Have you ever paid for games?

[kingthebadger]

So far in life, ive only bought half life 1 (then got 10 keys free couple weeks later)

its the only game ive ever bought, ive got condition zero free, half life 2 free, bf1942 free, bf vietnam free. (but i am going to buy the retail hl2 hardcopy)

you guys ever pay for games?
or do you just find a way to get it free (with key)

 

[Maxi]

Um, you've never bought more then one game? ok.....

I've bought all my games that i've played for more then a week.

 

[kingthebadger]

what can i do? if i end up getting it free, whats the point =)

so far only half life 2 and half life 1 have been on my most wanted buy-list

 

[Mr-Fusion]

I've bought at least 40 games and pirated ones that i didn't think the developers deserved my money. Diablo 2 i pirated but was insanely impressed with it i ended up buying it 2 YEARS after downloading it, to payback Blizzard. I bought the Battlechest with Diablo 1/2 plus LOD. KOTOR is another where i downloaded it was totally blown away then bought a copy to give the developers incentive to make a sequel. AND THEY ARE!! WOOT!

Half-Life got me hooked with that "Day 1" demo that was released. I bought the full game pretty much as soon as i finished that demo.

 

[Feath]

I buy all my games, I've hardly downloaded games at all.

Who cares if you can get them free? It's still illegel. I could probably go to effort to steal a car and joyride it around, but just because I don't want to pay for a car, doesn't make it alright.

EDIT: Yes even games that maybe aren't that great but I want to play. If developers don't get money just because they made an average game, they won't be able to make the next game which would be great.

 

[Someone]

Not sure this is something I would be proud of (getting most games for free.)

I'm pretty selective when it comes to games, so I don't buy or play that many to begin with. Games that I know I will enjoy or hope to enjoy (HL2, Doom 3, Baldur's Gate/Neverwinter Nights series, UT2004 etc) than I will buy them soon after release.

If there are games where I'm not incredibly sure about, but want to try (and there is no demo available), than I will download them and try them. BUT...if I end up liking them I do buy them.

But no matter how you slice it, no matter how people turn it to make it seem "okay"...it's illegal. Period. I just hate the people who want to rationalize how it's okay to do it for CERTAIN reasons or games etc. Call it was it is....theft.

 

[kingthebadger]

I buy all my games, I've hardly downloaded games at all.

Who cares if you can get them free? It's still illegel. I could probably go to effort to steal a car and joyride it around, but just because I don't want to pay for a car, doesn't make it alright.

EDIT: Yes even games that maybe aren't that great but I want to play. If developers don't get money just because they made an average game, they won't be able to make the next game which would be great.

the fact is i dont download games, except for one, and i have legit cd keys. so basically its not illegal, a friend gives it me.

 

[craig]

I agree with Mr-Fusion. I have the same outlook on both games & DVD' movies. If the developer/film maker does a good job and deserves my money then they get it. I usually play the games beforehand though to see if they're any good. Movies aren't worth £15 of anyones money and I wait till they're like £7. Games I pay no more than £25.

 

[Farrowlesparrow]

I've bought at least 40 games and pirated ones that i didn't think the developers deserved my money.

It annoys me when people say that...How exactly do they not deserve your money? If you don't think they deserve your money, then you don't deserve the game because you didn't pay for it, you didn't help make it and you certainly haven't done anything for the good of humanity to deserve getting a free copy of a game you don't consider worth buying.

 

[Gorgon]

I buy games all time. voted for.

I only buy games which worth buying such as Now D3, hl2, stalker, quake4, GTA:Series....etc but I get games for free which don't worth £35 such as KOTR, NFSU, MAXPAYNE2, ......etc

 

[Feath]

It annoys me when people say that...How exactly do they not deserve your money? If you don't think they deserve your money, then you don't deserve the game because you didn't pay for it, you didn't help make it and you certainly haven't done anything for the good of humanity to deserve getting a free copy of a game you don't consider worth buying.

Hooray, someone with my view.

 

[Mr-Fusion]

It annoys me when people say that...How exactly do they not deserve your money? If you don't think they deserve your money, then you don't deserve the game because you didn't pay for it, you didn't help make it and you certainly haven't done anything for the good of humanity to deserve getting a free copy of a game you don't consider worth buying.

Yeah well, humanity sux.

 

[Farrowlesparrow]

Oh thats really good of you isnt it...Did you ever wonder why it sucks so much when there are people with your attitude around?


There is no reason for me to carry on trying to get through to you when obviously you don't want to try and make a decent response to what I said.

 

[Gorgon]

Oh thats really good of you isnt it...Did you ever wonder why it sucks so much when there are people with your attitude around?

Mr, Mod.

you got a solid point in your prevoiuse post, but Always remember MONEY vs game value.

