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[PATV] Extra Credits: S1 Ep.26 - Piracy debate
NKnight
Registered User new member
Registered User new member
Disclaimer: First of, I'm not in favor of piracy. No justification presented bellow is necessarily my own, it's just how I believe most people tend to behave. My main point is that we need more than what we have today to combat piracy, we need more than morality to guide consumer choice. That's all. So please, go easy on me. :P
Click the Image to see the Extra Credits video about piracy that I'll be commenting about:
No threads about "old" Extra Credits episodes, so I tought about doing one myself. First some points brought up by the Extra Credits guys that I feel I disagree with or should add something.
EC - It's impossible to have this conversation without involving ethics or morality.
ME - True. But at the same time, the answer does not lie there. You can't go so far by pressing the guilt button in the war against piracy. If people are going to pay for a product they can easily get for free, they need a much better reason for it.
EC - The only justifiable reason for pirating a game is having no access to the original.
ME - Not completely true. For instance, I'm brazilian, which means I should pay (I kid you not) R$229,00 ($127,00) for a game because of tax policies. Try to justify a legal copy of that! Sometimes it's just too expensive. Even a regular $59,99 game is too much sometimes. I, particulary, have access to better sources, where I can pay much less, but most people here don't. An example to prove it's not bullshit: http://playstation3.pontofrio.com.br/Game-Final-Fantasy-XIII-PS3-43287.html?cm_re=pagea-_-main-_-vitrine2
EC - The "I'm too poor" argument is just a rationalization.
ME - In that sense, yes. But I prefeer to call it the "I have the money but I feel like wasting it when I buy what I could get for free" argument. Wich is not as noble but still makes sense.
EC- You can play free games if you don't feel like spending your money.
ME - Would you play game X, a fun game, but still worse than game Y, just because you feel guilt for not paying for game Y? Yes? Good for you. The problem is, most people wouldn't.
My point is:
I think what I'd like to bring to the table is this: the current measures are too moral oriented. It's wrong, it's illegal, I'll sue you, you might break the publishing company, it's like stealing, etc.
In comparisson to other forms of crime. You don't steal because that's moraly wrong, that's good, but you also don't steal because there is a good chance you will be punished, maybe face some jail. But in the case of piracy. What are the chances of the law punishing you? Almost none. So what else besides morality holds you back?
This subject needs to be addressed in a more concrete manner, the industry needs to be more pragmatic about it. We should buy the original because it’s better than the copy, not just because it’s the right thing to do. In the past, it was pointed out how inferior pirated products were, they could harm the player, be full of viruses, etc. But people are not buying that anymore (pun intended).
Today games offering online or physical features, like the PokeWalker from pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver, music been sold in special packages like The Beatles USB, special hardcover books and other things hard to pirate are good examples of how the original can be better than the free bootleg copy of the media.
Click the Image to see the Extra Credits video about piracy that I'll be commenting about:
No threads about "old" Extra Credits episodes, so I tought about doing one myself. First some points brought up by the Extra Credits guys that I feel I disagree with or should add something.
EC - It's impossible to have this conversation without involving ethics or morality.
ME - True. But at the same time, the answer does not lie there. You can't go so far by pressing the guilt button in the war against piracy. If people are going to pay for a product they can easily get for free, they need a much better reason for it.
EC - The only justifiable reason for pirating a game is having no access to the original.
ME - Not completely true. For instance, I'm brazilian, which means I should pay (I kid you not) R$229,00 ($127,00) for a game because of tax policies. Try to justify a legal copy of that! Sometimes it's just too expensive. Even a regular $59,99 game is too much sometimes. I, particulary, have access to better sources, where I can pay much less, but most people here don't. An example to prove it's not bullshit: http://playstation3.pontofrio.com.br/Game-Final-Fantasy-XIII-PS3-43287.html?cm_re=pagea-_-main-_-vitrine2
EC - The "I'm too poor" argument is just a rationalization.
ME - In that sense, yes. But I prefeer to call it the "I have the money but I feel like wasting it when I buy what I could get for free" argument. Wich is not as noble but still makes sense.
EC- You can play free games if you don't feel like spending your money.
ME - Would you play game X, a fun game, but still worse than game Y, just because you feel guilt for not paying for game Y? Yes? Good for you. The problem is, most people wouldn't.
My point is:
I think what I'd like to bring to the table is this: the current measures are too moral oriented. It's wrong, it's illegal, I'll sue you, you might break the publishing company, it's like stealing, etc.
In comparisson to other forms of crime. You don't steal because that's moraly wrong, that's good, but you also don't steal because there is a good chance you will be punished, maybe face some jail. But in the case of piracy. What are the chances of the law punishing you? Almost none. So what else besides morality holds you back?
This subject needs to be addressed in a more concrete manner, the industry needs to be more pragmatic about it. We should buy the original because it’s better than the copy, not just because it’s the right thing to do. In the past, it was pointed out how inferior pirated products were, they could harm the player, be full of viruses, etc. But people are not buying that anymore (pun intended).
Today games offering online or physical features, like the PokeWalker from pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver, music been sold in special packages like The Beatles USB, special hardcover books and other things hard to pirate are good examples of how the original can be better than the free bootleg copy of the media.
NKnight on
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