Piracy: try before you buy

[Chronictank]

Just a bit of market research, there are a reasonable number of people here who are somewhat tech savvy so an anonymous poll to see the numbers involved

Please try and be honest, you don't have to justify yourself it is an anonymous poll

I don't care if people know what i voted for so will start things off

 

[leviathane]

i buy my games.

 

[Binky the Bomb]

Yeah I buy. If i'm not sure about a game i'll go try the demo if one is available (magaiznes and download).

I tried the "Download all my games" route, but Torrents began to loose there appeal after a month of having 14 Downloads at 93% completed, waiting for file share. Wasted alot of time and bandwidth.

 

[kirennia]

[youtubevid]-LkWKvMCzqA[/youtubevid]

^^

 

[CorNokZ]

I downloaded all my PES games for the computer, but recently I've bought C&C, Oblivion and a Rainbow six 3 Raven Shield

So I usually buy all my games

 

[Thorwyn]

I buy all my games.

 

[kirennia]

It depends on who makes it really. No way I'd give any money to EA and I'm slowly getting rid of/replacing microsoft products, both of which seem to be steralising the market at the moment...

Smaller companies which only produce a couple of games a year max shouldn't be ripped off, even if I have been guilty of it in the past. On the other hand, if they're crap mass marketed money fillers, there's no way I'd pay for them. But then again, I wouldn't play them either.

edit: basically my choice isn't there so I like clicking polls...

 

[old.Tohtori]

I like polls.

Not gonna talk about it further, as it would no doubt lead to flaming, annoyed people and such.

 

[Eeben]

I dont play games but i voted i download them all since i download all my music and movies

 

[- English -]

i download all games, although buy the cd keys etc if they're play able online. Otherwise i just find a cd crack

 

[Roken]

I have downloaded games, but now I buy them all. Voted 'buy all' because there was no closer match (that I could see)

 

[Dukat]

I started to think about it, then saw the "I LEIK POLS" option and.. well, that was that!

 

[Chronictank]

I started to think about it, then saw the "I LEIK POLS" option and.. well, that was that!

So fickle

 

[soze]

I try before i buy

 

[Wonk]

I buy before I try

 

[Guest]

surely thats what irc was invented for ;-)

obviuosly not Quakenet though, thats all nice and shiny, bad Dalnet, bad bad Dalnet........

 

[liloe]

I buy my games tbh. If my bro has a game I like aswell, I buy it ^^

 

[Helme]

I download most games that catch my interest, if they are decent enough I usually buy them.

 

[Sharma]

Try before you buy.

For one i'm not the type who likes doing returns, infact, I fucking hate it.

Because it's always the same spotty little prick who sold you it in the first place and every now again he'll drag his heels over the whole returns policy, checking the disk and taking generally AGES.

The only shop where I don't get argy bargy over returns is Chips, the rest, GAME, Gamestation, HMV, etc, can go and jump in a fire.

Also to the crew who say "Demo before you buy!" - shove it, I don't play half arsed, half done, 2 minute demos which show the intro and 2 steps.

 

[old.Tohtori]

The way games should be, if you want to "try before buy", is that you download the game and you can play it "as is", but at some point(when the developer deems it necessary), you get prompted to "pay up!" and then you download some mising .dat files or some such.

This way you get a free try of the game as it is marketed, and still don't have to buy it if you don't feel impressed.

It wouldn't eliminate piracy ofcourse, unless .dat files are hardcoded with a "password" into corresponding .dat files that you download.

Ofcourse one could buy from the store to get the lovely packages etc.

Downloadable games should be around 50% off, with the storepacks containing LOTS of bonus material.

 

[GReaper]

The only games I tend to play these days are multiplayer, so they're rather awkward to try before buying. It's nearly impossible to pirate a game and play it online without an online authentication system.

 

[Levin]

I think it's really different which kinds of games we're talking about. Today's FPS games are pretty much all best in their online modes - making it more difficult to play a pirated copy.

On the other hand you have strategy games, adventures and other single player games that make for very good download candidates.

So.. the avid FPS player will probably be more likely to buy, while the strategy etc player probably is more likely to at least try before buy.

 

[Raven]

try before i buy, i have bought probably 10 or so in the last year, downloaded another 20 or which just weren't good enough to deserve my money.

same with films, i download them and watch them, if they are any good i will go buy the DVD.

 

[Hawkwind]

Smaller companies which only produce a couple of games a year max shouldn't be ripped off, even if I have been guilty of it in the past. On the other hand, if they're crap mass marketed money fillers, there's no way I'd pay for them. But then again, I wouldn't play them either.

Do you steal food from Tesco's but not from the corner shop as well?

I think Piracy is Piracy no matter whose software your ripping off. Nothing ethical about it, its just IP theft plain and simple.

I'm no angel, I download most of the TV we watch. But not movies as I enjoy the cinema experience to watch some shit cam job with flaky sound.

 

[Bahumat]

Anything which I want to play online I will buy, things like command and conquer...well, lets just say Hamachi is a good tool

 

[Sharma]

Ironically EA seems to be the one with the biggest voice as far as whinging about Piracy is concerned.

Maybe they should take a hint and stop producing shite.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Ironically EA seems to be the one with the biggest voice as far as whinging about Piracy is concerned.

Maybe they should take a hint and stop producing shite.

Not this again with EA...it's a BIG corporation, not all EA is sh*t, just 'cause some is.

But i have to agree with...*checks*...Hawkwind, piracy is piracy is piracy. It doesn't matter if you steal a series or a movie, it's still the same. There's no "if/buts". No highhorsing, just an opinion on what is and what is not.

 

[Chronictank]

Not this again with EA...it's a BIG corporation, not all EA is sh*t, just 'cause some is.

But i have to agree with...*checks*...Hawkwind, piracy is piracy is piracy. It doesn't matter if you steal a series or a movie, it's still the same. There's no "if/buts". No highhorsing, just an opinion on what is and what is not.

ofc but why should users have to pirate, as you very rightly said if they released time demo's (remember UT99, you could download it legitimately and after a week the game would lock itself)
or demo's which actually represent the game, see battlefield 2 and UT99 as 2 examples.

 

[old.Tohtori]

ofc but why should users have to pirate, as you very rightly said if they released time demo's (remember UT99, you could download it legitimately and after a week the game would lock itself)
or demo's which actually represent the game, see battlefield 2 and UT99 as 2 examples.

I wasn't commenting on that, simply the fact that piracy is piracy and you're a pirate right after that first unbought file hits your computer really.

No, i don't think people should pay themselves sick for games to "try 'em out", like i posted above.

 

[Chronictank]

I wasn't commenting on that, simply the fact that piracy is piracy and you're a pirate right after that first unbought file hits your computer really.

No, i don't think people should pay themselves sick for games to "try 'em out", like i posted above.

i was agreeing with you