Quick question, is this stealing?

[CommanderKirov]

Almost. It's attempted theft, as EA is trying to steal from you.

I like this answer most.

As for how I feel about it. I don't feel like I did anything wrong and that I just found a loophole in their already extremely holey system of greed. Seriously, EA use to be radical but now they're greedy douchebags. It's really a shame to see them this low. :/

You like it the most because it supports your point.

OT: I doubt it can be considered as stealing if the content is on the disc. But possibly it can be considered as misshandling of purchased material if they have such odd TOS as Sony with PS3.

You are essentially making their software do something they don't want you to do.

 

[Podunk]

I'm seriously anti-piracy, but man, if it's on the disk... You should have the right to modify your own files the way you choose. You bought it, it's on your computer, as long as you aren't sharing it or trying to sell it I don't see the harm.

 

[The Lawn]

All you have done is take money from a developer, so they have less money: to fund future projects, pay their staff bonuses and improve their financial standing so they can convince the shareholders that taking creative risks wouldn't affect their investment.

Yes it is sealing.
You purchased a copy of the game. Not the game and the DLC.

As was previously stated, you don't own all the data on the disk. While it might be there, you haven't paid for the right to access it.

What you have essentially done is gone to a kids lemonade stand, paid them a quarter for a glass and taken the whole pitcher.

 

[maninahat]

I bought a Snickers today, but the lady at the counter told me I wasn't allowed to eat any of the peanuts before I payed extra.

See where I'm going?

No, because the nuts are part of what makes a snickers a snickers. A DLC is an added extra. If a store let you buy a game, but then refused to put in a graphics engine or sound, then that would be analogous to a nutless snicker's bar. A better analogy would be buying some groceries, and then expecting to be allowed to take home the metal grocery basket as well, seeing as how it was already in your hand when you bought the goods.

You payed for the goods, not the basket as well. Just because you have it in your hand does not mean you are freely entitled to it.

 

[Ilyak1986]

Stealing as defined by whom? Laws are made by people. People are dumb, panicky animals. So are so many of the laws they make.

My answer? Don't give a damn about the ethical implications of the situation and enjoy yourself.

 

[fenrizz]

All you have done is take money from a developer, so they have less money: to fund future projects, pay their staff bonuses and improve their financial standing so they can convince the shareholders that taking creative risks wouldn't affect their investment.

Yes it is sealing.
You purchased a copy of the game. Not the game and the DLC.

As was previously stated, you don't own all the data on the disk. While it might be there, you haven't paid for the right to access it.

What you have essentially done is gone to a Starbucks and purchased a coffe. And then you notice an "extra wall" inside the cup, and naturally you remove it. And what do you know, a sip or two of coffee was inside.

Fixed that for you.

Where I am from you own what is on the disc.
That is why I am free to do whatever I please with it, excluding uploading it to others.

 

[maninahat]

Actually no you're not stealing, nothing was taken from EA and they have nothing to 'miss'. However I do feel like you're sticking it to them for having poor DLC choices.

I pirated Farcry 2, while I actually own the game, to avoid the stupid fucking DRM they put on the game. So I have it, serial number and all(came with my Video Card ages ago no less), I instead use my copy how backwards is that??

Errr, what DRM? I own Far Cry 2 on steam and have not encountered any such security measure.

Anyway, yes, he did take away from EA. He took a DLC that he should have otherwise paid them for. Whether or not he would have paid the price is irrelevant: he took what was theirs without any formal transfer of ownership.

 

[maninahat]

Where I am from you own what is on the disc.
That is why I am free to do whatever I please with it, excluding uploading it to others.

But you didn't buy a disc, you bought a game. You formally made an agreement stating that you had the right to play the game on the CD. That does not mean you can have a free reign over everything on the disk that the game came on. The disk is merely a means of conveying your product to you, so whilst the disk will remain in your posession for practicality sake, you do not officially own everything but the game.

 

[thahat]

Technically it's getting something you're meant to pay for without paying for it.

In a way, yes.

No, ACTUALLY it's getting something you're meant to pay for without paying for it.

But that doesn't inherently mean stealing.

So technically and practically no, but it's still not legally correct and it's ethically dubious. At best.

With the success of the "piracy is stealing" marketing deal the industry has done, I'm surprised the police haven't tried something similar. "Not wearing a seatbelt is murder" is about as accurate.

Both are wrong, but that does not mean both are equatable.

problem though > intention goes out the window as soon as you sell something if a sell you a shoe and you like to use it as a hammer it bloody well is a hammer. if if you put a nice little eula piece of whatever with it its on the disk, you bought the disk, thus, not stealing. legally it IS correct. ethically, is another thing. then again, ehtically dlc on disk is retarded. and also incorrect. so hey it evens out.

