Question (sorta about piracy)

[Epona]

What about times when your discs get lost or maimed so they don't work any more? It happened quite a few times that the disk exploded in my drive... What am I to do then? Call the publisher? Weep quietly?

Well I guess that's not so much of a problem nowadays since most games require steam (or similar) login and all that bullshit, but it's still a pain especially if you own a lot of old games.

You are actually legally allowed to have a backup of any game you own as long as you dont change the actual game to for example remove drm. The main problem with torrenting a game to get a backup isnt actually the downloading part but the fact that you are also sharing that game with other people. If the game however requires a cd to activation code to play then you are kind of screwed since it is illegal to bypass those.

Contradictions:

- You are allowed to have a backup but you must make it yourself
- You can't make it yourself without cracking the DRM which is illegal
- You can't download it because you didn't back it up yourself and because the DRM is cracked
- If the DRM weren't cracked your backup wouldn't function and would be useless

Until the lawmakers can get their shit together and figure out what consumers are allowed to do, there will be no answers and the best people can do is keep guessing. Download away OP.

 

[CCountZero]

What about times when your discs get lost or maimed so they don't work any more? It happened quite a few times that the disk exploded in my drive... What am I to do then? Call the publisher? Weep quietly?

That's actually a pretty important question.

Speculation:

As it stands today, when you're buying a game, you're buying a license to play it. Not the game itself.

The game disc you get is simply a convenient way for you to install your licensed product.

Or at least that's how the publishers seem to think it works.

However, if such is the case, even if you lose or break your physical copy, you would still be in possession of the license, meaning that you'd be well within your rights to re-obtain the installation files.

Now, the specifics of the law means that this is sadly not possible at all, but there are some major issues within that question.

---------------------------

As for a question of my own, related to piracy but not to video games:

Where I live, it doesn't actually matter what video files you have. What matters is how you obtained it.

To give an example, I can go onto my cable TV on my PC and record a movie being showed, lets say "300", and I could keep it and watch it as many times as I wanted.

However, if I forgot to schedule my TV-software to record it, and would like to watch it, I cannot download it from a Torrent site, even though the digital video file might be entirely identical.

Just one example of how messed up the laws surrounding this subject are.

 

[Mahha]

Yeah well you're right about these laws being different in every country... I only know about Slovenia where it's actually not piracy if you download a game/film/program without the intent of selling it.

These backups are a god-damn mess too - most games don't work if you do a direct copy anyway so you have to crack it one way or the other which makes it illegal again.

Well it would seem that the system is a little flawed.

 

[Epona]

Yeah well you're right about these laws being different in every country... I only know about Slovenia where it's actually not piracy if you download a game/film/program without the intent of selling it.

These backups are a god-damn mess too - most games don't work if you do a direct copy anyway so you have to crack it one way or the other which makes it illegal again.

Well it would seem that the system is a little flawed.

This is brilliant and so true. Not that I am condoning piracy mods, so please back off the ban hammer.

It's just that this image demonstrates how pirates end up with the superior version. It's sad really.

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

I believe it is. It's like saying, "Well, I bought [insert game name here], but I don't have it with me here. I'll just take this copy without paying for it, and play with it until I get my bought copy."

Your still getting a game that you didn't pay for, and using the excuse that you do not have it with you won't cut it. Let it be a lesson to pack a little more carefully next time.

 

[Mahha]

That would be right in conventional logic... like for example if you bought a pair of snickers or something like that. Because you would be just buying an object so you would just own one object. But if you buy a game you don't buy just an object, you buy a licence to play... so wouldn't it ok if you installed the game from another source and just used the serial you got with the game?

It's not like every game disk is special, the only thing that separates it from all other copies it the serial.

 

[Epona]

Contradictions:

- You are allowed to have a backup but you must make it yourself
- You can't make it yourself without cracking the DRM which is illegal
- You can't download it because you didn't back it up yourself and because the DRM is cracked
- If the DRM weren't cracked your backup wouldn't function and would be useless

Until the lawmakers can get their shit together and figure out what consumers are allowed to do, there will be no answers and the best people can do is keep guessing. Download away OP.

1) True you are supposed to create the backup yourself and for your own personal use.
2) Not true you can create a backup without cracking drm.
3) It is possible to download a game that does not have the drm cracked. Most drm cracks just involve you swapping the .exe files
4) Also not true it works exactly the same way as the origional.

