A Personal Question

[gh2masterwellalmost]

Hey lads + ladies, sorta got a problem.

I got a mate, and he's not allowed to get Bioshock (he's 14, like me), and despite me trying to talk him out of it, he's decided to bit torrent it. I've done the "you cost the industry x million", "you're the reason games are so damn expensive etc." but, can you help me, I want him to be decent, but its something I find utterly disgraceful.

Any ways of persuading him otherwise?

[DShizzle1029]

Well, I dont think legally they can nab you since you are overseas, but if its just the moral issue...candy always works...

[gh2masterwellalmost]

Well, I dont think legally they can nab you since you are overseas, but if its just the moral issue...candy always works...

Lol, well if the long terms and conditions copyright infringement is based on U.S. law, and is in effect around the world. But do I bother getting him in trouble.

Recently been informed hes gotten Photoshop Pro, Flash and RT3+exp packs. Brilliant:rolleyes:

[DShizzle1029]

Yeah everyone else in the world has those programs too. Well since I live here in the US of A, I stopped downloading media in fear of getting nabbed. I dont download anything anymore, I have too much to lose. So fear did it for me. You'll find a way. Some peopel though are just as hard-headed as can be and wont listen to anyone else...

[Apples]

If you want another case in point on the effects of piracy, give him a look at the current PC gaming scene.

It floats in a stagnant heap compared to a decade ago. Most development shops have closed up, sold out to EA, or switched to console gaming. The few successful studios left exist on the MMORPG model. The rare exceptions have been Blizzard and iD software, and only because they can produce top 5% elite PC gaming titles.

It's a sad state of things knowing there are likely to be no more Thiefs, Tomb Raiders, Master of Orions, and other first rate IP properties on the PC.

[gh2masterwellalmost]

If you want another case in point on the effects of piracy, give him a look at the current PC gaming scene.

It floats in a stagnant heap compared to a decade ago. Most development shops have closed up, sold out to EA, or switched to console gaming. The few successful studios left exist on the MMORPG model. The rare exceptions have been Blizzard and iD software, and only because they can produce top 5% elite PC gaming titles.

It's a sad state of things knowing there are likely to be no more Thiefs, Tomb Raiders, Master of Orions, and other first rate IP properties on the PC.

Wow, thx. I'm no goody-two-shoes but what hes done is too far...

[thorn_9]

I think to each thier own. To go out and actively dime a friend out speaks volumes to your character nothing about his.

In my culture, you never ratt someone out, unless lives are at stake, or you have to to protect yours or your family.

[Thrashdragon]

I used to download stuff when I was broke, but now that I can afford it, the peace of mind that comes with owning a malware-free piece of legitimate software is nice. And, of course, buying a good game keeps the developers in business so they can make more good games. But it's not worth ruining your friend's life for, so try to talk him out of it all you want, but don't do anything stupid.

On the death of PC gaming:

I think the PC industry killed itself with years of bad, buggy games with just a few stellar standouts. Add in constantly increasing system requirements that are swiftly outpacing anything near what the average home computer can do, and consoles that can finally rival PC graphics, and that actually do online play even better...PC gaming, outside of MMOs, is in serious trouble. I also don't think kids downloading is the problem...they weren't going to buy it anyway. The entire copyright-ignoring country of China downloading, now...

Poor copy protection software and rootkits are hurting the PC industry, as well. When a legitimately purchased game won't run because the copy protection doesn't recognize your chipset or your DVD drive, it encourages people to stop buying games and start stealing them...because the cracked version works better. That's sad.

PC developers need to be innovative and either use an effective way to combat piracy (i.e.Valve's Steam), or just make better games. Good games sell enough to offset piracy (Bioshock, World in Conflict, every Unreal Tournament game, etc.). If those two options are unavailable, sell out to EA and just make console games like everyone else.