 

[Loshadka]

The only games I ever bought are Il-2 Sturmovik and Flanker 2.5. And HL2, wich I recieved with my R 9600XT.

 

[Mr-Fusion]

Before i commit an act of "evil" i weigh up it's relative effect on humanity. I look deep into the where the true righteousness lies. A rich company like EA games hires a bunch of graduate level programmers who've just formed they're own little company. EA give them some healthy contracts and a decent wage to create Medal Of Honor: Americans kill Germans (working title). It's the 5th expansion pack for a game released 3 years ago but EA still think it's a very profitable franchise. They think there's more money to be made and they think their customers are still hungry for some more simulated killing of Germans. After 12 months of development the game is released and receives mediocre reviews. 60% "Same thing, nothing innovative". I read around, read forums, read reviews and as someone who purchased the original game and has a very small interest in this expansion wouldn't mind wasiting 6 hours of play-time on it despite it clearly being a rushed job aimed to capitalize on a fairly popular genre. Americans killing Germans, virtually!

I check my wallet, $100, hmm i need a service for my car, i'm sort of semi-interested in the game so i download it. Install it, play it for an hour, then just stop playing it and get bored.

Then i look at the effect it had on humanity and if my evil has spread and corrupted other areas of life. The small company who have basically been manipulated and exploited by EA have their contracts cut up and thrown out the window. EA have done their deed, they've received a enough cash from sales and have no further need for this little company.

What would have happened if like-minded people like myself had all spent money to buy this game? EA would have percieved it as a clear indication people want more of it so they hurriedly sign the company up to make another expansion! No innovation, nothing new.

Capitalism in a creative industry is the true evil. That's my opinion. I'm not a normal person btw, so don't get too scared by my point of view.

 

[blahblahblah]

Mr, Mod.

you got a solid point in your prevoiuse post, but Always remember MONEY vs game value.

Does that mean i can sneak into a movie and only pay for it if I like it? Or read a book and then pay for it? Or steal a car and then pay for it after you have driven it for a year?

Most games have demos and they are reviewed by hundreds of PC gaming publications. You can't justify pirating. If you can, it is only helping you sleep at night.

 

[daveodeth]

everything own is legit... exept maybe the OS.

 

[Direwolf]

I've probably spent a few thousand bucks on games overtime...so I'm not even going to attempt to count how many I've had.
I'm not gonna lie and say I've never gotten a nonlegit one, but I've only done so when I either needed it for a LAN or was really, really uncertain about the quality of it.

 

[Dalamari]

I always buy my games, only game I've pirated is HL2 leak and Hitman: Contracts.

 

[Farrowlesparrow]

Mr-Fusion, an even better way of telling EA you don't want the game is simply not to get it. By downloading it, you are at least showing you have an interest in what they make. Whatever you say, you are not going to convince me that stealing the game is right...If you don't have the money to buy games then don't buy them, because that is no way of justifiying what you are doing. I don't have the money to buy a new computer, but I'm not going to steal one. I don't have the money fora new car, but I'm not going to steal one. Just because Ford makes a lot of money from cars, some of which I don't particually like, doesn't mean I should steal one. Especially on the ground that I'm showing them I don't care for some of their cars...

 

[CrazyHarij]

I buy most games, I used to pirate games alot but right now it's very rare for my part.

 

[Mr. Redundant]

I buy tons of games, I have a cupboard filled with game boxes (I keep em)

 

[Raxxman]

I agree with FS.

Pirating is wrong. If you don't think the developer deserves £30 of your money,wait till it drops to something you're prepared to pay, if its not dropping then tough.

and when you think about it £30 is not a vast amount of money to pay for a game. It's about the cost of 1 night out. A game provides a decent amout of play time, say 8 or 9 hours, and comes across good value for money.

 

[Mr.Reak]

Mmm yes, Farrowlesparrow makes a lot of sense.

Reading previews and downloading demos is a way to go. Sadly I was a pirate two years ago, downloading every game, even the ones I loved. Not until I seen my favorite company went out of business, because their fantastic games didn’t sell, I understood that I am just hurting myself in a long run. Now I am changed man, sure I don’t play so many games as I did before, but hey, box collection slowly grows on the shelf.

 

[nicrd]

Capitalism in a creative industry is the true evil.

Unfortunately, it takes allot of money to make a game. So someone has to risk his money to pay for the development of games. Since the risk of losing money due to bad sales and pirating is pretty big, investors are less likely to make innovative games. They stick to traditional ideas that have been proven many times to be lucrative. Yes, "capitalism in a creative industry" is bad for gamers, but pirating only makes it worse.

The only result of pirating is that game developers prefer to make uncreative console games where they have more chances of getting there investment back. In the end, it is pc gamers that lose from stealing games.

