Software Piracy

[Rik Meleet]

Why hasn't anyone jumped into this "hole in the market" yet ? ?

Send me 60 Euro's and I'll get you a game.

 

[lysander]

your belif in this is as asanine as it is stupid.

I don't see why it is asanine and stupid to believe that the people who devoted the time and energy to making the game deserve to be compensated for their work. Everyone up and down the corporate ladder of several companies, including developers, distributers, and retailers, gets hurt when people pirate their products. I can't understand why anyone who's ever held a job and isn't a criminal thinks it's ok to pirate media. I'm sure you or anyone else would angrily complain if your boss made you work an extra hour without pay or the like.
No one is entitled to civ 4. Firaxis employes put countless hours into the development of the game. It is 100% theirs. They can choose where to sell it and where not to sell it without forfiting their right to be compansated for their work. I hate to sound melodramatic, but honestly you are stealing from hundreds of people who are involved in the creation and retail of a game when you pirate it. You also convince the industry to spend an increasingly higher percentage of their development money on security instead of on developing features for the game. If you live in a country that does not sell the game, follow the creative advice of people on this thread (use ebay, get someone in a selling country to buy it and either send it or bring it to you etc).

 

[Efexeye]

I don't see why it is asanine and stupid to believe that the people who devoted the time and energy to making the game deserve to be compensated for their work. Everyone up and down the corporate ladder of several companies, including developers, distributers, and retailers, gets hurt when people pirate their products. I can't understand why anyone who's ever held a job and isn't a criminal thinks it's ok to pirate media. I'm sure you or anyone else would angrily complain if your boss made you work an extra hour without pay or the like.
No one is entitled to civ 4. Firaxis employes put countless hours into the development of the game. It is 100% theirs. They can choose where to sell it and where not to sell it without forfiting their right to be compansated for their work. I hate to sound melodramatic, but honestly you are stealing from hundreds of people who are involved in the creation and retail of a game when you pirate it. You also convince the industry to spend an increasingly higher percentage of their development money on security instead of on developing features for the game. If you live in a country that does not sell the game, follow the creative advice of people on this thread (use ebay, get someone in a selling country to buy it and either send it or bring it to you etc).

/signed

890

 

[knord]

To the original poster...

I found a place (in Canada) that says they ship world wide.
The name is www.dvdboxoffice.com
When I looked in their FAQ there where Barbados as part of their destinations (shipping prices)

http://www.dvdboxoffice.com/descrip...me&wh=MAIN&rate=CAD++-1.000+++++&pid=90149303

 

[The Person]

I don't see why it is asanine and stupid to believe that the people who devoted the time and energy to making the game deserve to be compensated for their work. Everyone up and down the corporate ladder of several companies, including developers, distributers, and retailers, gets hurt when people pirate their products. I can't understand why anyone who's ever held a job and isn't a criminal thinks it's ok to pirate media. I'm sure you or anyone else would angrily complain if your boss made you work an extra hour without pay or the like.
No one is entitled to civ 4. Firaxis employes put countless hours into the development of the game. It is 100% theirs. They can choose where to sell it and where not to sell it without forfiting their right to be compansated for their work. I hate to sound melodramatic, but honestly you are stealing from hundreds of people who are involved in the creation and retail of a game when you pirate it. You also convince the industry to spend an increasingly higher percentage of their development money on security instead of on developing features for the game. If you live in a country that does not sell the game, follow the creative advice of people on this thread (use ebay, get someone in a selling country to buy it and either send it or bring it to you etc).

I totally agree. I'm doing some programming on a hobby basis, and it's not even close to big projects like these. Even the smal progs I write for fun can be very tricky to get to work. Usually I get them to work in the end, and when I do I send a thought to those who work on BIG projects like this. It's beyond my grasp how such big programs like games are made. After taking up programming I've started to respect those who make games much more than I did before. Start programming yourself, and get wise.

 

[bky1701]

People look at piracy too simplistically… ether because it makes them support the laws of their nation or because they themselves are incapable of it, but it’s not a simple matter.

If someone downloads a pirated game, in a lot of people’s minds, the company just lost money they were entitled to… but, first off, this is hardly ever the case. I have downloaded illegal versions of games just to see if they were worth buying or if they would work on my computer. I have also downloaded games that I would never have bought, but ended up liking them and buying them/expiations to them/sequels to them. And it’s hardly like when you download it you get the full game anymore, most of them are bug-ridden betas or lack online play.

There is also the fact if 8 people download a game, and each tell 4 people how good is was, even if the 8 people never buy it themselves, those 32 people may buy 27 games they would have not before.

This certainly kills the idea of “piracy hurts small companies”; as the small company’s game have little selling potential to start with (in the case of a larger company, the 32 people may have been thinking about getting the game before hand, but in the case of the small company they may never have even heard of the game).

People that blindly yell about how piracy is theft, evil, immoral and so on tend to be simple-minded people incapable of thinking in a way not commonly supported. Not that that’s aimed at anyone here… but it is aimed at a number of people in general.

 

[Efexeye]

LOL I'm simple-minded because I think piracy is wrong?

