| EXTREME TALKING POINT | ~ Video Game Piracy ~ The Good, the Bad, and the Excuses

As Master Yoda would say: "Sensitive topic, this is." If he ever did say that, he'd be right. When it comes down to the Video Game Industry, or even any part of the entire Entertainment industry ~ piracy is a very hot-topic. But we'll just keep the focus on Video Games.

So, how exactly does Piracy affect video games, developers and consumers? Let's take a look at some of the popular excuses made to try and justify piracy - and why they may hold water, or not . . . 

The justification of Piracy lies on a very, very, VERY thin grey line, that only marginally separates it from being "good" to completely evil:

EXCUSE #1: "There Aren't Any Demos" ~ One of the most annoying things in the world is seeing a game you have your eyes on, and before you even consider buying it, you want to try it out. So, you begin hunting for a demo, but to your dismay, there isn't one available - and in other cases - the demo is incredibly restrictive. So what are you left to do? Well, you could simply go look for a gameplay video, playthrough, let's play, or video review of the game in question or you could experience it first hand, and pirate the game.

WHY IT'S A GOOD EXCUSE: Well, even though it still counts as piracy, you really just are doing what you would have done if the game actually had a demo. You're trying it out for yourself, to see if you're really going to enjoy the game and if it's really worth spending your hard earned money on.

WHY IT'S A BAD EXCUSE: Alright, now you've gone ahead and done it. You went on a torrent site, you downloaded the game, installed it, and now you're running it. Now remember, this is just for trial purposes . . . . . right? SOME, people are able to perform this stunt successfully. They honor their original motives to simply play the game, with a "try-before-I-buy" mindset. Once they've played it for a few hours, they uninstall it. Now, they're able to either decide to head on over to the game store to buy it, or search for a more entertaining title.

But of course, we have some people who simply can't take that kind of heat. At first they may have that "try-before-I-buy" mindset. But then, they install the game and start playing it. They get sucked into it, and bam! Like a fly in a spider's web, they're caught. They now enjoy the game so much, they start thinking "Well now. I love this and I already have it. What point is it that I even try and continue?" See how quickly the situation changes? Even those who enter into the world of piracy, with the purest of minds, and greatest of intentions, can become easily corrupted by greed. It's not easy to let go of something you love. Some people just can't bare to uninstall that pirated version, so instead, they keep it.

END RESULT: Developers lose money. Even though you originally had plans to buy that game, now you don't want to. That means, whatever cost of the game, the developers behind that will not make a profit. If many other people like you fall into such a trap, that game may no longer become profitable, because there are more people pirating than buying. What does that mean for the developers? They lose money. What happens if they lose money? They can go bankrupt. What happens if they go bankrupt? They have to shut down. And then? Well, their would be no one to continue creating those string of games. People are now out of jobs, and have to go look elsewhere. But happens if they don't go bankrupt? The company may have to lay-off a few of their workers, which once again results in a loss of a job. These developers are hard-working people, who need their games to sell in order to keep their company alive, and to continue living normal lives. That's why whenever you buy a new game, you're rewarding that person for their hard work, and keeping their company (and lives) afloat.

EXCUSE #2: "I'm Poor" ~ We all want nice things. But sometimes, we don't have the money to get those nice things. Now, I'm about to introduce a scenario, and I'm sure ALL of us have been here at some point. We walk into a store, we see something nice. We examine the item, and with every blink, we want it more and more. Then, we catch vision of the price tag. Suddenly, a chill is sent down our spines. We put the item back, and perform the walk of shame away from the item. Now, let's say that item is a video game. We REALLY wanted that game, but we can't pay for it. So, what's the next option? . .  . The Pirate Bay, I need you.

WHY IT'S A GOOD EXCUSE:  . . . Sorry, but there really isn't anything out there that can justify this. You can't pay for the item, so your next option is to steal it. Here's:

WHY IT'S A BAD EXCUSE: Regardless of HOW MUCH you want that game, there is ABSOLUTELY NO LAW that states that you can now download that game for free. Like I mentioned before, developers have to PAY to create that game. They work hard, day after day, month after month, year after year, developing those games, pouring out their wallets to get it finished. When they put that game out on the market, they hope that all the money and time they spent to create that game will be rewarded. When you decide that you should have that game, even though you can't pay for it, you're making those developers hard work come out in vain. They practically wasted their time and money, and gave themselves false hope that they would be rewarded enough to continue their passion. How does that sound? Cruel, heartless, disrespectful, selfish? Of course it is . .  .

Gaming is a hobby meant for the people who can afford it. If you can afford an entire game system and/or computer (that can run games well) - then you can afford to pay for the game. Even if you can't get it, RIGHT, THEN AND THERE - Try saving a little money, whenever you can. Wait for the price to drop, or some special sale to come around. 