 

[Seppo]

If I want a game, I buy it. But that seldom happens. Although I'll definately buy HL2 and Doom 3

 

[PvtRyan]

blablabla yadadada

Hey, they recently found a solution to that problem: don't play it! Isn't it amazing?
Why waste your time with mediocre games?

You have NO RIGHT to play that game unless you pay for it. It's just that simple.

 

[Idn]

Hello brainwashed world! Nice to see you have not changed at all and everything is under perfect control.
Do you people honestly believe that by buying a game you actually *pay* the creators? I say it is much more sophisticated mechanism than your gooey brains could *ever* apprehend. And these full of extraordinary hilariousness comparisons of a game to a car. My dear, the degradation pace of a capitalistically developed mind of the western man has exceeded my expectations by a too fearsome far. You are like machines that smart people create - repeating over and over what you've been programmed to say. Programmed! Not taught. Teaching requires at least a bit of self-awareness. Artificial mens rea, that is what I see.
I will explain my position by asking questions, as - i think - declarative clauses are a bit too aggresive.
1. Do you think a person who *doesn't* buy games *will* buy a game if there were no - so called - warez scene? Do not entertain single cases! Think of them as one, fluid mass of 'fun4free' worshippers.
2. Do you think, then, game makers truly *lose* money because of people who download their work *instead* of buying?
3. Is the stealing of an intellectual property de facto the same as stealing physical property?

Spoiler hints:
1. I think they would rather find other means of amusing themselves without the need to pay.
2. If I were you, I would pay very close attention to the 'instead' part, as it is simply false.
3. Let me summon a dictionary (a very helpful tool indeed):

Main Entry: steal
Function: verb
[...]
1 : to take the property of another wrongfully and especially as an habitual or regular practice[...]
1 a : to take or appropriate without right or leave and with intent to keep or make use of wrongfully <stole a car> b : to take away by force or unjust means <they've stolen our liberty> c : to take surreptitiously or without permission <steal a kiss> d : to appropriate to oneself or beyond one's proper share : make oneself the focus of <steal the show>

Long story short - to *steal* means to take something from somebody *and* leave that somebody without it. If I steal a car from a person - he loses it. But I *cannot* steal a game (except maybe for physically pilfering the disks from a shop .
Warez is not about stealing. If I were to demonstrate an equivalent of warez in the car industry, I would have to *buy* a car, reverse-engineer its design, build a factory, produce some cars based on that design (yet without a license plate and with colorless body) and *give* them to my friends. That would be car warez. Yes, that would be also using somebody's intellectual property without permission, that's what car design is. But is it *the same* as stealing a single car hit'n run style from a random passer-by? Does it make the original designer any poorer? And if you still think 'well, yes', then you are beyond all hope.

And let me specify some things - I do not condone warez nor do I say that it should be socially accepted. Also, I do not target my moaning at moderators and administrators - it is their job to maintain order according to factual restrictions and, as we all are aware, warez is officially illegal. Period. What I do want to say though, is that you (i'm all hyperbolical of course) are wrong in your examples, comparisons and knowledge, and that is inexcusable. Thank you for reading and have a safe and productive day. :]

 

[^Ben]

What a load of bull IDN

Ok im gonna have a quick check on how many people are downloading D3 on BT

Ok so i quick check on one of the bigger bittorrent sites show that 21000 people are downloading it! So the game costs $50

$50 * 21000 = $1050000

Maybe the people are going to buy it maybe not but that still equates to over 1 million loss for ID and it's publisher.

Don't assume it's not going to hurt them, it doesn't make them any poorer well it just lost ID and it's publisher $1 million.

Oh and by the way it's safe to assume that ID gets atleast %40 of the profits so it also shared %40 of that loss.

 

[Texter]

That first post of yours is very cute, IDN...for us to poop on!

 

[Sai]

Mmm yes, Farrowlesparrow makes a lot of sense.

Reading previews and downloading demos is a way to go. Sadly I was a pirate two years ago, downloading every game, even the ones I loved. Not until I seen my favorite company went out of business, because their fantastic games didn’t sell, I understood that I am just hurting myself in a long run. Now I am changed man, sure I don’t play so many games as I did before, but hey, box collection slowly grows on the shelf.

this favorite company, it wouldn't happen to be black isle would it?

i could be totally off but i'm taking a guess

 

[Idn]

Ben, you did not understand anything. Is it a material loss for a painter when someone photocopies his work and hangs the photocopy in his room? No, because the person who did that photocopy obviously did not want to buy the original. The painter 'loses' intellectual property (using which without permission *is* illegal, but that's not the point) but not cash. The photocopier wouldn't buy it anyway.
Texter, go back to first grade.

 

[Direwolf]

Oh yeah, I guess we all forgot it was that simple...