You wouldn't steal a car, drive it for a while, then pay for it only if you liked it, would you?

You pirate media because it is easy, and because they won't catch you.

Period.

 

[warpus]

but honestly you are stealing from hundreds of people who are involved in the creation and retail of a game when you pirate it.

i am against piracy myself, but it isn't theft. it's copyright infringement. theft is something else.

 

[bky1701]

You wouldn't steal a car, drive it for a while, then pay for it only if you liked it, would you?

I just may in the case they don’t have test-drives.

You pirate media because it is easy

Wow, that was totaly inacurate. You have no idea how hard it is now, do you?

LOL I'm simple-minded because I think piracy is wrong?

Maybe.

 

[Rik Meleet]

People that blindly yell about how piracy is theft, evil, immoral and so on tend to be simple-minded people incapable of thinking in a way not commonly supported. Not that that’s aimed at anyone here… but it is aimed at a number of people in general.

Moderator Action: I hope you realise that CFC has 0 tolerance for Piracy. I hope that you realise that you are calling the CFC-staff: simple-minded people incapable of thinking in a way not commonly supported. Please choose your words more carefully.

 

[Efexeye]

I just may in the case they don’t have test-drives.



Wow, that was totaly inacurate. You have no idea how hard it is now, do you?



Maybe.

1. What?

2. What? Piracy is SO easy it's ridiculous.

3. What?

Dude, put the pipe down before you post...I can't make sense of what you're saying, except that you called me (and a lot of other moral people) simple-minded.

 

[lysander]

People look at piracy too simplistically… ether because it makes them support the laws of their nation or because they themselves are incapable of it, but it’s not a simple matter.

If someone downloads a pirated game, in a lot of people’s minds, the company just lost money they were entitled to… but, first off, this is hardly ever the case. I have downloaded illegal versions of games just to see if they were worth buying or if they would work on my computer. I have also downloaded games that I would never have bought, but ended up liking them and buying them/expiations to them/sequels to them.

The company that made the game may not have lost money if you truly went on to buy the game's sequels, etc (although I cannot believe that most people who download games go on to buy it if they find out it works on their computer etc). But the companies that distribute the games, the people who truck it to retail stores, the individual stores that sell the game, they all lost the money you would have given them. There is no guarentee that they will be involved with the game's sequel that you may end up buying later.

And it’s hardly like when you download it you get the full game anymore, most of them are bug-ridden betas or lack online play.

Just because the product you have taken without paying for is incomplete doesn't mean it's alright to take it in the first place.

There is also the fact if 8 people download a game, and each tell 4 people how good is was, even if the 8 people never buy it themselves, those 32 people may buy 27 games they would have not before.

This certainly kills the idea of “piracy hurts small companies”; as the small company’s game have little selling potential to start with (in the case of a larger company, the 32 people may have been thinking about getting the game before hand, but in the case of the small company they may never have even heard of the game).

Good point. And if I walk into Best Buy and steal a flat screen television and tell a bunch of people that the it's a really nice tv, I guess it justifies my having stolen it. Even if you can proove that pirates spread positive word of mouth reviews about the games, the developers can already do the same thing by issuing demos, earning positive reviews from game magazines, and paying for advertisements.

 

[bky1701]

1. I am not buying a car just because people say it is good. I want to see if it IS good. That is why TEST-DRIVES exist. If they didn't, I may have to steal one to see if it runs good, or drive someone else's. You can't expect me to blindly buy things.

2. Really, well lets see you get a pirated game running in less then an hour, with no experience what-so-ever in the field. Things have changed.

3. Maybe the you are, maybe you are not.

4. And considering you don't seem to have a grasp of English, maybe I was right in my accusation (not to say it was even made to be to you - you made it about yourself).

4. B) Was this easy enough to understand, or does it need formatted to a first-grade standard?

 

[bky1701]

The company that made the game may not have lost money if you truly went on to buy the game's sequels, etc (although I cannot believe that most people who download games go on to buy it if they find out it works on their computer etc). But the companies that distribute the games, the people who truck it to retail stores, the individual stores that sell the game, they all lost the money you would have given them. There is no guarentee that they will be involved with the game's sequel that you may end up buying later.

Unless that game is a sequel to an earlier one, that people downloaded, and liked, and planned on buying the sequel to. My example was also meant to if it was a small company, maybe it was their first game or something.

Just because the product you have taken without paying for is incomplete doesn't mean it's alright to take it in the first place.

But it is reason to buy the full game.

Good point. And if I walk into Best Buy and steal a flat screen television and tell a bunch of people that the it's a really nice tv, I guess it justifies my having stolen it.

When you take the TV, best buy LOSES a TV. When you download a game, no one loses any product, only profit they MAY have made.

Even if you can proove that pirates spread positive word of mouth reviews about the games, the developers can already do the same thing by issuing demos, earning positive reviews from game magazines, and paying for advertisements.

And that costs... much more then what they may have lost to the pirates in the first place.

