Bethesda Is Tired Of Spending Money Supporting Software Pirates

[GodlessAstronomer]

Originally posted by: Eeezee
I disagree. Pirating a game costs the developer nothing, assuming you weren't going to buy the game anyway. Similarly, uploading that pirated game to someone else also costs the developer nothing, assuming they weren't going to buy the game anyway. We can talk all we want about lost sales, but the actual number is impossible to know so there's no point.

The point is that the publisher doesn't actually lose anything. You didn't take $50 from a publisher when you downloaded title XX. Physically stealing a copy of the game DOES cost the publisher money, that's a physical good and costs money to produce. Calling the company for tech support DOES cost the publisher money, that's a service, those tech support guys have a salary.

Creating the game costs money, but making digital copies of that game does not cost additional funds. That is the distinction. There is a difference between opportunity cost and actual cost.

If you were never going to buy the game then why do you think you're entitled to play it? I just do not understand this entitlement syndrome that you (fucking asshole) pirates have. You're not entitled to use software that you didn't pay for.

 

[coloumb]

Originally posted by: Eeezee

I disagree. Pirating a game costs the developer nothing, assuming you weren't going to buy the game anyway. Similarly, uploading that pirated game to someone else also costs the developer nothing, assuming they weren't going to buy the game anyway. We can talk all we want about lost sales, but the actual number is impossible to know so there's no point.

The point is that the publisher doesn't actually lose anything. You didn't take $50 from a publisher when you downloaded title XX. Physically stealing a copy of the game DOES cost the publisher money, that's a physical good and costs money to produce. Calling the company for tech support DOES cost the publisher money, that's a service, those tech support guys have a salary.

Creating the game costs money, but making digital copies of that game does not cost additional funds. That is the distinction. There is a difference between opportunity cost and actual cost.

If the developers contract include a bonus which is determined by how many games are sold - then you are stealing from the developer.

By STEALING the game [newsgroup, bit torrent, your buddies, etc], rather than buying your own copy from a store, STEAM, online, etc - that is a lost sale to the store and/or publisher.

Digital copies DO cost money to make - Valve has to pay $$$ for electricity to keep the servers maintained and powered so you can download the game - correct?

Go ahead and try to justify your arguments in a courtroom. You will lose everyone of them...

 

[cessation]

Originally posted by: Eeezee

Originally posted by: cessation

Originally posted by: mindcycle

Originally posted by: BladeVenom
Theft is the taking of property. That's why it's called copyright violation, and not theft. And intent doesn't protect you against copyright violation. If any software you use is in violation of copyright law, you are also guilty of copyright violations no matter what your intent. Everyone here has violated copyright laws whether they intended to or not.

Right, copyright violation and theft are two different things.

The funny thing is (or sad) most people pirating think it's no big deal because they didn't really steal it, but copyright violation (piracy) is worse than theft in most cases. If you just took a copy for yourself that you didn't share then it's only one small violation. But most people grab software off bittorrent or other sharing methods and share with hundreds or thousands of people. So if the pirate just went to the store and stole a copy of the software they probably would've done less harm.

I see why so many people do it though. How many of people can say they wouldn't take cash from a ATM that was just spitting it out? Most people would not admit they would take the cash but they would. It reminds me of movies where casino chips go flying for whatever reason and everyone dives in to grab some. Although that's just a movie, I could easily see that happening.

It's too bad companies can't make it so hard to pirate software that the average joe wouldn't bother. Everytime they try it ends up screwing the legit customers and doing nothing to pirates.

I disagree. Pirating a game costs the developer nothing, assuming you weren't going to buy the game anyway. Similarly, uploading that pirated game to someone else also costs the developer nothing, assuming they weren't going to buy the game anyway. We can talk all we want about lost sales, but the actual number is impossible to know so there's no point.

The point is that the publisher doesn't actually lose anything. You didn't take $50 from a publisher when you downloaded title XX. Physically stealing a copy of the game DOES cost the publisher money, that's a physical good and costs money to produce. Calling the company for tech support DOES cost the publisher money, that's a service, those tech support guys have a salary.

