Bootleg games. Your feelings

[plasmid303]

Very well said. You majored in philosophy, didn't you?

I wanted to, but I prophetized the current economy/job market and changed my major accordingly.

Speaking of the economy, piracy not only hurts the publishers who set game prices, but the hard working developers who really deserve the money for crafting the games we love. It really sucks that so many great dev houses have closed shop late last year and this year because of the economic downturn. Piracy, of course, has an indirect impact on that. But on the other side of the coin, people are pirating even more because of the economy.

 

[iron.jedi83]

I think I'm going to start getting games for free. All the new PC games have "STEAM" and other crap that ruin your compter, and some you can only install 3 times. Just a bunch of crap. I bought Empire Total War, but I'm going to return it and download it. I'm not putting Steam on my PC.

what's STEAM?

 

[darthviper107]

Steam is a program by Valve (the company behind Half-Life 2, Portal, Team Fortress, Left 4 Dead) that allows users to purchase video games online (which are then downloaded to their computer) and also serves as an anti-piracy measure since you have to use the program to play the games online (and to start all games for the first time) it basically keeps a registration of any games that use it on an account. For customers it's very useful since you can easily keep track of games and play the games on multiple computers (since the only way to play them is with your steam account you wouldn't give that away).

 

[karamazov80]

I think it is wrong, unless the system and games are no longer produced.

 

[iron.jedi83]

Steam is a program by Valve (the company behind Half-Life 2, Portal, Team Fortress, Left 4 Dead) that allows users to purchase video games online (which are then downloaded to their computer) and also serves as an anti-piracy measure since you have to use the program to play the games online (and to start all games for the first time) it basically keeps a registration of any games that use it on an account. For customers it's very useful since you can easily keep track of games and play the games on multiple computers (since the only way to play them is with your steam account you wouldn't give that away).

cool thanks for clearing that up, dont play computer games so didnt know what that was

 

[KitFisto]

Well, the main reason for why a lot of companies charge $60 a pop, is to make up for their lost sales because of illegal downloads/bootlegs. If it weren't for the bootleggers stealing billions of dollars per year from legit gaming corporations, we'd see drastically lower prices across the board.
Bootlegging is selfish and it hurts everyone -- the corporations, and ESPECIALLY the consumers.

I don't believe that for a second.

 

[darthviper107]

A lot of pirates do it simply because they can--pirated content doesn't automatically mean lower sales, most people wouldn't buy the stuff anyway if they weren't able to pirate it.

 

[tma1c]

Yeah... until you get caught. Or when you die and meet God - then you'll have to give him an account for why you stole all of those games .

well im over 1000 games stolen and counting...why don't you turn me in?

 

[Solidus]

I don't believe that for a second.

In the words of Greg Gutfeld, "If you don't agree with me on this, then you sir, are worse than Hitler!"

That's all.

 

[KitFisto]

In the words of Greg Gutfeld, "If you don't agree with me on this, then you sir, are worse than Hitler!"

That's all.

Anyway, I don't think prices would lower at all. The corporations would not pass the "savings" on to their customers. They would just make more profit. If you honestly think corporate executives would spare us of high prices if piratin g stopped then I'd say you're a bit of a sucker.

 

[Solidus]

Anyway, I don't think prices would lower at all. The corporations would not pass the "savings" on to their customers. They would just make more profit. If you honestly think corporate executives would spare us of high prices if piratin g stopped then I'd say you're a bit of a sucker.

My question to you is, why wouldn't they lower prices, if piracy stopped? As companies loose billions of dollars of potential profit due to piracy, business expenses increase, and their ability to pass savings on to consumers decreases dramatically.

Common, even an anti-capitalist guy such as yourself should be able to understand that. Nah... you just don't want to admit that I'm right .

 

[dr_teng]

I like supporting developers and believe they deserve the money, so I purchase games, that's pretty much it. I used to pirate a lot of games when I was younger, but eventually it just seemed to me that I get so much enjoyment out of it and I give nothing back, which was kind of ^^^^ty.

I don't really have anything against pirates, though I find it a tad ridiculous when they go to huge lengths to justify their actions. If someone wants to pirate games because they don't want to pay money, so be it, that's a simple enough answer.

However, I doubt reducing piracy would reduce game prices whatsoever. As far as I know, the PS3 still can't be pirated, where's the reduced game prices? They charge as much as the market will bear, and always have. We're a little better off now in that there are a variety of games (indie games on steam, downloadable games for 360/PS3, certain full console/portable titles) that are being released at lower price points, so that's a positive start.

