Dear Comments Section: Upon first reading this article, I somehow missed the part where you would need an original copy of the game to use the source code. I no longer think this is dubious, and would delete my original post if I could. Thanks to everyone who explained why I was wrong without being a jerk about it.

I actually don’t agree with me either anymore, but thanks for being mean about it.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I was wrong. Please don’t @ me. I didn’t realize the original game would be needed, and the GTA franchise is absolutely not being distributed.

Yeah, I missed that in my first read-through. Or didn’t understand it. lol

I actually misunderstood the part about needing the original game to play using this code. My criticism of Kotaku still stands based on the final sentence of the article, but my view on this particle issue has changed.

That’s actually kinda surprising to hear. I guess I’m thinking about games as the lovechild of passionate creators who are being robbed somehow when people distribute their content illegally. As someone who is trying to get my own tabletop game published, I guess I’m trying to think how I would feel if someone…

I read the article, and was mostly referring to the last line in which the author literally praises pirates. Can’t believe how much everyone is jumping down my throat for using the P-word when Zack literally used it first...

The last sentence of the article fluffs up pirates. It even uses that exact word.

He wrote his own code to meticulously recreate a game someone else has the rights to. That’s why I said it was “murky.”

Pirate was their word, not mine.

The author ended the article painting pirates as heroes of the digital age. You can call me an idiot all you want, but “pirate” was their word, not mine.

Yeah, that’s the part of the article I was referring to. Hilarious how the author LITERALLY gives props to pirates and then everyone screams at me that no one is talking about piracy.

Rockstar owns the Grand Theft Auto franchise. That’s what’s being distributed. And if Rockstar doesn’t want people to be able to easily play their old games, that’s their decision. You can disagree with it, but that doesn’t make it someone else’s decision to make.

But let’s be real; if it was actually an original game, this article wouldn’t exist. It’s called intellectual property for a reason.

I’ve always been a little uncomfortable with how pro-piracy this site tends to be. While I acknowledge that there is a direct throughline from the mod community to some of my favorite indy titles, I still feel like distributing a company’s game against their wishes is at least murky enough to take a more neutral…

Getting major “Night of the Living Dummy” vibes. The original Goosebumps cover was so nightmare inducing they toned it down for all reprints.

Agreed. Which is why I said “hopefully.”

OHHHH! lol  Shows what I know...

Programming and concept art are two entirely different skillsets, and removing the ability to share fan creations would severely limit the game’s appeal. But being snarky sure is fun, huh?

Can someone check on Cartoonivore? I’m concerned... ;-)