Engaging Debate on Piracy and Videogaming

koworld writes "WotR have put out a really intriguing issue on piracy this week. It has Jeff Minter arguing that piracy robs developers of their livelihoods and then a senior industry figure (writing under a pseudonym) offers the counter that piracy has done more to expand the overall videogaming market than any other factor. Just to round off the debate a number of insightful personal accounts of piracy and its effects are also included."

Comments

Re:It costs $ 0.00 to copy the games

[spectecjr]

if im not going to buy them anyway, does anyone lose out?


If they had no value to you, you wouldn't want to copy them anyway.

Ergo, they do have value to you - which means that you should pay for them.

Might I sugesst

[beakerMeep]

http://www.gamefly.com/

This might save you some money for 2 teenage gamers :)

please note though, I have yet to try it this service so this is not an endorsement... but the idea seems like such a good one (basically netflix for games) I am really just waiting till my next game to sign up.

Simply rule to prevent revenue theft

[dfranks]

Here is what I recommend when asked:
If you would pay for a title if you couldn't get a free copy, then you should (pay for it).

Making a copy of a game is only theft from the IP perspective, it costs the developer/distributer nothing. Choosing to make a copy of software/music/whatever instead of purchasing it does effectively cost the developer/distributer money.

That said, remember that even copying for evaluation or limited use is illegal. Be prepared to accept to consequences, or don't make the copy.

Free windows games

[lightspawn]

Try looking at free games. You'd be surprised how many there are. Of course most aren't worth playing, but that still leaves quite a bit.

Here's a few places to get started:
Remakes.org - remakes of many many classic games.

Freeware World Team - many categories including games.

Freestle freeware - small but good.

fullgames

world of free games

Feel free to suggest more / better resources.

P.S. So many console games drop to $20 if you're just willing to wait a year. The sports games are even cheaper if you don't absolutely need this year's updated roster. If you don't want to buy games at $50, just wait a bit.