Poll: Wow that's curious...

[Valentine82]

I wonder why the "What most encourages piracy?" thread was locked. Anyway I accidently reported someone when I was trying to reply, and I have no way to "un-report" them, a serious "D'Oh!" moment there.

Sooo, is it immoral to download abandonware if there's no financial impact on anyone for doing so?

 

[number2301]

No, but then I don't think it's immoral to download new games either.

 

[Zetona]

For those who don't know, abandonware is "computer software that is no longer sold or supported, or whose copyright ownership may be unclear for various reasons" according to the Wikipedia page, and I say, no it's not immoral.

 

[Valentine82]

No, but then I don't think it's immoral to download new games either.

I think it depends on whether or not you might have bought it and whether or not you considered it worth buying once you tried it. If you downloaded a game and it was what it was advertised to be, actually worked, and was a good game, then I think it would be immoral of you not to purchase it... That is unless you simply didn't have the means for whatever reason in the first place...

With abandonware, I don't think it's generally wrong, but sometimes it causes economic harm by preventing ports to handhelds from selling. Then again some people just hate handhelds, so it's a grey area for me.

 

[runtheplacered]

Immoral? Definitely not in my mind. But morality is a very personal thing, so you'll get different answers from different people depending on who you ask.

 

[MaraN88]

No, but then I don't think it's immoral to download new games either.

couldn't have said it better

 

[The Shade]

Only from a legal standpoint, unless the copyright is really ambiguous or has expired, w/e.

 

[Valentine82]

For me some games are art that should be preserved, such as...

Arcanum of Steamworks and Magick Obscura
Fallout 2
Baldur's Gate II Shadows of Amn
Suikoden and Suikoden 2

For me, sharing those games, that abandonware, is the preservation of art and an absolute good.

There is a grey area though, I'm not one of these "The Law is the Law is the Law" type people, but there are times when the legality of it isn't quite clear (As with Super Mario RPG) or it may cut into the sales of ports (Star Ocean the Second Story and Chrono Trigger). In cases where it isn't cutting into sales, I think the question is of what matters more, legal issues or the preservation of art that would otherwise vanish.

 

[Erana]

I think its cruel that publishers, who obviously aren't gonna be picking a game up agian, don't make it free for the people, but until that day, I'm gonna suffer...

 

[Moonmover]

I don't think it's ammoral. Actually, if the game is good, I think it's er....promoral? *unsure of what word to use*

If nobody is selling the game anymore, then abandonware sharing is doing nobdy any harm, but it is doing the world some good by making sure that old software doesn't get forgotten/lost.