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I have just had this idea. Don't really know where it came from but i'll write it down. Don't know if it is worth the read but if you have time please read it. The other day I wrote a topic about piracy, In everyones view piracy seems to be a bad thing but there are others who disagree with everything that has been said before. They are the criminals who copy the games and sell them on to make themselves a pretty penny (usually quite alot of pretty pennys).
So why am I telling you this, don't really know. I myself used to copy games, before you judge me please read on.
It was a long time ago, I was about 12 maybe 13 and I owned an Amiga. At that stage everybody I knew that owned an Amiga copied games and gave them to friends. I didn't even think twice about doing it as I didn't know it was wrong. Sometime I used to go to a market in Glasgow on the weekends to get copies of the newest games at dirt-cheap prices. These guys made a living out of selling games and it wasn't until a few years later I realised just how bad piracy was and the real effects of piracy.
Piracy is a major problem but its a problem that will never go away. No matter how good the technology to stop it is there will always be a way round it. The main problem lies within society itself. Until the people who buy and sell them realise that its wrong it will never stop. So why am I going on about this, The other day I was walking through the street and a guy asked me if I wanted to buy a PS2 game. It obviously wasn't his and since you can't copy them (yet) how would he make his money, he steals then sells them for £10 less than the shops. I turned him down and walked away. I stopped and looked back and waited to see him approach a few more people before a few policeman shouted then chased him and arrested him for stealing.
All this made me think, are some people really that bad, the answer is yes. But is there a victim in all this? Ok so stealing and piracy is wrong but these large companies can afford the effects, if they couldn't then they would stop making games. Do you honestly think if piracy stopped and no longer happened that game prices would drop, I don't.
Im getting a bit side-tracked so I'll get back to the main point. People who copy games. Recently I went back to the market that I used to buy amiga games. I used to buy imports for my PSX (they weren't copies but I don't know if they were stolen or not) The same guys were now selling PSX games (copies) I decided to ask why they sold them.
He had no problems telling me, Here is roughly what he said.
Why should you pay £30 for something you can buy for a fiver. Or with PC software something that costs over £300 that I can sell for £15. This is how I make my money. People copy music onto tapes for friends, copy videos and dowload music and films from the web. What I do is no different other than the software companies make such a big issue over it. If all the money went to the people who made the game It would be fine but it dosn't. It gets split and alot goes to the people who sell it which is wrong. The only reason they make it a big issue is because they are greedy and want more money from people like you gamers. They don't care about you at all.
I wasn't sure if he was just trying to get me to buy games or if he truely ment what he was saying. But how much of it is actualy true. I don't think people understand the true issues of piracy enough. Its wrong plain and simple and more should be done to get this message across to the people, not spent trying to modify hardware to stop it. Also do the developers really care about us, as long as we buy the games they are happy. I'll stop now as I have probably bored you all. : )
Thanks for reading.
AliBoy
So why am I telling you this, don't really know. I myself used to copy games, before you judge me please read on.
It was a long time ago, I was about 12 maybe 13 and I owned an Amiga. At that stage everybody I knew that owned an Amiga copied games and gave them to friends. I didn't even think twice about doing it as I didn't know it was wrong. Sometime I used to go to a market in Glasgow on the weekends to get copies of the newest games at dirt-cheap prices. These guys made a living out of selling games and it wasn't until a few years later I realised just how bad piracy was and the real effects of piracy.
Piracy is a major problem but its a problem that will never go away. No matter how good the technology to stop it is there will always be a way round it. The main problem lies within society itself. Until the people who buy and sell them realise that its wrong it will never stop. So why am I going on about this, The other day I was walking through the street and a guy asked me if I wanted to buy a PS2 game. It obviously wasn't his and since you can't copy them (yet) how would he make his money, he steals then sells them for £10 less than the shops. I turned him down and walked away. I stopped and looked back and waited to see him approach a few more people before a few policeman shouted then chased him and arrested him for stealing.
All this made me think, are some people really that bad, the answer is yes. But is there a victim in all this? Ok so stealing and piracy is wrong but these large companies can afford the effects, if they couldn't then they would stop making games. Do you honestly think if piracy stopped and no longer happened that game prices would drop, I don't.
Im getting a bit side-tracked so I'll get back to the main point. People who copy games. Recently I went back to the market that I used to buy amiga games. I used to buy imports for my PSX (they weren't copies but I don't know if they were stolen or not) The same guys were now selling PSX games (copies) I decided to ask why they sold them.