 

[Mr. Redundant]

<snip>

lol no offense, but when I read that all I could think of was "Don King"

what a splendifferous examplitude my good fellow IDN.

rofl

 

[Mr.Reak]

Ben, you did not understand anything. Is it a material loss for a painter when someone photocopies his work and hangs the photocopy in his room? No, because the person who did that photocopy obviously did not want to buy the original. The painter 'loses' intellectual property (using which without permission *is* illegal, but that's not the point) but not cash. The photocopier wouldn't buy it anyway.
Texter, go back to first grade.

No, you are losing the point. Let say ID pays for a development of a game out of pocket, they spend a lot of money on Doom III, technology, etc. Now, they are almost dry, they need money for the next project. Let me ask you this, where do money for the next project come? Yes, from sales of Doom III. Now you will probably say, that's why there are publishers. Yes, publishers invest into the game, that's how developers get paychecks. If the game sells, publisher will continue to fund developers, but if games stop selling, publisher either brakes off the contract and game studio goes out the door, without money, or they close that studio (for that publisher needs to own it). So yeah, in the end, while you fighting your imaginary "EVIL" in your head, by downloading games, tons of people will lose their job in the end, and we, PC gamers, will be left with dead market, and forced to move on consoles. So yeah, grow the hell up and stop acting like rebellious teen. There are tons of other ways to fight evil, how about creating your own publishing company and giving the fair share to developers?

P.S. Yes Sai, Black Isle studios... :/

 

[Texter]

And we all know consoles suck!

 

[Mr.Reak]

And we all know consoles suck!

No they don’t, but I like PC gaming more then consoles.

 

[Feath]

1. Do you think a person who *doesn't* buy games *will* buy a game if there were no - so called - warez scene? Do not entertain single cases! Think of them as one, fluid mass of 'fun4free' worshippers.
2. Do you think, then, game makers truly *lose* money because of people who download their work *instead* of buying?
3. Is the stealing of an intellectual property de facto the same as stealing physical property?

Spoiler hints:
1. I think they would rather find other means of amusing themselves without the need to pay.
2. If I were you, I would pay very close attention to the 'instead' part, as it is simply false.
3. Let me summon a dictionary (a very helpful tool indeed):

Main Entry: steal
Function: verb
[...]
1 : to take the property of another wrongfully and especially as an habitual or regular practice[...]
1 a : to take or appropriate without right or leave and with intent to keep or make use of wrongfully <stole a car> b : to take away by force or unjust means <they've stolen our liberty> c : to take surreptitiously or without permission <steal a kiss> d : to appropriate to oneself or beyond one's proper share : make oneself the focus of <steal the show>

Long story short - to *steal* means to take something from somebody *and* leave that somebody without it. If I steal a car from a person - he loses it. But I *cannot* steal a game (except maybe for physically pilfering the disks from a shop .

1. You are saying that everyone who downloads a game does so because he wants to be entertained and not to avoid spending the £35 (or equivalent) on a game? While this true in some cases ("I'll play this game for something to do"), a lot of people on these very forums have used the arguments "I can't afford it" or "I don't want to spend £35 on a game, I can pay for something else with that money".

2. There will be people who take something for nothing. If you are claiming that everyone who downloads a game will also buy the game, you are mistaken. A lot of people already take things for nothing (you just have to see any news of a burglar to know that is true) so it stands to reason that most people who download a game won't pay for it. If you ask me to provide conclusive proof that a majority of people who download games don'tthis is so, please provide proof that people who download games also buy them.

3. It may not be stealing in your strict definition of the word, but you seem to be unaware about why stealing is wrong. You seem to know stealing is wrong, but believe stealing is wrong just because it is stealing. Why is it bad to physically take something from someone? Because they lose something, they end up with less than they had. They worked to get something and you didn't. But also, you got something for nothing.

Now, look at an example, a maid. If I hire a maid to clean my room and she does so, I could turn round to her and say "No, I don't want to pay you". The maid has spent very little money cleaning my room, but not lost anything, but it is still morally wrong. She still didn't get money for her services and she didn't lose anything but you still gained something. Whilst she didn't lose anything physical, she still lost her time and effort. Now she could now not have money to pay the bills or whatever. This is equivalent to stealing even though she has lost nothing. It's still in the moral ground as stealing.

Now the same can be said of the game industry. People have still worked to give you something that you used or got enjoyment out of. Whether it be a developer, publisher or game retailer. You have gained something for nothing and their efforts aren't fruitful. It's as morally wrong as not paying the maid.

EDIT PS: What Reak said about Publishers and developers, I was going to include that but didn't, for some reason.

 

[^Ben]

If you don't want to pay for it you don't deserve to get it for free.

Simple as that.