Is this Immoral?

This is what I've been doing. I go to the store and buy a game. I go home, destroy the game, and download the hacked version.

If only I could pay for a copy of the game without the DRM, I gladly would. The people who don't pay seem to get all the benefits. They don't need an internet connection for a game that doesn't even have an online component, and they have no limits on how many times they can either upgrade their hardware or format their hard drives and reinstall the game.

I personally have no problem paying the people who make great games. I just feel that, if I buy a game, I shouldn't have to check back with the company who published it to make sure I have the right to play it. Heck, they might as well make you sign the contract at the store. People don't buy games these days, they only buy the contractual rights to play them under strict conditions. I find this unacceptable.

morality is subjective (although some will argue for objective morality). is it illegal? yes. is it frowned upon by the gaming community? hardly.

but why destroy the game after buying it?

morality is subjective (although some will argue for objective morality). is it illegal? yes. is it frowned upon by the gaming community? hardly.

but why destroy the game after buying it?

fireandcloud

Seriously why destroy it? Now you only have a box for a game that you stole, kinda hard to prove you own it.

First of all, instead of destroying the game and re-downloading, just get a no-drm fix. So much easier.

Secondly, yes its illegal. Morality varies depending on what your values are.

Technicaly it's illegal, but if you keep the boxs and can prove you've payed for it, it is VERY unlikely they would actualy take you to court over it because of legal costs.

Fact is because its a civil matter and not a criminal one, most of the time the company just won't be bothered to pay the costs to take it to court. Devs/publishers whine all the time about, yet if they hate it, it's them who should be cracking down on it. Not forcing their problems onto the goverment to try to sort out for them.

This is what I've been doing. I go to the store and buy a game. I go home, destroy the game, and download the hacked version.

If only I could pay for a copy of the game without the DRM, I gladly would. The people who don't pay seem to get all the benefits. They don't need an internet connection for a game that doesn't even have an online component, and they have no limits on how many times they can either upgrade their hardware or format their hard drives and reinstall the game.

I personally have no problem paying the people who make great games. I just feel that, if I buy a game, I shouldn't have to check back with the company who published it to make sure I have the right to play it. Heck, they might as well make you sign the contract at the store. People don't buy games these days, they only buy the contractual rights to play them under strict conditions. I find this unacceptable.

Falconoffury

I don't think it's strictly moral, but it's not exactly to be frowned upon either. I mean you DO pay your dues... but you're still supoorting pirating in a sense. Even if you don't seed after you download (assuming you use torrents), you're still participating in that whole community... you're still one more "customer" for the people who make the rips. And besides you do help spread the file WHILE you're downloading... Still, as long as you pay for the game, I personally don't have a problem with what you're doing. You still shouldn't "destroy" the game though, whatever that may imply - what's the point? :?

It's not illegal in my country.

And it's not immoral either. Well, not by my moral standards.

Large_Soda, if he buys a game and then downloads it from the Internet, then he's not stealing anything. He has bought the rights to play the game. It's in the EULA. The way I see it is: what copy you choose to play does not matter. The only thing that matters is the money-exchange. As long as it exists, no crime is committed.

I appreciate that most of you are neutral on this practice or better. Anyone else frustrated with the direction of DRM in general? I'm close to boycotting certain publishers altogether.

Most people seem to like the Steam software from Valve. I think it's cool that people can buy games online and download them. On the otherhand, I disagree with the fact that you need to validate the game online which doesn't have an online component. A computer with no internet used for playing games should be acceptable to publishers. I have had plenty of years in my life where I lived somewhere with no internet, and I will probably have plenty more years of this in the future.

Technicaly it's illegal, but if you keep the boxs and can prove you've payed for it, it is VERY unlikely they would actualy take you to court over it because of legal costs.

Fact is because its a civil matter and not a criminal one, most of the time the company just won't be bothered to pay the costs to take it to court. Devs/publishers whine all the time about, yet if they hate it, it's them who should be cracking down on it. Not forcing their problems onto the goverment to try to sort out for them.

death1505921

Ahh, the good old days wen piracy wasn't a criminal act. Well, times change.Due to heavy lobbying by the MPAA and the RIAA, piracy is now a federal offence in the United States.

[QUOTE="death1505921"]

Technicaly it's illegal, but if you keep the boxs and can prove you've payed for it, it is VERY unlikely they would actualy take you to court over it because of legal costs.

Fact is because its a civil matter and not a criminal one, most of the time the company just won't be bothered to pay the costs to take it to court. Devs/publishers whine all the time about, yet if they hate it, it's them who should be cracking down on it. Not forcing their problems onto the goverment to try to sort out for them.

kodex1717

Ahh, the good old days wen piracy wasn't a criminal act. Well, times change.Due to heavy lobbying by the MPAA and the RIAA, piracy is now a federal offence in the United States.

Well that's lame. Fact is the companies couldnt be bothered to tackle the problem themselfs but just shift blame around. As far as I know it's still civil in the UK.

[QUOTE="fireandcloud"]

morality is subjective (although some will argue for objective morality). is it illegal? yes. is it frowned upon by the gaming community? hardly.

but why destroy the game after buying it?

Large_Soda

Seriously why destroy it? Now you only have a box for a game that you stole, kinda hard to prove you own it.

The point is that we shouldn't have to be proving so many times that we own the game.

bought to be destroyed? weird! who in good sanity do that?

As long as you aren't selling or giving away the store copy and playing the dl copy, I don't see an issue.Royas

Uuh thats EXACTLY what he said he wants to do.

This is what I've been doing. I go to the store and buy a game. I go home, destroy the game, and download the hacked version.Falconoffury

Herrick does not think this is wrong. To avoid any potential legal issues, you should keep the copy you bought & don't seed if you can help it. Good luck, mang.

[QUOTE="Royas"] As long as you aren't selling or giving away the store copy and playing the dl copy, I don't see an issue.The_PC_Gamer

Uuh thats EXACTLY what he said he wants to do.

Dunno where you are seeing that. He says he buys the game, dl's the game, destroys the store copy and plays the DL copy. No selling or distributing seems to be going on. Like I said, so long as he isn't distributing the game, there's no moral issue. Legally, well, that's a whole other topic.

If you disagree with DRM, why buy a game that uses it in the first place? All you are doing is a sending a (financial) message to the publishers/developer that you accept the DRM scheme they are using, and it's fine to continue because people will buy the game regardless.

If you want to send a message to the developers, stop buying games with DRM. Lost profits is the only language they understand.

I don't think it's strictly moral, but it's not exactly to be frowned upon either. I mean you DO pay your dues... but you're still supoorting pirating in a sense. Even if you don't seed after you download (assuming you use torrents), you're still participating in that whole community... you're still one more "customer" for the people who make the rips. And besides you do help spread the file WHILE you're downloading... Still, as long as you pay for the game, I personally don't have a problem with what you're doing. You still shouldn't "destroy" the game though, whatever that may imply - what's the point? :?

MasterYevon

i agree with this - even if you're buying the game you're still helping the piracy side