Is it bad to pirate an old game everyone has played?

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I tend to buy every game, but sometimes there's games everyone and their mother has pirated and played already, like Doom, and I'm tempted to do so as well. I'm not even talking about a new PS4 game or anything. Just something like Tetris in the sense every person in this planet has played it illegally.


Does that make me a monster? or something? Idk I want to play that game too lol. I'd probably buy at some point in the future too.
 
pirating games is illegal
 
Pirating of older games is so incredibly ubiquitous that no, I don't think you're a monster to play them, any less than the "most of the other people" you're referring to. I hardly think most pirates are monsters to begin with, even for ones of newer games as there's multitudes of reasons they chose to be pirates.

I feel like do whatever you want, as I don't hold strong views against piracy. But keep in mind, that it's illegal, regardless if it's an old game or how ubiquitous it is. Use your own judgement at your own risk.
 
On Doom in particular, the co-creator has this to say about folks who pirate Doom. (not to be confused with folks like me who Pirate Doom)

But Doom's a bad example because even with that in mind it's still more than worth its current price on Gog.
 
I don't see too much of a issue with it as long as you remember to support the official release as well.
 
I'm more receptive and sympathetic to piracy than most in this forum, so I say just go for it, but make sure you nab a good vpn before you start.

You're definitely not a monster if you pirate. Companies complain the loudest about piracy because they make the most money and far more money than you will ever make in your lifetime while trying to strangle copyright to Oblivion and engage in so many disgusting practices for the pursuit of maximum profits.
 
While piracy as a whole is technically illegal, there are a few situations in which I would personally consider it justified. Like if you already own the game in question (which technically shouldn't be illegal at all, but I digress), or if the game is completely unavailable by any other means (such as old WiiWare games that disappeared with the Wii Shop), or if you intend to buy it later (as long as you actually do buy it later).

But, you know, that's just me. You do you, no one will complain or call you a piracy monster or anything like that. But at least consider supporting the developers in some way if you like the game in question.
 
As a non-pirate myself who would totally never pirate anything and has definitely never pirated anything himself, I would suggest that you don't engage in the act of piracy

That being said, you're certainly not a monster for doing so. Worst thing the police would do if they found out is ask you not to do it again. While it's not like you've stabbed a dude or anything, it's certainly not a victimless crime, as you're pretty much taking money away from the developers.

With games like Doom, however, due to their age, nobody is really going to notice if one guy pirates a game from the 90's. The developers likely stopped raking in the cash over 15 years ago for that one game, as they've now spawned at least two or three incredibly popular sequels since then.

If it were me, I'd have my reservations about pirating Doom. It's a bit different to Tetris, in that Tetris is more its own genre of games than a brand itself (it is a brand, but it feels more like a genre, where as Doom feels more like a series)

My advice to you is just to know the law surrounding these things. If you do choose to pirate it, I wouldn't feel guilty about it, but just remember that people put time and effort into the game and that should be respected.

Just my honest thoughts on the matter.
 
The creators of Doom released the source code so you are legally able to play it for free if you compile it yourself.

Miki Hoshii said:
You Wouldn't Steal a Car
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You don't know that
 
fantanoice said:
The creators of Doom released the source code so you are legally able to play it for free if you compile it yourself.
Click to expand...
That doesn't include the levels, graphics or sound. That's why FreeDoom was made as a substitute.
 
The Stanley Parable Adventure Line™ said:
*post*

Just my honest thoughts on the matter.
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It's... complicated... people pirate games for a lot of reasons and there are pirates who were paying customers but had to deal with shitty clients like Virtual Console or they become paying customers, or the means of getting a particular game is wholly inconvenient and a wallet drain, or the music they want to get isn't even available for the subscription; not going to say that piracy doesn't deny the developers (and the publishers/distributors, MOSTLY the publishers mind you) money, but I have to point that out.

There's not much of a moral high ground publishers have either IMO so while you should shell money for games whenever possible, you shouldn't feel bad for piracy especially in this world of rotten economy, greedy publishers, yawning income inequality, massive game developer layoffs, underpaid Q&A testers, astronomical CEO profits in spite of layoffs, Elsevier (which speaks for itself), CEOs that brag about overworking their employers with 100 hour work weeks, and criminal company tax evasion.
 
I wouldn't steal strawmen from the field.
 
I've pirated more games than I've played.

It's too late to save me. Just save yourself.




That is, unless the game in question isn't available on the Nintendo Switch. In that case, go for it.
 
Of course homebrew is not piracy, but Nintendo does not like people like you and they don't like you modding their games. It's evident from their ongoing crusade of Switch "stability" updates that try to patch out console exploits (yes, they do try patching kernel exploits and I understand THOSE need to be patched but a lot of updates are laser-targeted into patching out Homebrew and not more important things like patching security holes) and constant banning people from online if they detect the faintest whiff of homebrew.
 
I never liked how opposed Nintendo has been to game modding. I mean, do I really have to buy a new Switch just to load game mods if I want to avoid Nintendo's banhammer? I don't see wanting a hard mode in Mario Odyssey, or a real Marx battle in Kirby Star Allies, or a new fighter skin in Smash Ultimate, worthy of the banhammer. Maybe this will change over time, but for now, the Switch remains the only console I have that hasn't been modded. Thanks, Nintendo.
 
i wouldn't be playing smash 4 today if it weren't for mods. i wouldn't have poured 500+ hours as "ness" if it weren't for mods.
 
I'm not sure what the deal with Nintendo is myself. Modding games can be turned into a selling point, which is something Nintendo can and should capitalize on. Other games have advertised modding as a selling point including Vermintide 2, Civilization V, Skyrim, Torchlight II, and more. I understand that modding comes with piracy risks since you're exploiting the console, but Nintendo shouldn't have to require people to exploit consoles (they allow custom music in Super Mario Run for instance) to be able to install mods, so if there was an easier way to mod, it might even lower chances of piracy.

I do hope it changes over time, as Nintendo has demonstrated to be capable of change by discontinuing outright stealing money from Youtube content creators via Nintendo Creator Program; oh yeah, that's closer to stealing than piracy is.
 
I'm just glad that they've finally stopped region locking their consoles.
 
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