So other countries get to steal them because they’re expensive there? GTFO. That’s a terrible analogy. Plus, there’s sites like cdkeys.com that use the strength of world’s currencies to buy at the cheap. I can already get Overwatch for $40 on there.

But I wanted it and couldn’t afford it. Why can’t I have it?

I wasn’t using the analogy as a physical expensive item vs. a ‘free’ digital one, but rather to point out the hypocrisy of “I want it and can’t afford it, so I’ll just steal it” mentality of game pirates. But I get you.

But, to use your own claim of digital vs. tangible, how does a game need to be ‘properly preserved?’ I mean, we can just create unlimited copies of the game, so it’s not like dust mites are going to ruin the final act of KOTOR II (because Obsidian already did that) over time, right? Also, if people are so concerned…

Downloading an unavailable copy of Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantic from 1992 is a little different that stealing Stardew Valley which came out 3 weeks ago. And even then, what claim is there other than you wanted to play it? Are LucasArts dicks for making their old adventure games hard to find? Hell yes. Can I…

In both of those instances, you cannot ETHICALLY justify it. You can justify it, sure, but you can take neither an ethical nor a moral ground to do so.

I was more or less referring to the nickel and diming with DLC and Season Passes. It’s rare these days for a ‘complete edition’ to be less than $100.

Then you either import it or don’t play it. Back in the physical copy days this wasn’t an issue, and I’m not sure why it’s one now. I can’t legally own a right-hand drive Nissan Skyline in this country. I have to pay crazy shipping charges to get Wasabi Kit-Kats to my door. I deal with it.

Say what you wanted about what I linked, but it plainly says that almost 375,000 jobs have been lost due to piracy. It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks, there’s a direct correlation there.

Because blankets are warm and cuddly. I fucking love blankets.

Touché.

True, but the discussion was about the potential justification of the crime, not the crime itself. If he steals shoes to simply cover his feet, there’s some justification. If he does it so Kanye likes him he does not.

But then it’s not mine. I don’t want to give it back. And I want to go 200 mph. They frown on that in test drives.

Seriously, piracy is never legitimately justified, because in the end the ONLY claim you can make is “I wanted to play it”. In the past, I have downloaded some old .roms of games that I couldn’t find. I was also stealing the game. I had no legal or moral grounds to do so. I just wanted to play it and I was in the…

“pirated materials...causes the loss of 373,375 jobs”

Really? A woman dying of cancer and taking a life saving drug is a little different than someone stealing a video game, no? There is breaking the law for a need (food, shelter, etc) and breaking the law for a want (Nikes, cigarettes, video games). Good find, however. I can admit when I’m being hyperbolic and…

I would import back in the Saturn/Dreamcast eras. Also, and this may be somewhat hypocritical, but pirating a brand new game and a 20 year old arcade .rom that you literally cannot pay the developer for are two entirely different things. You are comparing someone possibly losing a job to a coin-op not getting the…

Theft is theft, Mate. Hyperbole aside, that’s truth.

Then they should send the developer a check. But they can’t, won’t, or don’t. I wanted badly to play Shinung Force III part 2 back in the day, but the only way to do so was by importing it. Same with any games not available in the US. Just because someone can skip the importing process nowadays doesn’t make it ok.

No, it’s not. But it’s analogous of two points I was attempting to make: