Yes this is about piracy, in particular game piracy but it applies partially to movies (Movies can be rented though it is less convenient and has less a selection), though not so much to music.
Just to get it out of the way with first. So where do I stand on it? I'm on both sides so technically neutral.
As a little bit of a prologue; I have in the past been a prolific downloader of free entertainment. I know I'm a horrible person. My reasons where cheapness and tempting freebies. I was a PC gamer I am now a console gamer, and I'm going to poke the bear right now.
I don't know a PC gamer who doesn't pirate at least some of the games they play.
As long as there has been pc games there has been pirating of them. When the internet lit up warez sites came on the scene.
It's progressed through there into various p2p services. Which has resulted in a competing (and successful) market of digital games. Which some ex pirates have said has curbed their piracy. Many indie games do quite well and are small enough to fly below the radar of downloaders. Plus they release their games at fair prices, which obviously nets them more sales.
See I think the piracy doesn't stem from an urge to steal, or a need for free games. No I think it's a need for cheap games, there has never been a PC (or handheld console) equivalent of game rentals. Many games have no re-playability at all, but still ask the same sixty or so dollars as other better games do. This is a market where the quality of the product has nothing to do with the price.
Most of the games I downloaded I didn't play for more then a few hours. I just wanted to try them and see if they were any good. I remember buying a number of games, diablo and warcraft battle chests, strategy and star wars game packs, red alert 2, nox, kotor, oblivion, and more. There were some good times there that I spent money on. Most of them I got cheaply in the packs or after they'd been out a while. I think the only new pc game I ever purchased was oblivion.
Switching from pc to console gaming is largely what curbed my downloading.
When I first got a console again after many years I was able to go to a video store and rent games to play until I purchased some.
This was limiting however so after a time I began purchasing and trading in games. Which is almost the same as piracy, except the whole situation is changed. We're not the pirates now, gamestop or whatever store your trading at is the pirate. While we are just consumers of stolen goods. Accessories to thievery, plane and simple.
The way it is set up currently, purchasing a used game at a store is the same as downloading it off a torrent site. Except you pay 85 or 90 percent of full price.
What bothers developers and publishers is that when someone downloads their game (or movie, or music, or book for that matter) that person gets it and they get nothing in return. They created something which is meant to be duplicated and sold but at some point someone is duplicating it and releasing free copies in DIRECT COMPETITION with the original copies.The only difference with used games is that instead of free copies in direct competition it's cheaper copies. Only this time instead of no money being exchanged a third party that is essentially a pawn shop gets all of the profits. Sometimes multiple times on the same disk.
So to summarise pc gamers steal as a form of deformed game renting. Indie games, and digital content providers are good. Used games are bad, and console gamers steal less yet purchase more stolen goods.
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