 

[Efexeye]

1. I am not buying a car just because people say it is good. I want to see if it IS good. That is why TEST-DRIVES exist. If they didn't, I may have to steal one to see if it runs good, or drive someone else's. You can't expect me to blindly buy things.

2. Really, well lets see you get a pirated game running in less then an hour, with no experience what-so-ever in the field. Things have changed.

3. Maybe the you are, maybe you are not.

4. And considering you don't seem to have a grasp of English, maybe I was right in my accusation (not to say it was even made to be to you - you made it about yourself).

4. B) Was this easy enough to understand, or does it need formatted to a first-grade standard?

Easy, there, tiger. Flame OFF.

1. Okay, so it's not a car. It's a movie. Do you steal it off the shelf, watch it, and only pay for it if you like it?

2. Uh, okay...back in the early days, I was a Kazaa whore, until I realized it was wrong. I could download and play 5 games a night, easily. OR, alternatively, it's rather easy to make a bit-for-bit copy of pretty much ANY CD. Times have changed? Don't know what that is supposed to mean.

3. Trust me, I'm not simpleminded. My Master's Degree in Secondary Education is proof of that.

4. Which accusation was that? That I'm simple minded?

5 (comes after 4). No, your grasp of English is still rudimentary at best.

 

[bky1701]

Easy, there, tiger. Flame OFF.

1. Okay, so it's not a car. It's a movie. Do you steal it off the shelf, watch it, and only pay for it if you like it?

2. Uh, okay...back in the early days, I was a Kazaa whore, until I realized it was wrong. I could download and play 5 games a night, easily. OR, alternatively, it's rather easy to make a bit-for-bit copy of pretty much ANY CD. Times have changed? Don't know what that is supposed to mean.

3. Trust me, I'm not simpleminded. My Master's Degree in Secondary Education is proof of that.

4. Which accusation was that? That I'm simple minded?

5 (comes after 4). No, your grasp of English is still rudimentary at best.

1. See TV example.

2. Things are much harder now. Once you have the game (and it's not as easy to get as it once was), getting it to run is very hard.

3. Silps of paper mean little in the real world.

4. Yes. Maybe = maybe so, possibly, I am not sure, etc. You are the one whom said: "LOL I'm simple-minded because I think piracy is wrong?", and thus I said "maybe".

5. Good for you.

 

[Efexeye]

1. See TV example.

2. Things are much harder now. Once you have the game (and it's not as easy to get as it once was), getting it to run is very hard.

3. Silps of paper mean little in the real world.

4. Yes. Maybe = maybe so, possibly, I am not sure, etc. You are the one whom said: "LOL I'm simple-minded because I think piracy is wrong?", and thus I said "maybe".

5. Good for you.

Okay, I can see that I am dealing with someone that has clearly never had a job, and also can't admit that they like to steal. Therefore, your perspective is invalid.

(It's spelled "slips", and, trust me, they are pretty dammned important. Only someone who was simple-minded would dismiss a degree as worthless. Or, you could talk to my boss, who offered me a higher salary when I completed my 2nd degree.)

 

[Rik Meleet]

Moderator Action: Efexeye & bky1701 - You are free to discuss the topic and post your opinions on piracy, but you are not free to do that in an uncivilized way. Cease your personal remarks now.
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889

 

[zedong]

I don't see why it is asanine and stupid to believe that the people who devoted the time and energy to making the game deserve to be compensated for their work. Everyone up and down the corporate ladder of several companies, including developers, distributers, and retailers, gets hurt when people pirate their products. I can't understand why anyone who's ever held a job and isn't a criminal thinks it's ok to pirate media. I'm sure you or anyone else would angrily complain if your boss made you work an extra hour without pay or the like.
No one is entitled to civ 4. Firaxis employes put countless hours into the development of the game. It is 100% theirs. They can choose where to sell it and where not to sell it without forfiting their right to be compansated for their work. I hate to sound melodramatic, but honestly you are stealing from hundreds of people who are involved in the creation and retail of a game when you pirate it. You also convince the industry to spend an increasingly higher percentage of their development money on security instead of on developing features for the game. If you live in a country that does not sell the game, follow the creative advice of people on this thread (use ebay, get someone in a selling country to buy it and either send it or bring it to you etc).

Hey genius, get off you high horse and actually listen to what I'm saying. I have NO problem paying for software and I do appreciate the genius and work that goes into it. It is obvious to me that you jsut don't get my problem because you don't have to deal with it! I will happily pay for somthing that is available but don't tell me that firaxis has the "right" to sell their products to who they want to. That BS of the highest order. Countries like the US, UK and many others have been bullying my country into free trade agreements for the last five years but only for products that suit them! It's not like I want to buy a nuke and blow **** up I just want to play a cool game and pay the guys who designed it for it. So get of your pedastle and try and see thing from somone else's point of view!

 

[Efexeye]

Moderator Action: Efexeye & bky1701 - You are free to discuss the topic and post your opinions on piracy, but you are not free to do that in an uncivilized way. Cease your personal remarks now.
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889

Fair enough.

EDIT: I guess being called "simple-minded" just stuck in my craw.

Apologies.