Videogame Piracy?

[Spank0]

Hey all,

Im doing some research into videogame piracy for my dissertation, and am trying to find out why people download games.

If anyone has a few minutes i would appreciate it if they could fill out this questionnaire:

http://www.my3q.com/home2/58/alex_dodgey/97969.phtml

All responses are completely anonymous and no personal details are required/requested.

If anyone has any suggestions or can think of any factors ive missed please feel free to post them here, if i dont get a 2.1 my parents will disown me :|

 

[VirusType2]

I don't know how much a pound is worth compared to US dollars.

You should tell everyone how to convert thier money to pounds.

I did it for ya pall. nice work

 

[Spank0]

Cheers VirusType2,

For those of you who may not know, £1 is almost $2 ($1.92 to be precise)

 

[Reaktor4]

"Do you believe videogame piracy is wrong? yes or no?" :/
Why not always, usually, sometimes, rarely, never...

 

[Spank0]

Thanks Reaktor4,

A few people have made similar comments, will have to put that in my analysis. Yes & No is too limited it seems

 

[Phisionary]

I've always appreciated tests that ask questions in the form of
'Proposition:' Do you agree? Strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree

Just an idea. If it fits your requirements, or if you need to do another survey, you could try it. It makes it easier (for me at least) to answer a question and not have reservations about the answer, without having something that can't be statistically evaluated...

But meh... :\
gl mate.

 

[RRunner]

done

 

[Jangle]

completeed. :thumbs:

 

[ríomhaire]

I only got a pirate copy of 1 game ever Half-Life...then I bought half-life generations so valve got their money

 

[johnmedz]

ya. i dont know someone would ask why games are pirated.lets see, you can pay $55 for a game, or u can pay 0$. now do u see their motivation?

Nowadays, many games are showing stronger protection against these pirates (valve banned 30,000 illegal users and GT4 has not been copied for ps2 because sony put such great protection on it). Its good to see games getting tough about pirates.

Im sure everyone has pirated a game, or music at some point in their life and there are many games i probably wouldnt of played otherwise (you cant just go try games at $55 a pop). I do, however, think the companies deserve the money after all the hard work they put into a game.

So, the moral is, if ur gonna pirate a game, pirate Varmint Hunter or one of those other crappy games, not the games where the maker deserves the money.

 

[Venmoch]

The only truely pirated stuff I own is usually Abandonware....

 

[xLostx]

im a pirate arghhhhhhhhhhhhhh me mateys

 

[B-MAn]

completed the form

 

[lePobz]

Avast ye, thar be treasures o' warez 'pon the seas... Yarrrrrr!!

Piracy is a crime. Talking like one isn't.

 

[spookymooky]

Is it still legal to hang a pirate...?

 

[oldagerocker]

Avast ye, thar be treasures o' warez 'pon the seas... Yarrrrrr!!

Piracy is a crime. Talking like one isn't.

lol hilarious

The results are interesting... 3/4 of people have downloaded an illegal game, that sorta fits with the majority of people earning low wages? Could it be said that piracy is a result of poverty..? or maybe somebody satisfying a want, not a need and not willing or old enough to work for it.

 

[Ikerous]

Piracy is the way of the gods.
I wish i could pirate hardware...
Or perhaps dinner :-/

 

[Spank0]

Cheers for the help guys, some very interesting results so far, seems laziness is (one of) the primary causes of piracy.

Quick question for yall, how do you think internet piracy can be stopped?

Answers on a postcard please

 

[lePobz]

Well, all major manufactuters are adding hardware that will check licences for all software (mp3s/videos/programs/OS/etc) that will be uncrackable... although everything they say is uncrackable is usually cracked after an hour of it being released.

To stop internet piracy, they should make everything free.

 

[the_lone_wolf]

^^^here here

 

[Steve]

To stop internet piracy, they should make everything free.

Behold, the dawn of in-game advertising.

 

[PickledGecko]

I've copied games. When I was a kid, my parents wouldnt buy them and I didnt have a job. When I was a student I couldnt afford it, and no I didnt go out drinking or any other student stereotype. When I've been unemployed I copied games but when I work, even though I've never earned much more that minimum wage, I bought every game I played.

I could justify it because, if I couldnt get the game for free, I wouldnt pay for it anyway. So nobody was missing out on any money, cause there wasnt any money to miss. I dont know about "poverty", poverty to me is where you cant afford the basics, like rent, food, etc. People who are in poverty have other things to worry about.

This picture illustrates "Maslow's Theory of Motivation at Work";

It shows the heirarchy of what people are concerned about, once the bottom layer is satisfied, the next one up becomes the most important "force" pushing people on.

Although the theory was intended to explaing motivations to work, I suppose the acquisition of games and recreation in general fits in there somewhere, social needs - split screen gaming, esteem - everyone wants to play the newest titles... I would suggest the piracy of games is simmilar to shoplifting from the fashonable cloths shops. If a product is desiarable there will always be those who, although not starving, cant justify spending the prices demanded for them. But these people are just as strongly affected by the desire created for these highly prized items. Combine this with the, "victimless crime" attitude to copyright infringement (software piracy its not theft), and you end up with a lot of otherwise law abiding people committing a crime.

 

[Phisionary]

Piracy is the way of the gods.
I wish i could pirate hardware...
Or perhaps dinner :-/

That last one is a cinch!

Go out, buy a rusty cutlass. Get a bandanna and some ratty clothes and leather boots. Go find a house when people are having dinner. Jump through the window, swing your cutlass around, and yell, "Avast! Yar, har har. Me mateys! Arrr! Ahoy!" ..and so on, until they give you a drumstick and some peas. And some rum. Pirates always drink rum.