it then it deserves to be pirated.
also very buggy and glitchy games that even after launch the developer refuses to patch also deserve to be pirated.
i have pirated some games that have met the above criteria but most others i buy legally boxed copies.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Legally not ever.

But morally you are ok in my book if you truly pay for the product you used.
Because on PC figuring out if shit will work properly is a complete circus, we get almost no demos or they come months later, system requirements if released at all are mostly incomplete or downright a lie, and reviewers usually don't play on PC but post their article as if it's all the same, on top of that they just casually omit the game plays like shit or might not even work.

 

[CrazyJew]

> Baught out reviews.
> Multiple attempts to shut down Let's Play's
> Second hand sales about to die.
> Renting coming down with them for the same reasons.
> No more demos.

GAIZ, GAIZ, LET'S BUY A GAME BASED SOLELY ON THE INFO THE PUBLISHERS THEMSELVES GIVE US!

 

[Aaron Sylvester]

Legal answer? Obvious no, piracy is never "ok" under any conditions.

But the more ethical/logical answer? OF COURSE it's alright, do it, or your friend will never know if her laptop can indeed run it and it will save her the stupidity of buying a game and then being unable to play it.

 

[Entitled]

Rather than inherently assuming that piracy is eeeevil, and looking at specific excuses that "make it OK", I look at piracy as a neutral act, that can be made "not OK" only due to certain side effects that it might bring along.

If you are selling pirated copies for a profit, or if you are consistently pirating everything while you have a significant budget for other luxories, then you are probably very directly invoking the tragedy of the commons.

And even that is only "not OK" in the same way as rich people reading wikipedia without ever donating is not OK, or you reading the Escapist with AdBlock is not OK. Doing it is kinda unsympathetic, but whatever. The only difference between these and piracy, is legality.

But everything else below that tier, pirating it to get a try, pirating because you have no money, pirating it because you want to play it while also protesting the publisher's business, etc., and basically every case where you are sometimes paying for games but also making your own call about not to, is on the same moral level as crossing the long, straight, empty street's crosswalk at the red light, or having a beer at the age of 17.

 

[RedDeadFred]

Just tell your friend to watch a playthrough online and see if he likes the plot/has an impression on gameplay.

You should probably read the OP. Your comment doesn't answer their question at all.

OT: I think it's ok to pirate a game to see if it works on your computer. It would suck to spend 60 bucks only to find out that you can't even play the game. Just make sure that you buy it after if it does work.

 

[ChadSexington]

If you intend on paying for the game I see nothing wrong with it. If you can't run it you're not paying for a game you're not playing, if you can and you buy it you're paying for a game that you're playing, I'd hardly call that wrong.

 

[RedDeadFred]

No it is not (although I've found my stance on piracy to be one of the harshest on this site...basically, it's never OK unless you literally can't get the item in question due to it's age).

There are sites that you can go to that will tell you these things.

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri (like this one! I'm sure there are others but this is the one I personally use)

While this site usually works, it can occasionally be wrong. I wasn't sure if my lap top would be able to run The Witcher 2. I used this site and it said that I could. It was quite wrong... My frame rate was horrible and it often locked up and crashed. Completely unplayable and a waste of 60 dollars. Luckily, one of my friends also wanted the game and when I explained my situation to him, he bought the game off of me for the full price.

Basically, if this site tells you that you are just meeting the requirements, it's probably not a bad idea to test the game in advance.

 

[fenrizz]

No it is not (although I've found my stance on piracy to be one of the harshest on this site...basically, it's never OK unless you literally can't get the item in question due to it's age).

There are sites that you can go to that will tell you these things.

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri (like this one! I'm sure there are others but this is the one I personally use)

I pretty much agree with this. While I can see some merit when the testing is actually of a "can my system actually run this" nature, I still see testing as a pretty slippery slope.

The good old slippery slope fallacy, eh?

OT:
I see no problem with this.
It's not even piracy if you ask me.

So I ask you this escapists, is pirating okay if you're planning to test a game and then later on, buy it? Is pirating ever okay, under any condition?

Like I said over, I don't think it qualifies as piracy if it is for the purpose of checking if the PC in question can even run the game properly.