Oh, and I keep seeing industry heads saying that we gamers want shorter games. If they're seriously that out of touch then it's amazing that anyone in gaming makes money. Pretty sure I've never heard, "Man, this game is awesome, but it looks like it's pretty long, I might actually get my money's worth out of it. That sucks." These 10-12 hour long games selling for $60 are ridiculous.

Okay, rant over. Sorry. Just my two cents and all that.


Apples...Someone, I think it was Bethesda, said they wanted to take a crack at a new Thief game, by the way. No timeline, it was whenever they finished their current project (which, if it was Bethesda, means it'll be quite awhile).

[tf5_bassist]

wow, some really great points brought up here, good stuff.

Bioshock is one of those horrible examples of copy-protection effectively defeating the useability of the game, sadly enough. It's such a downer to see a great dev house creating such a great game on their own terms, and then kowtow to the piracy issue with such an incredible lack of foresight into what the users will think. This sort of thing is what's hurting the PC gaming industry in a vast majority. Combine this with poor development and a lack of true creative drive, and you get what we have now.

Industry people have been touting that the PC gaming industry will be dead soon for over ten years now. It obviously hasn't gone away, and there are still some great PC games coming out, but nothing amazing in recent times, save a few. Thief was a great example, and I really hope that Bethesda gets to put out another one. I'm sad that we (most likely) will never see another Deus Ex now that Warren Spector and his studio is now owned by Disney. Yeah, I'm excited to see what he puts out--if anyone can me non-lame Disney-licensed games, he can--but I sure will miss one of the greatest original IPs of our time.

We can only hope that the console devs will push the PC industry creatively, because those dev houses are the ones doing the innovating and the pushing of the envelope at the moment. Games like Fracture, Assasin's Creed, Haze, RB, it's this creativity that's lacking on the PC now.

Hopefully it changes.

[MotleyPriest111]

Didn't they have that crack proof thing for Bio Shock on the PC? When did that go out the window!

[Thrashdragon]

Didn't they have that crack proof thing for Bio Shock on the PC? When did that go out the window!

The full version of Bioshock was available on torrent sites days before the game was released.

[SmokaCola]

Aw, you're just jealous becuase you don't know where to get it and how to make it run properly :P That's why you don't do it, not because it's "wrong". Lol, kidding. Anyways kick your friend in the nuts and tell him to stop doing stupid ****.

[Bakkster]

Aw, you're just jealous becuase you don't know where to get it and how to make it run properly :P That's why you don't do it, not because it's "wrong". Lol, kidding. Anyways kick your friend in the nuts and tell him to stop doing stupid ****.

Just dock him "points". Doesn't matter what they're called. But next time he says "hey can I come over and play Guitar Hero", say "Nope, not enough points. I had to dock you for Bioshock."

[SmokaCola]

I think that'd be more effective than kicking him in the nuts.

[Chthonic]

I just love the fact that PC gamers complain that the market is diminishing, yet they keep on torrenting games like there's no tomorrow. It's like deciding to move to Siberia whilst complaining that you hate cold.

[battle_axe_of_doom]

i'm not allowed to post my opinions about this here

[Bakkster]

I think that'd be more effective than kicking him in the nuts.

The alternative is to do the opposite. Dork-points or ass-points. My friends and I did this a few years ago. It works best when you have enough people to ridicule him for it. ;)

[DShizzle1029]

I just persnally think that downloading is too risky. Say you were to get caught. You would have to pay the biggest fine, and you would have it in your reputation that you got nabbed for that stuff. I just value my image right now since I am applying to an expensive art school. I dont want them to see any more flaws in me than they have to (my really bad ACT score for instance).

I really am not for downloading anymore. I, like someone said earlier, enjoy that feeling of satisfaction that I supported a company who worked hard to produce something for my enjoyment so that they can continue to produce more, and now that I am a much more practicing artist, I wouldnt want someone jacking my work. I just see how they (the companies producing the games) see now, so thats why I feel the way I feel.