Pc Gamers, Do You pirate Your games?

PogMoThoin

This poll is for Pc gamers only.

I admit I pirate most games to try them out, if I enjoy them I buy them to support the developer. Please answer truthfully.

Edit: please tell me if You any of the options above should be edited in any way and could someone else start a similar poll for consoles (I'm not a console owner, it doesn't interest me)

super_furry

No I don't, but most of the PC games I play are online games.

Rev Hellfire

PogMoThoin wrote: »

I admit I pirate most games to try them out, if I enjoy them I buy them to support the developer. Please answer truthfully.

I totally get where you're coming from, if only you could get a demonstration version to let you 'test' the game.

As for the question I don't pirate games for two main reasons,
a) I'm keen to avoid nasties sneaking in on my machine and
b) I've a limited amount of time so really only get games I really want.

Mr Bloat

I used to do it a lot for the pc. Also had a chipped (original) Xbox and used to pirate games for that too. I found that, because I was able to get everything I wanted for both of them, I had no mass in any of the games I was playing and didn't enjoy them at all. I would only play them for a short while and the slightest thing would make me cast it away for something newer. I should have been in gaming heaven but I wasn't enjoying it at all.

Now I have a non-chipped 360 and I buy all my console and pc games. I still pirate some pc games but I (and I know loads of people say this) honestly go and buy them if they are good. For instance, I got Fallout 3 on bittorrent a few days ago but will be buying it today. I rent the console games for a night to decide if they are any good and if they are, I buy them. If I could rent a pc game for a night instead of downloading it to try it, I would.

So there's a cautionary tale for you, kids. Too much of anything is bad, as they say!

Kiith

I used to pirate all my games in college. I'd say it was because i didnt have any money, and couldnt afford to buy them, but that was just a convienent excuse. In the last two years or so though, i have stopped pirating any decent games. I like to support the decelopers now, and as i have money, there is no decent reason not to buy them. I downloaded Fallout 3 earlier in the week and after loving it. decided it was worth buying. Just back from town with Fallout 3 and Red Alert 3. See you all next week :pac:

I did pirate Space Siege, and was damn glad i hadnt wasted my money on it though

Max_Damage

I pirate ALL my games. Being a poor college student, costs have to be cut back.

Plus, 2MB/sec. download speed in college, can't resist that...

Mena

When I started PC gaming, back in the early 90's, I pirated games. Then I grew up, realised I was stealing and since have purchased everything. Mostly do online games now so it's not an issue but I wouldn't even even consider it now.

Vegeta

yarrrrrrr pirates

uglyjohn

im the same as most people it seems, i used to pirate a bit in college due to fast download speeds and because it was so easy.

now im living at home again and working so i can afford to buy games. i wouldnt bother pirating and only buy games if i can justify the cost vs expected hours of fun.

L31mr0d

I still think labeling it piracy was the worst thing they could of done. They should of called it something like "Coward Theft" :rolleyes:

BeciMester

I try my best not to pirate anymore, but there are a few occasions it seems almost necessary. Take Fallout 3: I'm in love with the first two, and will probably buy F3 as well, but first I want to see how it runs on my pc. And since they won't release a demo I'll have to get it off the net before I reach for my wallet. If you could return pc games I wouldn't have to do this. Also, there is the securom thing, which I don't allow on my comp, and it happened before that I bought a game and subsequently downloaded the drm-free version. Just my 2c.

PogMoThoin

Wow, Interesting, less than 20% of people in this poll never pirate :eek: I expected much higher (maybe its too early in the poll tho)

BTW, The demo of Tomb Raider Underground is out on pc today, I'll probably try this as I don't expect to like the full game, but this gives me a way of trying it on my system to see how it runs/looks (and perv a bit over Lara:D).
I downloaded the Beta of COD-WAW and I can tell You now I won't be buying it or pirating the full release. I feel this is the best way developers can combat piracy, beta's and demo's.

BeciMester

There were a few occasions as well where the demo looked and played fine but the final product didn't because of last minute changes or god knows what reason. That's why I like to see the full game not the demo.

