Well, just to add my two cents worth on the matter:
I am a civAddict from the first installement of Civilization. When I discovered it, I was in engineering school and was playing it from evenings to mornings ("One more turn..."), which landed me a VERY low ranking amongst my fellows students for the first years. The version was a simple DOS copy. And I did not pay for it.
When CivII came, I was still in engineering school. The last years of it. I managed to get my diploma despite that Sid Dealer Meier's attempts to lure me to a lifetime of suffering and poverty. And I did pay for the game, but later, when I bought a full-CivII box set with Fantastic Realms and CivNet included.
But CivIII came and obsoleted CivII. I was so addicted I bought the game retail box overseas because the distinct opening sales days (show right to the point the addiction: it was a mere single month difference!) . That was I first buying on the internet.
CivIV was however locally bought, and the different expansion sets were purchased as they come along.
To summarize it: I am a buying customer who never resorted to pirating unless I was financially in no position to buy it (difficult student years where money is very tight). I bought the game after as a thank and recognition for the hours of fun provided by the works of others. To each their due.
As far as I am concerned, I do not care about if the game is pirated or not. Everybody has their reasons doing what they do. In my opinion, I recognize that people should get money for the work they provide in making that game. So let everybody check with their own conscience and not bother others.
As for DRM, I think the DVD-check at the launching of the game is all right. Anything over it will sadly push me in the arms of a cracked version. Because I am mainly a lone player, I do not wish to have to be connected to the Internet to play a standalone game! As replayability is very high, I require the possibility to reinstall the game on any number of my future computer as much as I want for the next few centuries (without having to connect to a long-disappeared server).
So in all those cases, I would end up buying the game and use a cracked version.
I generally do not bother trying and finding cracked games. I know it is easy and require a little skill. But I am pretty sure I can manage that if I had to. Because the Civilization franchise is very special to me, I am sure I WILL manage it. And once that knowledge is available to me...
So please save us fans the hassle, we LOVE that game, standalone or netlinked, addicts or part-timers, teens to granddaddies. Please do not make us thieves by requiring more than can be respectably asked of a purchaser.
Concerning the piracy purcentage, why doesn't someone make a poll in this forum about it with the different possibilities? Sure, its worth will be limited to us civFanatics, but it would be a more firmer ground to stand and start arguing from than the interested guesses sprouting here and there.
Available possibilities being:
- I will never use a cracked version of CivV because of personal moral opinion about myself, theft and respect for other people's work.
- I will never use a cracked version of CivV because I am afraid of virus and trojan you can get on warez.
- I will never use a cracked version of CivV because I don't have the knowledge/connection to get such a version.
- I will never use a cracked version of CivV because I don't bother searching/learning the knowledge to get such a version.
- I will use a cracked version of CivV if DRM is to too much of a bother but I will buy the game... eventually.
- I will use a cracked version of CivV if DRM is to too much of a bother but I won't buy the game in that case.
- I will use a cracked version of CivV because I cannot afford it as of yet but I will buy the game... eventually.
- I will use a cracked version of CivV because I cannot afford it as of yet but I won't buy the game later.
- I will use a cracked version of CivV because it is available before the official retail date but I will buy the game... eventually.
- I will use a cracked version of CivV because it is available before the official retail date but I won't buy the game later.
- Add your own ideas on the matter...
I am curious as to the results of this poll if it shall come to pass...
My two cents,
Dragon.Jade
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. However I would remind everyone here that:
