Poll: Pirate or not?

[Fronken]

I was wondering if there are actually people out there who still buy PC games instead of downloading them.

I haven't payed for a game since 2002, i always download, and i know my friends do so as well, even though it's illegal, its free and doesnt require you to go to the store, but there might still be some honest people out there not using the internet for free games, Whats your take on it?

 

[gothic_dragon]

i do both sometimes i cant wait or be botherd to go to the store so i download other time i may stroll into a game store when im out any see something interesting and pay for it. it just depends on what i feel like

 

[stompy]

I'm a mixed bag. I've bought games, like Battlefield 2142, but I've also been given a pirated copy of Quake 4. Usually, I don't play on the PC, so I suppose I don't count.

 

[fedpayne]

I buy them legally. I don't even download music - and bands are going to be able to make money from concerts and advertising and sponsorship etc. If you keep it up all game developers will be bought by EA and Microsoft.

 

[OneHP]

Generally buy legally. Only recent pirate was Assassin's Creed, for one I had already played a legal 360 version to completion and secondly some prat decided to limit its distribution on Steam to America only.

 

[Downside]

I buy legally if i think the game is going to be good or i expect alot of replay value and is worth it. Also i like the fact you get a manual case etc when you buy and it doesn't take 2 weeks to download a game just to find out it doesn't work. Also i've never downloaded a game and got a free model with it (ala bioshock)

I've only pirated old games or games i didn't think would be worth the money. Last game i pirated was roller coaster tycoon 3 and i've built 1 rollercoaster and not touched it since so that would have been a waste of money to buy for me.

 

[poleboy]

Not anymore. Too much hassle.

 

[Labyrinth]

If I respect the developer I'll buy the game. Like Deus Ex or The Orange Box. (Original) Silent Hill series too. Otherwise, Yarr!

 

[ZenMonkey47]

Not anymore. Too much hassle.

I have the opposite opinion. I feel as though we've got to a point where it's less work to pirate than buy legally (and I'm not just talking about dragging yourself to the store). For example, I bought a copy of Half Life 2 at a retail store, but had such problems with the "anti-piracy" measures of Steam that I promptly went to mininova and downloaded a Steam-less version and had no problems since.

 

[The Lyre]

The Private Tracker I'm with has a fairly...shocking figure for how much I've downloaded...

If I like a game, I usually purchase it for the online play, particularly with RTS games, but I do a fair bit of the old torrenting myself.

I'll support the gaming industry when they start producing better games - the last game I was glad I purchased was Bioshock...I don't think I can say I've liked a new game since then.

Not anymore. Too much hassle.

If I wanted to I could have Lego Batman and Crysis Warhead (first two I picked out, not that I am planning on it) before lunch time...I don't see how that is too much hassle.

Oh, and I'm on a regular rural broadband line, I just have a very good tracker.

 

[QGandalf]

I buy games, but I rarely buy them, if that makes sense? Certainly I'll play my friend's copies to check them out, but because I only play games that interest me I buy them to support the developer. Except Blizzard of course. They don't need any more money!

 

[The Thief]

Your poll is a bit black and white, so I couldn't vote.

I only buy games that have sensible or no DRM. I don't pirate a lot, and all the games I do are older games, not that that really matters.

I'm not against people who pirate everything and buy nothing, and I certainly don't look down on them for it. I just really couldn't care less. However, I do applaud those that choose to buy rather than pirate, but I feel sorry for people who buy everything regardless.

 

[Asehujiko]

I buy games i like or from developers i support.
I get a full demo first when i'm not sure on wether something deserves the above category. If yes, i buy it, if not i uninstall it for being a waste of hd space.
If something threatens the stability and security of my system, it gets downloaded and never bought, period.
Anything infected with Starforce DRM(Drive Ruining Mechanism in this case) gets downloaded and then seeded for a long time on principle even when i have no intention of ever playing it.

 

[Rigamortiz]

I prefer to spend my money on a game than my time downloading one. Not that I buy games anymore, stupid price of petrol (Grr)

 

[varulfic]

I bought Oblivion and Deus Ex this year, and I'm going to buy Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 when those two come out. Everything else I've downloaded, played through then deleted. I generally only buy games if I'm going to play them online, or if it's for a console. I bought Deus Ex on steam one day when I was bored, so it was kinda like downloading only I paid for it to download fast. I bought Oblivion because my downloaded version of Morrowind was so buggy that it was unplayable, and I didn't want the same problems to occur in the sequel.

 

[Cyborg_Incognito]

only pirated games here are pokemon (blue/yellow), and some other old GB games to go on my phone. although i dont see this as the crime of the centuary (i know it's still illegal) but i've bought every pokemon game for my GBs, so it would just be getting a copy for my phone (which i cant otherwise get) altohugh the few games i have dowlaoded ive already had.

as for more mainstream pc gaming, i dont because i my PC sucks the big one and i'm one of those people who get mega guilty over nothing, so nyeh.

 

[Anarchemitis]

I sometimes download them for free, if I don't know how to feel about the game. Usually since Pirated games' quality is sub-par but better than a demo, I play those and then If I like it enough, buy it legit.

 

[Slycne]

The last game I ever downloaded was almost 6 years ago. The way I see it is that money spent on games I enjoy is supporting the company that makes them, and thus allowing them to continue to make games for me to enjoy. If a game isn't worth buying then it's not worth playing, even if it's free.

The only thing I have against pirates is people who try to arbitrarily justify it in one way or another.

 

[Uszi]

If I can get a game for free, often I will.
However, since pirated versions usually suck ass or don't work online, I will often buy a pirated game if I find I like it.

I've also rebought several titles (if I lose CDs and such).

So... I feel it balances out.

The overall lack of quality and options for pirated downloads is enough to keep anyone from pirating games exclusively.