 

[maninahat]

Stealing as defined by whom? Laws are made by people. People are dumb, panicky animals. So are so many of the laws they make.

My answer? Don't give a damn about the ethical implications of the situation and enjoy yourself.

Hope you stay so chirpy if I rob your house or steal your computer. After all, you are just another one of those people to me, so I'm fine to do so by your logic.

 

[let's rock]

Legaly, yes. Do I think it should be? No. Why the hell did they put it on the disk if they didn't want people to do this?

 

[Elzam]

like I said it's not Theft, it's illegal, but it's NOT theft

http://shibli.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/piracy-is-not-a-theft1.jpg

 

[jpoon]

Nope, I would do it, but I can't be bothered to really give a shit about what the greedy bastards would say.

 

[EternalFacepalm]

You're not stealing anything at all. It's not "theft" in any way, shape or form. Are you removing something from someone that they own to make it your own? No? Then it's not theft in my opinion.
And if it's on the disk, go ahead.

 

[Mr.Amakir]

No it's not, if you can access it by editing .ini files then it is not theft at all, at least where i am from since EULA's are not legally binding..

 

[thahat]

I hate to play the devils advocate here. But all of those saying no are wrong. Legally when you are buying a new game, you are buying only a license to use that software, not the actual software itself. If you unlock the content without paying EA you are stealing. There are no grey areas, no if or buts. It is stealing fullstop.

On the subject of DLC on the disc/DLC in new updates. I would like to point out that in the case of multi-player games this is a necessity, else you'll end up splitting your fanbase into "those who can afford DLC" And "those who can't" with little to no interaction between the two. For single player only games, yeah, the practise is completely retarded and should be stopped as it only causes incidents like the OP. Putting DLC on the discs of single player games is like giving a small child a loaded gun without a safety catch. Things are going to get ugly quickly.

Yeah the system sucks, I know that. But when we're talking about tiny little things like character outfits and maybe a new map or two. It really does seem too much like spoilt kids crying that mommy (i.e. the games companies) won't give them new toys for free.

problem is that you actually buy 2 things. the physical container. e.g. the disc. and also a 'you can play this!' note, pretymuch. the gray area stems from the point of you ALSO own the disc. the fact that it has bits and bytes on it that 'magically' tell your pc to do stuff is a nice bonus. that this 'thing' your pc does looks verry muchly so like a game, and that its owner e.g. the 'i' in the story changed some of the little bits and suddly it did something extra is not something illigal. were the owner to NOT have a disc, and downloaded a game, with a note of 'you can only play this bit' THEN it would ahve been different. well. here in the netherlands anyway. but then again, you can legally download games here anyway. just not upload em XD

 

[Katana314]

Hmmmmm, interesting take.

I'm very anti-piracy and all, but I think companies should have very much acknowledged that this is a risk of having DLC on the disc. If they want to "restrict" it, make it something you attain ownership of, have people download it.

 

[Reallink]

Yes it is. It's annoying that they don't support the DLC through steam, but you should be paying for the service, so it is stealing. I don't like the first day DLC approach, but that is EA's choice, and it's not our right as consumer's to find a back door that suits us.

 

[Ilyak1986]

Stealing as defined by whom? Laws are made by people. People are dumb, panicky animals. So are so many of the laws they make.

My answer? Don't give a damn about the ethical implications of the situation and enjoy yourself.

Hope you stay so chirpy if I rob your house or steal your computer. After all, you are just another one of those people to me, so I'm fine to do so by your logic.

LOL I have nothing here but an outdated one and a half year old laptop that turns into a microwave if it runs starcraft 2 on anything above low settings that you might get $400 for selling to some computer pawn shop and a bunch of bargain-priced clothes. I live on ramen, lean pockets, and flavored seltzer water.

Feel like robbing me? My physical possessions are next to worthless.

So yeah, I'm just another one of those people, but if you're going to rob someone, at least rob someone who has something worth stealing...

 

[Snotnarok]

Actually no you're not stealing, nothing was taken from EA and they have nothing to 'miss'. However I do feel like you're sticking it to them for having poor DLC choices.

I pirated Farcry 2, while I actually own the game, to avoid the stupid fucking DRM they put on the game. So I have it, serial number and all(came with my Video Card ages ago no less), I instead use my copy how backwards is that??

Errr, what DRM? I own Far Cry 2 on steam and have not encountered any such security measure.

Anyway, yes, he did take away from EA. He took a DLC that he should have otherwise paid them for. Whether or not he would have paid the price is irrelevant: he took what was theirs without any formal transfer of ownership.

You mean the DRM they list right on the steam store page? 5 Machine activation limit.
I have the disc and it has the same DRM. It doesn't just count computers it counts ANY hardware changes so when I changed my ram, video card then my motherboard I basically ran out of installs. It constantly monitors your system for changes, so it slows down your system basically.