L31mr0d

PogMoThoin wrote: »

Wow, Interesting, less than 20% of people in this poll never pirate :eek: I expected much higher (maybe its too early in the poll tho)

I'm more amazed that people are openly admitting to it. I guess, like others, I started when I was in college. I ran the compsoc and we needed new games every few weeks to keep the members interested but we just didn't have the budget to be buying 20+ copies of a game to run on all our PC's, and we also had the problem of people stealing the discs and serial codes.

First it started with buying 1 game then installing it on every PC and getting the serials online, then someone would just bring in their copy of the game, then we'd just download it ourselves.

Piracy of PC games has become so simple over the years. I remember when I first started I had to open the side of my PC and physically unplug my Optical drive, there where a load of other applications that needed to be ran also. Most of the time you had to wait a good few months before someone found a crack. Also the cracks where riddled with viruses and the sites you had to get them from where packed with spyware.

Now you can usually get the game before its street release date and it will usually run better than the official release as there'll be no serial prompts, copy protection or requirements to have the disk in the drive... etc. You also won't feel ripped off or angry when the game craps out on you and won't run on your PC or requires multiple patches to even function normally.

That being said, if I could rent PC games I would. I rent every game that I play on my PS3.

Cuddlesworth

BeciMester wrote: »

There were a few occasions as well where the demo looked and played fine but the final product didn't because of last minute changes or god knows what reason. That's why I like to see the full game not the demo.

I said the same thing about the bird I raped last night. I just decided I would try her out first in case, turned out she screamed a lot so it was a no go for a future relationship. But hey, I've got good justification for doing it. I didn't want to take the risk of putting some effort into something that effects loads of peoples lives, instead I decided to ruin it for my own amusement.

youcancallmeal

I used to do it to see if my PC could handle the games well. Only when I couldn't get a demo though. These days online play can really extend a game's life so I pretty much always buy them now.

PogMoThoin

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

I said the same thing about the bird I raped last night. I just decided I would try her out first in case, turned out she screamed a lot so it was a no go for a future relationship. But hey, I've got good justification for doing it. I didn't want to take the risk of putting some effort into something that effects loads of peoples lives, instead I decided to ruin it for my own amusement.

:rolleyes: Thats a stupid comparrison, can a mod please delete it, it adds nothing to this thread

L31mr0d

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

I said the same thing about the bird I raped last night. I just decided I would try her out first in case, turned out she screamed a lot so it was a no go for a future relationship. But hey, I've got good justification for doing it. I didn't want to take the risk of putting some effort into something that effects loads of peoples lives, instead I decided to ruin it for my own amusement.

KilOit

Wow im pretty surprised with how many pirate, id say it's even higher with countrys with faster internet speeds.

K.O.Kiki

I only pirate out-of-print games (e.g. visual novels that came out 10yrs ago, stuff from dead devs/publishers).

Does emulation count as piracy?

L31mr0d

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Does emulation count as piracy?

yes

pixelburp

I don't pirate my games anymore for one simple reason - they're too damn big for my connection / cap to handle. For instance, the torrent for Fallout 3 comes in at around 8/9Gig, on a 2Mb it's not worth killing my connection for that long for a game I'm willing to pay for anyway.

Now, on the other hand, if there's some old game I wouldn't mind playing for nostalgia's sake, like Fallout 2, Syndicate etc, or even more recent games that would have fit on 2 CDs, then yes I would be inclined to seek them out via nefarious means.

Sarky

L31mr0d wrote: »

we needed new games every few weeks to keep the members interested but we just didn't have the budget to be buying 20+ copies of a game to run on all our PC's, and we also had the problem of people stealing the discs and serial codes.

Yeah, curse those game-stealing ****, eh? How could they?! Can't trust anyone these days.

I don't think I will ever get tired of people trying to explain why it's ok for THEM to steal something. It's comically tragic.

I used to pirate a bit when I was younger, but I grew up. If you're not desperate enough to have the latest game right now then there's no problem worrying if it's a turkey when you can go over to someone else's house and see for yourself.

goodlad

I pirate some games. It just depends on the game.
If its something i want to play online with mates like dawn of war, red alert 3 etc.. then i biy the game to save hassle.