Creating the game costs money, but making digital copies of that game does not cost additional funds. That is the distinction. There is a difference between opportunity cost and actual cost.

That's assuming quite a bit. If pirating isn't worse than theft then why do you get way more jail time or fined for pirating(sharing) than theft? Pirating is worse because you are distributing copies of it, helping hundreds or thousands copy the software. Whatever helps pirates sleep at night on their theory of stealing is worse but according to the law it's not. You can't honestly think at least a few out of those hundreds or thousands wouldn't have bought the software.

I would bet it's a lot more than a few that would've bought it too. Sure the RIAA/MPAA (etc) will cry foul and say all of them would've bought it, so they lost cash on every pirated copy. That's BS obviously but to sit there and say none or hardly any of those people pirating it would've bought it is pure BS too.

 

[slugg]

Originally posted by: mindcycle

Originally posted by: nakedfrog

Originally posted by: Red Storm

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
What kind of jackass pirates a game and then calls in for support?

The kind that pirates games to begin with.

I think calling in for support takes it to a new level.

Haha yeah, it is ridiculously stupid to do that.. but apparently that's what people are doing.

An easy solution would be to ask for their product key before they get support. I don't understand why no one does that. It doesn't seem like it would be that hard to verify since most cd keys are generated from a master encryption key. Just have the support guy verify it against that and if it checks out give them support, if not then they offer them the chance to get a license. I don't know.. something like that.

Coming Soon: Bethesda Genuine Advantage.

Have you been tricked into buying a non genuine copy of this game? Don't worry, you can buy the real thing from us RIGHT OVER THE PHONE, and then we can make your existing copy genuine.

^^
I like when things sound familiar

 

[mindcycle]

Originally posted by: GodlessAstronomer

Originally posted by: Eeezee
I disagree. Pirating a game costs the developer nothing, assuming you weren't going to buy the game anyway. Similarly, uploading that pirated game to someone else also costs the developer nothing, assuming they weren't going to buy the game anyway. We can talk all we want about lost sales, but the actual number is impossible to know so there's no point.

The point is that the publisher doesn't actually lose anything. You didn't take $50 from a publisher when you downloaded title XX. Physically stealing a copy of the game DOES cost the publisher money, that's a physical good and costs money to produce. Calling the company for tech support DOES cost the publisher money, that's a service, those tech support guys have a salary.

Creating the game costs money, but making digital copies of that game does not cost additional funds. That is the distinction. There is a difference between opportunity cost and actual cost.

If you were never going to buy the game then why do you think you're entitled to play it? I just do not understand this entitlement syndrome that you (fucking asshole) pirates have. You're not entitled to use software that you didn't pay for.

I don't think Eeezee is condoning pirating, just explaining the difference between copyright infringement and theft. Of course you're not entitled to play a game you didn't pay for, but it's very arguable whether or not a pirated copy would have been a sale in the first place. A good majority of pirates pirate games for the sake of doing so, having no intention of buying the game otherwise. It's wrong to do that, I agree, but if they were never going to buy the game in the first place how can it be considered theft? That's why there is a difference between copyright infringement and theft, and if you look up both in the dictionary I guarantee they aren't going to have the same definition.

Originally posted by: coloumb
If the developers contract include a bonus which is determined by how many games are sold - then you are stealing from the developer.

By STEALING the game [newsgroup, bit torrent, your buddies, etc], rather than buying your own copy from a store, STEAM, online, etc - that is a lost sale to the store and/or publisher.

Digital copies DO cost money to make - Valve has to pay $$$ for electricity to keep the servers maintained and powered so you can download the game - correct?

Go ahead and try to justify your arguments in a courtroom. You will lose everyone of them...

There isn't and never will be a 1:1 ratio between a pirated copy and the loss of a sale. You are talking about steam here, and there is a cost involved for digital copies on steam, sure, but pirates aren't pirating the game off of the steam servers. So the point you're trying to make here doesn't make any sense.