He had no problems telling me, Here is roughly what he said.
Why should you pay £30 for something you can buy for a fiver. Or with PC software something that costs over £300 that I can sell for £15. This is how I make my money. People copy music onto tapes for friends, copy videos and dowload music and films from the web. What I do is no different other than the software companies make such a big issue over it. If all the money went to the people who made the game It would be fine but it dosn't. It gets split and alot goes to the people who sell it which is wrong. The only reason they make it a big issue is because they are greedy and want more money from people like you gamers. They don't care about you at all.
I wasn't sure if he was just trying to get me to buy games or if he truely ment what he was saying. But how much of it is actualy true. I don't think people understand the true issues of piracy enough. Its wrong plain and simple and more should be done to get this message across to the people, not spent trying to modify hardware to stop it. Also do the developers really care about us, as long as we buy the games they are happy. I'll stop now as I have probably bored you all. : )
Thanks for reading.
AliBoy
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AliBoy wrote:
> sorry bout that. It said connection reset so it posted twice
Yes, now you all know why I post twice sometimes.
> sorry bout that. It said connection reset so it posted twice
Yes, now you all know why I post twice sometimes.
I have a friend who has a friend that gives him copied PC games, that is how my mate gets all these new games, like Black & White and Max Payne....for free!!
And my cousin has a friend who gives him copied PSX games for a fiver! And gives him like 5 for b'days etc.!!
And my cousin has a friend who gives him copied PSX games for a fiver! And gives him like 5 for b'days etc.!!
sorry bout that. It said connection reset so it posted twice
I still think that if piracy was totally wiped out that the industry would change very very little. Prices wouldn't get reduced, wew wouldn't see an increase in games and we would still see some poor ideas get canned.
Even if piracy did stop other problems would probably increase. Stealing games would probably be next. Protesting to developers about game prices may start.
Who knows, if piracy did stop pirices could even go up, they don't need low prices to combat it so they may raise them to obtain more of a profit.
Even if piracy did stop other problems would probably increase. Stealing games would probably be next. Protesting to developers about game prices may start.
Who knows, if piracy did stop pirices could even go up, they don't need low prices to combat it so they may raise them to obtain more of a profit.
I still think that if piracy was totally wiped out that the industry would change very very little. Prices wouldn't get reduced, wew wouldn't see an increase in games and we would still see some poor ideas get canned.
Even if piracy did stop other problems would probably increase. Stealing games would probably be next. Protesting to developers about game prices may start.
Who knows, if piracy did stop pirices could even go up, they don't need low prices to combat it so they may raise them to obtain more of a profit.
Even if piracy did stop other problems would probably increase. Stealing games would probably be next. Protesting to developers about game prices may start.
Who knows, if piracy did stop pirices could even go up, they don't need low prices to combat it so they may raise them to obtain more of a profit.
What am I your search engine or something?
All the information you need is on the web. Go find it.
FM: *snap*
All the information you need is on the web. Go find it.
FM: *snap*
Infact, most developers are merging and expanding surely? Square have just made a multi-million dollar film for goodness sake!
Which companies are going bust from month to month?
I can't think of any - except the 22 people at Ravensoft.
I can't think of any - except the 22 people at Ravensoft.
FantasyMeister wrote:
Sony
> don't make profit from selling their consoles, they make profit from
> the licensing of their software titles, the same as Nintendo, the
> same as Sega, the same as most other console manufacturer's.
Surely Sony make money on their consoles! I know the Sega Dreamcast's production came to a close because they sold it at a price lower than the money it cost them to make one.
Sony
> don't make profit from selling their consoles, they make profit from
> the licensing of their software titles, the same as Nintendo, the
> same as Sega, the same as most other console manufacturer's.
Surely Sony make money on their consoles! I know the Sega Dreamcast's production came to a close because they sold it at a price lower than the money it cost them to make one.
No I didn't work for Ravensoft but I can sympathise with anyone that's been made redundant.
Yes the gaming industry is in a VERY strong position, but that position is largely tenuous. It's not likely that games production will cease overnight, but with developers going out of business from month to month, I just wonder how much further we'd have come along today if it hadn't been for the pirates.
Yes the gaming industry is in a VERY strong position, but that position is largely tenuous. It's not likely that games production will cease overnight, but with developers going out of business from month to month, I just wonder how much further we'd have come along today if it hadn't been for the pirates.
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