But for games i am only going to play single player in i just steal it :eek:

death1234567

Nope I don't pirate games, maybe I should start though I feel like I am missing out now.

Downloading a 5-10Gb file on my connection would just be hassle and you have the problem with virsuses and other "presents" that you get from torrents/cracks.

Most new PC games are €35 on play.com. I am willing to pay that for something that will give me 10 hours+ entertainment (minimum). Its a bargain in today's world. I only buy the games that get good player and critic reviews though. And online play is a big draw too so its just easier having a legit copy for that.

One big problem now though is that you can't sell your old games on ebay once you've finished then due to DRM. I can't blame the dev's for trying to stop piracy though, its costing them alot of money. Although current DRM doesn't seem to work, spore,etc. were easy to pirate.

L31mr0d

Sarky wrote: »

Yeah, curse those game-stealing ****, eh? How could they?! Can't trust anyone these days.

I don't think I will ever get tired of people trying to explain why it's ok for THEM to steal something. It's comically tragic.

I used to pirate a bit when I was younger, but I grew up.

I wasn't explaining why it's ok to pirate, I was explaining how it started. At least our stories are keeping you amused though... see there's one benefit to piracy, without it you wouldn't have all your comically tragic stories to read

thebman

After buying Spore from Direct2drive, I will be from here on in pirating all Pc games I can't buy on Steam.

monument

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

I said the same thing about the bird I raped last night. I just decided I would try her out first in case, turned out she screamed a lot so it was a no go for a future relationship. But hey, I've got good justification for doing it. I didn't want to take the risk of putting some effort into something that effects loads of peoples lives, instead I decided to ruin it for my own amusement.

Post any thing like that again and you will be taking a 2-3 week holiday from here.

NOTE: Please do not reply to this. Back on topic etc.

Danbo!

Did download in college but not anymore, as said above, not worth the hassle connection-wise.

Also, I assume its ok to 'crack' a game when I buy it so I dont have to change discs when changing games etc.. as long as I keep it to myself, right?

seraphimvc

well dont play pc games that much due to nowadays most games come out on console - if it is a RPG/ACT i will buy it on console,STR/FPS defo on pc.since my gaming time is getting less and i only buy the games i really want(very few of them),just get them in shop or mostly use online cheaper price seller.

used to do lots of pirated game back in secondary school - no money plus very cheap and easily get one.the games i downloaded mostly are ROM or pc games are less than 4Gb.i'd rather pay to get it instantly in shop if i really want it.unless....normal broadband speed becomes 100Mbps then......

BeciMester

pixelburp wrote: »

Now, on the other hand, if there's some old game I wouldn't mind playing for nostalgia's sake, like Fallout 2, Syndicate etc, or even more recent games that would have fit on 2 CDs, then yes I would be inclined to seek them out via nefarious means.

You don't need to anymore - there is this site www.gog.com where you can buy old games DRM-free, that's where I got Fallout 1-2 just recently. No, I'm not affiliated with them, I just love the whole idea of their site.

TheDoc

Will buy the odd big game that warrants a purchase.

But i pirate most games because A) i refuse to pay what in ireland is rip off prices

and

I'm sick of being let down by crap,

pretty much the same reason i dont go cinema anymore, too much disappointment and waste of money.

thebman

This is becoming worryingly true for Pc gaming:
http://xkcd.com/488/

Sephiroth_dude

Never have and I never will,I think its wrong,if you want to play a game,then you should buy it and support the industry.

eVeNtInE

This post has been deleted.

MOH

Bought loads of games over the years, never even thought about pirating a game until last year, and the whole Bioshock limited activation thing.

Disk checks are fine, having to go online as part of the install process is something that bugs the hell out of me - was on dial-up when I got HL2 and took ages. But limited installs is a whole other story. I'll never buy another game that implements any kind of online check with limited installs. And I'll be unlikely to buy games using any form of Securom, even if it's disk check only, since at the end of the day you're then supporting Securom and their DRM crap.

Aside from Securom installing itself silently on your machine, being difficult to get rid of, and dictating to you what you can and can't have running, limited install games are more expensive, because there's no way you'll be able to sell them on second hand for anything near as much as you'd normally get.