EXCUSE #3: "It's Not Available in My Country" ~ This is an excuse I can actually stand by, seeing that I do live in a country where new releases aren't very easy to come buy, and even when they (eventually) do, they're usually quite over-priced. So, what's a person left to do if they sincerely can't pick up the game in their country? Well, you can import it. Or, you can visit somewhere that has it. Or, you can just simply pirate it.

WHY IT'S A GOOD EXCUSE: The first two suggestions I mentioned above will require you to pay for the game, as well as extra funds (especially the second suggestion). So then, piracy - which is completely free, and won't require any wait time - seems to be pretty attractive, right? Of course it does. But, once again, you can't really justify it. Here's:

WHY IT'S A BAD EXCUSE: Like I mentioned before ~ Regardless of HOW MUCH you want something, THERE IS STILL NO LAW that states you can have it for free. When it comes down to not having games available n your country, you can simply just try importing it, or take a vacation to a place that has it, and buy the game while your on vacation. If you can't do any of that, tough. 

EXCUSE #4: "I Wasn't Going to Buy It Anyway" ~ Yeah, there are some things in life that we feel like we should never have to pay for. Sometimes we feel that way about everything that we have to pay for. But even so, in order to get things in this world, you're going to have to free up the bucks. So when it comes down to video games, how do you feel? Whether you like a certain game, love it, or just tolerate it - Do you ever feel like in order to have it you should pay? Or do you feel that you should get it for free?

Some people feel that they should get every game for free, no matter how much they love or just simply like it.

WHY IT'S A GOOD EXCUSE: Well you see . . . UM NO, I DON'T SEE.

WHY IT'S A BAD EXCUSE: There really is NO WAY to justify this. This, is the mindset of many notorious pirates, the real pirates. This is the mindset of people who feel like because they want a game, they really can just have it. They don't think about or care for the consequences that doing this inflicts on others. They just go like: "Hey, this game looks cool." *TORRENT DOWNLOAD INITIATED*

That's cruel. That's sick. That's mean. That's selfish. That's just plain evil. You're stealing from the developers - Getting enjoyment out of their product, which they spent thousands, sometimes MILLIONS of dollars developing - all for FREE. Where's the good in that? There is none! You are a thief! You can try and justify it anyway you like, but it will only come out as stupid babbling

.

EXCUSE #5: "The Companies Can Afford It" ~ Some people truly think that when they're pirating a game made by a large company like EA or Activision, it has virtually no affect on that company. I mean, come on. These are MULTI-MILLION dollar companies. Companies that own some of the best-selling franchises on the market. What would me pirating a $60 game from them do?

WHY IT'S A GOOD EXCUSE: Well you see . .  Um, once again - NO I DON'T SEE.

WHY IT'S A BAD EXCUSE: How would you like to know that they actually can't? Just ask THQ (Oh yeah . . .). Okay then, ask Atari (Um . . . . .). See? Even the biggest of companies can be brought down by not having enough funds. People, realise this. The games these companies own and make, require thousands, sometimes millions of dollars. They're made by normal human beings just like you, except it's almost slave-work. These things are complex, and they take time to craft. It may be comfortable for you to stare at a screen for let's say, 8 hours straight, and only feel tired afterwards. But for them, they have to spend time building, programming  and coding - all of which is extensively exhausting. Since they're working to meet deadlines, they have to work, sometimes overtime in order to make sure their project is done on time. 

When all is said and done, and release day comes, they hope that their efforts won't be in vain. If it turns out that their $3 million game only ends up selling 50,000 units for let's say, a month, with a profit of $500,000 - that will be a failure in their eyes. They just lost a heap of cash, because their game isn't selling well. But why isn't selling well? Is it bad? No, it isn't. It's actually really good and even critically acclaimed. So what's the problem? Well, although 50,000 people decided to buy it legally, 80,000 others decided to pirate. See how it goes? When you pirate, you're taking money away from those developers. Some have to close their entire studios. Others have to lay-off employees. In the end, you just end up hurting others. And to add insult to injury, you hurt fellow gamers too. Companies are left to implement annoying DRM to their games. But in the end, that just punishes loyal paying customers, as the pirates still end up getting a DRM-less version for free anyway.

TO CONCLUDE

Piracy is loved by many and hated by many more. In the end, it creates chaos for innocent ones, and victory for evil ones, which is completely unfair. We all have a sense of morality, we all a conscience. Try putting those abilities to work the next time you think about pirating a game. Think about how you're hurting developers and your fellow gamers. Think about how you're making chaos for everyone else but you and other pirates. Think about how it would feel if YOU were a developer, and you saw your hard work - that you slaved over and devoted so much of your time and money to, only to see it be stolen right in front of your eyes.

Piracy is an ugly thing. At the end of the day, there really is no justification for what it really is - a crime.