Ok, then explain it to us. Say we want to backup Fallout 3 GOTY (which uses Securom) and use that backup instead of the real DVD which we own but keep in the case for protection.

Step by step now, leave nothing out.

 

[EHKOS]

Robert B. Parker once wrote that "There's legal, and there's right." You just have to trust yourself, and if you yourself feel that it's wrong, it prolly is. So if you feel like you should be able to keep a copy when you bought the game, then by all means do it.

 

[Gigano]

Well yeah, it's undoubtedly piracy, since you're downloading an illegally uploaded copy, hence creating a copy of illegal data.

It doesn't exactly clash with the purpose of the law - to secure a reasonable return on digital products - though, since you've already paid once. So not really unethical in itself. But it's still in violation of the law, and the social contract you've entered into is to abide by the law. Certainly when you could've just brought the game with you in the first place. On the other hand, everyone and their dog have crossed a road for red light, late at night when there weren't a car in sight for miles. This particular instance seem to be on about the same level as that. Just don't expect mercy from the courts should whomever holds the rights pursue the matter.

 

[Zach of Fables]

Yes, it is. No, don't do it. It's illegal, and there really is no good reason for you to break the law just to play a video game. You're not Jean Valjean who needs to feed his family, you're bored and seeking stimulation. Go for a run or something. Video games are fun, but in my humble opinion not worth it.

 

[Smerf]

Actually, I have a similar question.
I bought the new Deus Ex on Onlive because it was cheap. However, it doesn't run as fast as I expected it to. I can tell I'll enjoy it, but my internet just isn't fast enough to run it properly. Would I be justified in downloading it?
To OP, I think you'd be justified. You bought it, so shoot.

that, might actually be piracy. it kinda depends on how "cheap" you got it for. a couple of bucks is one thing, but if it was 50% or more off i wouldnt.

 

[Epona]

Actually, I have a similar question.
I bought the new Deus Ex on Onlive because it was cheap. However, it doesn't run as fast as I expected it to. I can tell I'll enjoy it, but my internet just isn't fast enough to run it properly. Would I be justified in downloading it?
To OP, I think you'd be justified. You bought it, so shoot.

that, might actually be piracy. it kinda depends on how "cheap" you got it for. a couple of bucks is one thing, but if it was 50% or more off i wouldnt.

If I buy Fable III on Steam today for 66% off, I can still download it as many times as I like. The price doesn't matter, what matters is if you legally bought the game in the first place.

 

[hazabaza1]

Actually, I have a similar question.
I bought the new Deus Ex on Onlive because it was cheap. However, it doesn't run as fast as I expected it to. I can tell I'll enjoy it, but my internet just isn't fast enough to run it properly. Would I be justified in downloading it?
To OP, I think you'd be justified. You bought it, so shoot.

that, might actually be piracy. it kinda depends on how "cheap" you got it for. a couple of bucks is one thing, but if it was 50% or more off i wouldnt.

It maaaaaaaay have been £1. Yay for deals.
I guess I should probably just wait for the price to go down.

 

[Smerf]

Actually, I have a similar question.
I bought the new Deus Ex on Onlive because it was cheap. However, it doesn't run as fast as I expected it to. I can tell I'll enjoy it, but my internet just isn't fast enough to run it properly. Would I be justified in downloading it?
To OP, I think you'd be justified. You bought it, so shoot.

that, might actually be piracy. it kinda depends on how "cheap" you got it for. a couple of bucks is one thing, but if it was 50% or more off i wouldnt.

If I buy Fable III on Steam today for 66% off, I can still download it as many times as I like. The price doesn't matter, what matters is if you legally bought the game in the first place.

i meant more that buying the game for a $ on onlive then dling it is a bit scetchy

 

[Epona]

Actually, I have a similar question.
I bought the new Deus Ex on Onlive because it was cheap. However, it doesn't run as fast as I expected it to. I can tell I'll enjoy it, but my internet just isn't fast enough to run it properly. Would I be justified in downloading it?
To OP, I think you'd be justified. You bought it, so shoot.

that, might actually be piracy. it kinda depends on how "cheap" you got it for. a couple of bucks is one thing, but if it was 50% or more off i wouldnt.

If I buy Fable III on Steam today for 66% off, I can still download it as many times as I like. The price doesn't matter, what matters is if you legally bought the game in the first place.

i meant more that buying the game for a $ on onlive then dling it is a bit scetchy

I agree about that since OnLive is a rental service but they offer to rent you the game for full price, I would never.