I'd never bought the whole "I'm pirating it as a demo" excuse. If you go to see a film in the cinema and it's rubbish, tough. If you buy a game and don't like it, you can generally sell it on in the first week or two and recover a fair bit of what you spent on it. But not any more, since publishers are using DRM to kill the second hand gaming market, whjich is what this is really about.

Games that I would have bought in the last year if they hadn't Securom:
Bioshock, Mass Effect, Crysis, Crysis Warhead, Farcry 2.

I bought Spore without realising it had Securom. I could have handled the fact that it was rubbish, could probably have sold it for €20 in the first week, but no chance with all the Securom controversy.

And I'm fairly peeved at Bethesda at the moment. I was dithering but deciding against Fallout 3, but when I heard the whole non-invasive DRM spiel, I thought fair dues to at least one company for not including this rubbish, I'll support that. By the time I heard it had Securom, my pre-order had shipped. At least it's not limited installs, and I don't know how many people have had issues with genuine copies of the games, but it's still Securom.

So it looks like I won't be paying for any more EA games. Or anything else in the Farcry/Crysis series.

On the other hand, I'm more likely to buy games I wouldn't have before if they're confirmed after release not to have any kind of invasive DRM, so they'll be getting my money, and I'll be broadening my horizons a bit. The only losers are publishers who treat their customers like criminals.

GothPunk

Seems there are quite a few people who pirated because they were poor students. I'd usually just wait a few months for the game to drop in price rather than pirate it. Myself and the girlfriend usually go halfs on a game, install it on both our systems and use no-cd cracks. I guess that is piracy, but I think any reasonable person wouldn't have a problem with us sharing our games. Kind of like L31mr0d's mix tape example from the Spore DRM thread.

I think it's a bit of a null point to say that you pirate because of Irelands rip off prices when there are plenty of online retailers happy to sell you games cheaply. With free postage even. I don't actually care whether someone pirates or not, but the weird justifications are always amusing.

magick

like someone said before ill do it to see how it runs on my pc and if its really an enjoyable game ill go back to ill buy it.

Sadly this didnt work out for Undying, best halloween game ever!

ShadowHearth

Well when i was still living in lithuania, i was moustly pirating games. But I had bought licensed starcarft, warcrat3,diabl2+ lod. I bought them becouse i whanted play online.

Now i live here and i make enought money to buy games, so i had newer pirated since i came here. And honestly i cba downloading, and dont whant to risk get some worms on pc with cracks and key generators.

Now you can judge me as much as you whant, that i am/(was) pirate. But when you earn 100eu per month and game costs 50 eu... Well i pirated...

Now to all those who will say: "thats not an excuse!". Well... i dont look for one, i liked playing games, and i do love now. And that was only way to play it.

If you defending developers so hard, i have to say this: i still whant to find way how to get mine money back for crapy games i have bought: juiced,SPORE,age of conan( thats just the ones i remembered on the spot) . So i think we even now...

P.s. i newer pirated from blizzard, and i newer will.

Krieg

I used to never pirate until last week when Far cry 2 was released. At the moment, far cry 2 is the only game Ive pirated. When I started playing it I was really impressed and planned to buy it, but after the third hour, the mediocrity hit

I remember I used to get a good few hours out of each game (40+ hours)
But the majority of the games I have purchased in the last 18 months got about 5-10hrs play and then placed on the shelf.

So I think Im going to go down the road of cowardly theft.

Holsten

Yes, sometimes.

thebman

PogMoThoin wrote: »

Wow, Interesting, less than 20% of people in this poll never pirate :eek: I expected much higher (maybe its too early in the poll tho)

No, I think you'll find in the gamer section of a single website that you will inevitabley find a biased poll.

Its like going to a heroin enthusiast forum and asking have they ever stolen to purchase a fix.

People here are addicted to games and no matter how many they buy they'll always want more they can't afford espeically given how over priced games actually are.