 

[tomandshell]

Voting for "It's stealing and it's wrong" may sound like I'm getting on a soapbox, but that's just where I landed on the issue. I don't have any bootleg games, nor have I in the past. If I were an artist making my living through the sales of my work, I would probably be pretty vocal about paying money to the person who created something and not to the person who distributes it illegally.

 

[Solidus]

I like supporting developers and believe they deserve the money, so I purchase games, that's pretty much it. I used to pirate a lot of games when I was younger, but eventually it just seemed to me that I get so much enjoyment out of it and I give nothing back, which was kind of ^^^^ty.

I don't really have anything against pirates, though I find it a tad ridiculous when they go to huge lengths to justify their actions. If someone wants to pirate games because they don't want to pay money, so be it, that's a simple enough answer.

However, I doubt reducing piracy would reduce game prices whatsoever. As far as I know, the PS3 still can't be pirated, where's the reduced game prices? They charge as much as the market will bear, and always have. We're a little better off now in that there are a variety of games (indie games on steam, downloadable games for 360/PS3, certain full console/portable titles) that are being released at lower price points, so that's a positive start.

Sony's problem with the PS3 is a totally different issue. You're forgetting that Sony lost billions of dollars back in 2007, due to sluggish sales of the PS3. They were also selling the PS3 at a loss - meaning that their manufacturing costs were higher than the retail price that the PS3 was being sold (per unit).

Poor marketing on Sony's part, expensive technology in the PS3, and selling the system at a loss resulted in higher prices of the PS3 games (as compared to the Wii or 360). The PS3 consoles have been getting cheaper though, so that's a good thing.

 

[Darth_Fatso]

I personally don't care. If a game is too expensive for me I just borrow it from a friend or rent it and if I like it, I either save up for one or wait till the price drops. That being said I don't look down on those who purchase bootlegs either.

 

[dr_teng]

Sony's problem with the PS3 is a totally different issue. You're forgetting that Sony lost billions of dollars back in 2007, due to sluggish sales of the PS3. They were also selling the PS3 at a loss - meaning that their manufacturing costs were higher than the retail price that the PS3 was being sold (per unit).

No, I'm not forgetting that, and I am quite familiar with the business model that Sony/Microsoft use in launching their consoles. Sony's losses on the system are completely irrevelant to the price that developers set as their suggested MSRP for their games (which carry the same MSRP as 360 games).

You'll be hard pressed to find any examples of developers not charging the max the market will reasonably bear no matter how much or how little piracy happened on the system.

 

[Solidus]

No, I'm not forgetting that, and I am quite familiar with the business model that Sony/Microsoft use in launching their consoles. Sony's losses on the system are completely irrevelant to the price that developers set as their suggested MSRP for their games (which carry the same MSRP as 360 games).

You'll be hard pressed to find any examples of developers not charging the max the market will reasonably bear no matter how much or how little piracy happened on the system.

1. No, it's not irrelevant at all. Sony and Microsoft still have to make a profit on the games from third-party developers, and those developers have to adjust their prices accordingly.

2. What is the "max market price" exactly? Any why don't you believe that piracy has an effect on the pricing of games? Think about it for a sec. If corporations didn't suffer any significant loses/revenue due to piracy, then why would they waste so much of their time and millions (upon millions) of dollars campaigning against it?

 

[KitFisto]

My question to you is, why wouldn't they lower prices, if piracy stopped? As companies loose billions of dollars of potential profit due to piracy, business expenses increase, and their ability to pass savings on to consumers decreases dramatically.

Common, even an anti-capitalist guy such as yourself should be able to understand that. Nah... you just don't want to admit that I'm right .

First, don't ever call me anti-capitalist. I am pro-capitalist. I am just pointing out that corporations could not care less about their customers in the long run. They are ALL about the bottom dollar and their profit margins as they should be. More profit means a bigger bonus check for them every year. if pirating stopped these guys would not drop prices on their products. They would just count their new profits.

 

[Solidus]

First, don't ever call me anti-capitalist. I am pro-capitalist. I am just pointing out that corporations could not care less about their customers in the long run. They are ALL about the bottom dollar and their profit margins as they should be. More profit means a bigger bonus check for them every year. if pirating stopped these guys would not drop prices on their products. They would just count their new profits.

And you claim to be a capitalist (a supporter of the free market) with those kind of ideals?

 

[Matt S]

Voted for 'Stealing.' Way I look at this: people buy less legit copies, publishers lose money and refuse to make new and unique IPs.....I mean, I don't want Resident Evil 29 and Gears of Wars 13....