Why do you go to extreme length to get a game/software/service instead of resorting to piracy?

[Deactivated] on 13/01/2023 - 16:14

Howdy

I see deals and their comments all the time for example game x is available for 90% off if you VPN to Azerbaijan and sign up with an email address only given out to nuns with these 12 steps then pay with a virgin credit card with the best exchange rate.

Or, GOG had a sale last week for $1.50 and today Steam is selling for $1, people will gravitate towards that one comment that tells them how to get a refund and save 50c as here on P.92 clause 14C of their T&C is a loophole.

By then you're exploiting something that's not intended for the purpose nor you, and whilst you can split hairs I don't see how that's different to plain o' theft at this point. If I'm going to wait to break the rule/law in 4 months when a deal comes up I might as well break it and get what I want today. Besides the (fair) stigma that one can't be certain of the origin nor any hidden agenda of a torrent, it's a reputation/quality/longevitity thing as anything else in life, which is not difficult to identify.

(This is not debating the ethics of piracy, curious about y'all who goes to those length)

Computing

Comments

  • askbargain on 13/01/2023 - 16:21

    the same reason why people buy games on steam and not use epic launcher

  • non-core promise on 13/01/2023 - 16:26
    +5

    Most bargain hunting is legal. Unethical if taken to the extreme, but legal.

    Piracy is illegal, straight up.

    Enforcement is generally more targeted at the drug dealers, not the drug users, but using illegal drugs is still wrong.

    I can understand if some people think it's splitting hairs and others think it's okay to pirate because of evil DRM, already owning a copy on a different platform, etc, but there is a clear distinction between extreme bargain hunting and straight up theft.

    • [Deactivated] on 13/01/2023 - 16:34

      Extreme bargain hunting ≠ circumventing T&C which is legal bound, just that most of us don't think that way about EULA/T&C, a definite wrong is not that far from definite illegal?

    • [Deactivated] on 13/01/2023 - 16:40

      Is it actually illegal, a crime, to pirate? I was under the impression that it was a civil matter, and that since they can only sue for the cost of what was pirated, none of them do, because it would be a complete waste of time and money.

      • jv on 13/01/2023 - 18:29
        +2

        Is it actually illegal, a crime, to pirate?

        yes.

        Copyright Act 1968

        The potential penalties for breaching the law include fines of up to $117,000 for individuals and a possible term of imprisonment for up to five years.

        • [Deactivated] on 13/01/2023 - 18:46
          +1

          "The conduct of a civil or criminal investigation is complex, time-consuming and expensive. Court action is usually reserved for persons or companies that are major offenders or who are at the core of a network of offenders. Breach of copyright is a criminal offence if a person makes, sells, trades or imports an article that infringes copyright in circumstances where they knew or ought to have known of that infringement (s 132(1) Copyright Act 1968)."

          https://www.aic.gov.au/publications/htcb/htcb3

          Nothing about individuals watching a movie or playing a game. What a complete waste of time that would be. There have been no investigations, charges, or convictions for individual acts of piracy in this country.

    • EightImmortals on 13/01/2023 - 18:13
      +5

      Explain to me why 'illegal' always equates to 'morally wrong'?
      I'm genuinely curious.
      I mean it's obvious in some cases that 'breaking the law' is morally wrong (murder, theft, rape, things of that nature where there is a real flesh and blood victim) but I've never heard a good argument for why simply disobeying is something I should care about.

      As per your example "but using illegal drugs is still wrong."

      Why?

      • brendanm on 13/01/2023 - 18:32
        +1

        Why?

        Politicians told them so.

      • AustriaBargain on 13/01/2023 - 18:45

        Nazi Germany had plenty of unjust laws. Australia has had unjust policies too, we still do. Corruption is still rife.

        • paddyo on 13/01/2023 - 21:44

          you really went there??? Completely stupid comparison between evil and corrupt.

          • AustriaBargain on 13/01/2023 - 22:07
            +1

            @paddyo: Sorry if you're a Kanye fan or something, didn't mean to offend you.

            • Kangal on 14/01/2023 - 00:11

              @AustriaBargain: What was the most influential export made by Austria by the way?
              Wasn't it a 20th century artist perchance?

              • AustriaBargain on 14/01/2023 - 00:36
                -1

                @Kangal: Considering every 21st century person is 23 years old or younger, it's a good bet that every major Australian inventor, corporation starter/leader, artist, musician, etc. is a 20th century man. But you'll notice that will change very quickly as boomers stuck in their old ways brains get smooth and sharper younger people adapt to the new reality.

            • paddyo on 14/01/2023 - 22:10

              @AustriaBargain: I most definitely am not a Kanye fan, but I suspect you knew that. I just think associating Nazi Germany to this topic is bizarre and unwarranted.

              • AustriaBargain on 14/01/2023 - 22:47

                @paddyo: Do you think the laws in Nazi Germany were just?

                • paddyo on 15/01/2023 - 10:35

                  @AustriaBargain: What on earth makes you think that is in any way a legitimate comparison? You also need to separate the actions of Nazis against the actual laws in place in Germany at the time. This topic is about Piracy in Australia, in particular Software piracy. If you feel that the piracy laws in Australia are 'unjust' (which is code for 'they don't fit my needs') then raise it with your MP. To use the atrocities conducted by Nazis against others as a baseline comparison for your view is just ridiculous, uninformed and quite frankly ignores the laws in Germany, instead concentrating on the actions.