Overheal

I'll gladly buy a game thats good value. But when a company goes around and becomes an asshat about it sure, I will kick them in the ass. EA in particular. Theyve pissed me off in recent years for worthless tech support after I spent $50 on the C&C Decade pack. Basically became a plastic cheese cutter :mad:

MooseJam

I download the new releases, over the last week or so I downloaded FC2 , Fallout3, brothers in arms HH, X3, Dead space and a few others, if I was to buy them they would have cost me 300 plus, madness absolute madness, I don't think any game is worth 50 notes, don't care how good it is, I do buy lots of games though, as soon as they have reached the 14.99 section I'll pick up a copy if it's good.

Cuddlesworth

PogMoThoin wrote: »

:rolleyes: Thats a stupid comparrison, can a mod please delete it, it adds nothing to this thread

L31mr0d wrote: »

I'm pointing out that no matter what way you decide to try justify it to yourself, its still wrong. The same excuses are used throughout every unlawful act in society but because this is seen as a white collar crime people seem to think its something that doesn't matter.

When you pirate a game you put people out of jobs, you are taking something for free that groups of people spent years of their time dedicated too. When I was immature I pirated games, now I don't. I rate a game a much better investment then a night out which costs me more.

Sorry if anybody took it the wrong way.

steviec

MooseJam wrote: »

I download the new releases, over the last week or so I downloaded FC2 , Fallout3, brothers in arms HH, X3, Dead space and a few others, if I was to buy them they would have cost me 300 plus, madness absolute madness, I don't think any game is worth 50 notes, don't care how good it is, I do buy lots of games though, as soon as they have reached the 14.99 section I'll pick up a copy if it's good.

If paying for them is "madness", don't play them.

Apart from anything else you can't possibly have enough time to actually enjoy all those games at once, so if you were actually paying you'd pick out the best ones and make the most of them.

I hate the whole "it's too expensive" argument. I find lots of things too expensive, so I do without. I don't steal. If people do without what they can't afford, it gives manufacturers incentive to bring price down and find new markets. If people who can't (won't) afford it just steal instead, then there's no point bringing the price down because most of them will continue deluding themselves that stealing is morally ok regardless.

PC games tend to be typically 10 or 20 quid cheaper than console games. That doesn't stop them selling far less and being pirated far more. It's nothing to do with price - it's to do with paying for something versus not paying for something.

MooseJam

steviec wrote: »

It's nothing to do with price - it's to do with paying for something versus not paying for something.

I don't know about that, if the new releases were priced 9.99 I'd definately buy them, probably not all at once but over time

deceit

I never pirate games but i can understand people pirating games to get around the likes of the securom or steam crap. I only found out about securom from this thread but hate having to go online to set up some of my games, my games machine is an offline only machine as with work commitments dont get time to play online. I never bought the pc version of bio shock because of the limited activation but bought a 360 and a copy of it to play it.

dreamers75

PogMoThoin wrote: »

This poll is for Pc gamers only.

I admit I pirate most games to try them out, if I enjoy them I buy them to support the developer. Please answer truthfully.

Edit: please tell me if You any of the options above should be edited in any way and could someone else start a similar poll for consoles (I'm not a console owner, it doesn't interest me)

What complete bollox, you buy them only if you need to play them online, like everyone else does.

tman

Price is never really a factor for me. I have no problem handing over 40+ notes for a 360 or PS3 game, and PC games are no different (only cheaper).
Copy protection/DRM is never really an issue either. While most people here make a big song and dance about it, for the majority of users it will just go unnoticed.

With a 20Mb uncapped connection, it's getting increasingly harder to wait for a new release. FarCry 2 for example was downloaded and installed in less than an hour (before the street date), meanwhile I'm still waiting for my "preorder" copy to arrive in the post...
I guess I could use services like Steam, but I'd rather have something physical to show for my money

There are some games that I have absolutely no qualms about pirating however. The most recent NFS for example (which I never even got around to playing anyway)

mayordenis

I don't pirate games as a rule but I'm one of the people who has really been let down by retarded DRM

I payed for Spore and Far Cry 2 - Special Editions of both might I add - and was not able to play either them day 1 as the cd-key were not registerable - and my EA account was cock-blocking spore.
I still have no wish to pirate games but if they don't stop ****ing me around I'll just abandon PC gaming and pray daily that the publishers suffer painful death.

Age of Conan: Hybornian Adventures had Securom on the disc . . . . . . .