Void(null) said:
Yet every time someone has downloaded a Pirated Version of the game to work around a scratched disc, a dodgy cd key, bad drm or poor tech support... is yet another number added into the big pile of "OMG peoples R stealing our game111111 Die PIRATE SCUM DIE!!!"
It doesnt matter what your individual intentions are, or if you have already paid for the game... publishers see every pirated copy as a 100% lost sale.
In the eyes of Ubisoft and other publishers there is no difference between:
1: Buying the game, and downloading the ISO if you damage the disk.
2: Downloading the game as a demo, seeing if it works, if you like it and then deciding to buy it.
3: Downloading an overpriced game on release and buying it once the game falls to a price point you feel is fair.
4: Downloading a version after purchasing a copy because the publishers tech support has failed you in some way, be that DRM error or other.
5: Downloading a game you would never buy yourself, but want to try because you can and its free to torrent.
6: Outright stealing the game.
It doesn't matter what the individuals intentions are, it all gets thrown into the same pile and has the exact same effect on how publishers see the numbers.
Oh, I don't recommend downloading full games via the interwebs (unless it's via a legitimate digital delivery service) in any case, I just think that one could
realistically be perceived as something other than a jackass if engaging in said piracy for [insert actually sort of valid reason here].
If you're "pirating" a game to make the damn thing work after you bought it, that typically involves breaking the copy protection/DRM scheme and doesn't involve downloading a pirated copy at all, just a replacement EXE or what have you. The only reason you'd even
need a full illegal copy of the game would be if your physical media was damaged, but if you
just purchased it, the one thing you can definitely do with opened PC software is return it for a replacement, so that's not even a valid reason. Essentially, there's never any reason to download a pirate copy of a game if you've just bought that game.
And circumventing the locks they place on software that keep paying customers from using it does not add to corporations "total pirated games" figure, because you
aren't downloading pirated copies of their games, just 3rd party modifications you run
on top of their games (that those modifications violate the EULA is another issue entirely).
So yeah, if you're doing that, not only are you not a douchebag pirate, you aren't even being
perceived as one by the suits using piracy statistics to falsely claim huge profit losses.
But my original caveat was that using the illegitimate copy merely to test whether or not it can run properly on your rig is a defensible enough reason to resort to software piracy: in this specific case, you shouldn't be doing that anyways - it's only
morally justifiable if you would then go on and buy it if the pirate copy works, and the point is that you aren't
going to buy anything from Ubisoft, period.
So definitely don't pirate stuff from them as that sort of defeats the purpose of ignoring them to their death/sudden reacquisition of functioning brains causing policy reversals.