                  • AustriaBargain on 15/01/2023 - 14:12

                    @paddyo: Hey if you're of German ancestry yourself I meant to offence, I'm sure Germany at the time had a lot of just laws too.

    • brendanm on 13/01/2023 - 18:31

      Piracy is explicitly not theft.

    • AustriaBargain on 13/01/2023 - 18:43
      +1

      Most gaming companies seem to tolerate piracy as long as the people organising it aren't making money from it. A Nintendo pirate site can stay up for a decade, but as soon as the creator starts running ads Nintendo will shut it down. I think a big part of is it because uber geek pirates willing to jump through hoops don't cost Nintendo much and keeping them Nintendo fans will probably make Nintendo money in the long run. Videogames are making more money than the music industry and Hollywood combined, so the status quo seems to suit the industry just fine.

  • Xistn on 13/01/2023 - 16:26
    +2

    I LIKE FREEBIES!

    That is all.

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 13/01/2023 - 16:27
    +1

    plain o' theft at this point.

    I mean..you're still paying for it.

    The 'Australia tax' especially on digital goods is too damn high.
    Change my mind.

    • [Deactivated] on 13/01/2023 - 16:37

      Some of it is gouging because they can, but there's also setting up to sell in a new location, following local laws, and the high consumer protections in Australia. You have to really want to sell in this tiny market for minimal profits.

      • AustriaBargain on 13/01/2023 - 18:40
        +1

        I heard that overseas corporations call Australia "Treasure Island", because they can charge us whatever they want and we can afford to pay it.

        • [Deactivated] on 13/01/2023 - 18:50

          We are one of the richest nations on Earth. Good luck getting Syrians to pay the same amount we can.

    • [Deactivated] on 13/01/2023 - 16:43
      +1

      You got an example in mind?

      I've only ever bought 1 console game new so am oblivious.

  • Daabido on 13/01/2023 - 16:27
    -1

    If it's not about the ethics of piracy, I've read it three times and still don't understand what you are getting at.

  • [Deactivated] on 13/01/2023 - 16:35
    +1

    I don't bother doing what you're talking about, but I do enjoy collecting games on certain platforms. Of course I have no problem with just pirating things either.

    • [Deactivated] on 13/01/2023 - 16:40
      +1

      Ah, I had not considered platform's tracking of achievements/progress and ease of MP without circumvention/private server, my bad.

  • CyberMurning on 13/01/2023 - 16:54

    iam afraid that one of those pirated games comes with trojan or virus thats all - thats my issue. not about pirating.
    yeah i know windefender, norton etc etc but still.

  • orangetrain on 13/01/2023 - 16:54

    I buy all my digitals goods legally. Please don't extradite me to USA!

  • pegaxs on 13/01/2023 - 18:28
    +4

    I don’t pirate games. And it’s not that easy as a lot of games are free to play with micro-transactions, or a base shitty game that you need to buy DLC or expansions for that are only unlocked digitally to your account. I also think that most games are pretty good value. For the price of a family trip to the movies, I can get a game and play 40 or more hours…

    Movies and TV shows on the other hand… I paid for a few streaming services and then it got broken up and broken up until each show I wanted to watch was on its own streaming service, so we are back at the whole square one cable tv “you need this pack and that pack to get that tv show” dilemma expecting me to pay over $100 a month for 8 streaming services to watch the shows I want to watch… so, no, I pay one subscription to Plex and host my own “Netflix”.

  • AustriaBargain on 13/01/2023 - 18:37
    +3

    People will drive across town to save 60 cents on a pen, but will overpay thousands a year on their mortgage to avoid the bother of doing a comparison.

    • pegaxs on 13/01/2023 - 19:02
      -1

      My wife is like this… she won’t pay for postage from chemist warehouse, so will either buy something useless for $30 to make it to the “free postage” to save $5.95 postage, or, she will drive 100km to the closest chemist warehouse so she doesn’t have to pay $5.95 postage.

  • Nutrino on 13/01/2023 - 18:51
    -1

    Viruses, malware, spyware. Your welcome.

  • Benoffie on 13/01/2023 - 19:16
    +3

    Who says I do?

    Like all things, I value my time and effort. Jumping through stupid hoops and VPNs to continue to pay services that refuse to acknowledge they have missed the price point for the Aussie market is stupid - on my behalf.

  • Kangal on 14/01/2023 - 00:14

    Anyone know which Games are the most pirated, at least in the last 3 year timescale?

    (I'm guessing GTA V for PC, but not sure what else is out there, it's not Fortnite that's a given)

  • Sinnerator on 14/01/2023 - 08:19
    +1

    I try before I buy.
    There are so many lies in game advertising and often the trailers are designed to avoid showing actual gameplay.
    And then there's the schill reviews.
    If the companies are unethical then I feel it's my duty to copy their behaviour :-)

  • Drpepper666 on 15/01/2023 - 17:35

    Yeah run and install Russian/Chinese hacked executables, what could go wrong?

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