Confessions of a pirate...

[Ghost]

So let me be honest about something here. I absolutely detest DRM. I am willing to buy any software that I want to play as long as it's not one of those "requires internet connection" games. As soon as I read those words I immediately look for "other means" of aquiring it.

Last night I downloaded a game called FTL just to try it out because it looked like something I would really enjoy. I saw the sun come up this morning while I was still glued to my screen. Tonight I surfed over to FTLgame.com to find out how much trouble the DRM would be only to find that the legit copy of FTL is DRM free!

You sir have earned my hard earned cash. I've purchased the game through Paypal and have a warm fuzzy feeling that I'm supporting a piece of software that's turning PC games back in the right direction.

Thank you so much and please keep up the good work!

[Sick Boy]

whilst i don't agree with what you did, and certainly don't understand why you'd go out of your way to tell people.

good job sir, this game is a steal at 10$ anyways :p

but again!, next time, especially when it comes to indie games, don't go and pirate their games.

[Ghost]

I'm going out of my way to tell people because I want to make it clear that lack of DRM will cause more sales not more piracy. Invasive DRM only keeps honest people honest. I never pirate software just because I can. I only play games I PAY for... and I only play games without DRM one way or another.

I spoke up because I want the developer to know that his design choices pleased me. It's no different than making a post that says "I bought your game because I enjoy the sound effects." By giving positive feedback it will encourage him and other developers to make the same choices resulting in more sales and happier customers. We all win.

[StealthCl0wn]

This is why I love the indie game community. DRM is a taboo to them, therefore I can keep them all in a nice folder on my desktop.

[Sick Boy]

i understand that and i wasn't meaning to sound condescending. And what you are saying about DRM is quite true, i hate them pesky things.

[UltraMantis]

There's not much to do about piracy. Either you belive a game is good and worth the price and pay for it, or you never even consider paying and download illegaly. There is a minor risk of picking up malware infested pirated copies, but other than that illegal users have a free ride. Personally i belive that you can never ever EVER get those people to pay. It's not even an option to them.

I had a conversation with a guy who was pirating DVDs that he downloaded off Rapidshare. This was two or three years ago. I asked him why the hell he doesnt pay for premium RS membership since he was bitching about the slow download speeds and limits. He outright refused and ridiculed me for even suggesting it. As if he'd ever pay a dime for anything. I was genuinely surprised by his stupidity.

Now, if you're selling pirated DVDs on the street, and you rely on Rapidshare to obtain them. Premium membership cost around 30 euros for 6 months or something, and in return he'd get unlimited bandwith and maximum speed. He'd make the money right back and earn more. Wouldn't even consider it. Paying for membership is for idiots. I kid you not, this guy made a living of piracy and was *that* cheap. Had no regular job to speak of, just sat his ass around the house/pub and sold illegal DVDs... a complete loser.

Cheapskates can not be convinced in any way. But they are different to people who try to avoid internet-only DRM systems, or DRM that acts as malware on your PC, and coose piracy to do so. Internet activation requires servers to be online in order to activate or even start the game, and servers don't stay up forever. Likewise, if a publisher goes out of business, you might be unable to play your legitimately purchased game unless you resort to piracy and crack it. This is a limitation of DRM and sometimes rewards pirates as well, but paying customers should not be screwed or needlesly inconvenienced esp. since almost no DRM system exists that actually works. In the end it shouldn't be frowned upon when someone decides to pay for a game, but ends up playing a pirated version. Technically if you ever used a no-cd crack to prevent having to play with a CD/DVD in drive, you are also resorting to piracy.

By distributing a DRM-free version of FTL, subset games are losing some of their potential revenue, but i would suggest that most of the stolen copies are stolen by those uncurable people who would never pay for it anyway. The rest of us who belive the game was worth the price and paid for it, and rewarded by a game that doesn't have ridiculous limitations or intrusive DRM and is there to be played and enjoyed.

Most of the drama about DRM overrated though. Unfortunately publishers dont allways deal with their customers fairly, so it's their own fault.

[fylth]

I've only ever pirated games where I'm not sure my laptop would be able to handle it and the developers haven't provided a demo, I don't want to pay good money for something I wont be able to play. If I can play it, I'll play the first couple levels then buy the game on my next payday

[OmegaJasam]

I've passed on a lot of games of late, and feel really damn guilty if I buy anything with invasive DRM.

I'll accept steam/desura though, as I will CD keys, One time activation e.t.c. Theres enough trade off in value there, or inconvinance is minor, along with reasonable pricing. Something like Origin can frankly, burn in a fire with it's pricing and general horrableness

I find now I have enough money to afford games, I /very/ rarely pirate (and then usualy for demo purposes, or because the game is very hard, (or moderatly invconvinant) to get legaly). No reason not to support the Devs when I can afford it and 'aint getting a boot up my backside for doing it.

A lot of the games I /did/ pirate in the past I've since bought too since they were so good and I wanted them on steam e.t.c. At the time I had no money, so thats more sales then not.

[bulba]

+1
I will never pay money for drm infested games. bought it from gog.
drm only hurts paying customers, pirates don't have to live with it, how funny is that ? It only encourages piracy.

[UglyMug]

DRM-hate is really just a way pirates use to rationalize stealing. "Oh, it's not my fault I'm pirating. It's their fault."

That said, buying legit copies really buys you two things:

Convenience: That you don't have to go and wait two or three times as long for a torrent that may or may not work and you might need to download an entirely new torrent every time you want the latest patch.

Satisfaction: That you know that you supported a developer that you know and trust.

Convenience is a really big motivator, and people will part with their disposable cash for it; for a copy of game they know will work and get regular updates.