Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

PC piracy survey results: 35 percent of PC gamers pirate

2

Comments

  • SeelinnikoiSeelinnikoi Member RarePosts: 1,360
    Kyleran said:
    I only pirate a game that I have a genuine interest. And 100% of the times, I either buy or uninstall and never play that POS again.

    I have over 1,2k games on steam and if they still released demos, we wouldn't need to torrent games to try them out.

    My recent piracy was No Man's Sky. Played for an hour and couldn't stomach another minute.
    Demo played, game sucked, 60 bucks saved.


    Or you could have bought it from Steam, tried it for 2 hours and asked to return it and stayed on the legal side of things.

    But moral compasses are clearly broken these days.
    Not the same.

    Because steam refused to refund some games when people spent time trying to fix the crashes on release.

    I'm not dumb enough to run that risk.

    Moral compasses dont work today as they did years ago when PC magazines came with a CD with a dozen demos.

    For me, no demo, no try, no buy.

    And before you call tell me that I pirate in the Strick sense of the word, no, I dont.

    I never, ever kept a "pirated" game for more than enough to see if it's worth it.

    If it is, I buy. If it's not, it's uninstalled and nothing will ever make me give it another chance.

    There's a big difference between someone that torrents a game with the intent to try and buy, and those pirates that download to fully play and complete the game.
    If you are a Star Wars fan, why not try the Star Wars The Old Republic?
    New players can get a welcome package and old/returning players can also get a welcome back package and 7 days free subscription time! Just click here to use my referral invitation
  • PhryPhry Member LegendaryPosts: 11,004
    I think the 35% is open to a lot of interpretation.
    If it was then broken down into different countries etc. I think it would be far more informative as piracy tends to be higher in some areas than others, which can skew the averages.
    I disagree that 35% of PC gamers pirate their games, its a very misleading generalisation imo.
    However, i am of the opinion that if you have bought a game, and you have to 'hack it' in order to make it work properly, even if it means disabling/removing DRM, then that is not piracy.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 12,262
    The user and all related content has been deleted.

    거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다












  • XImpalerXXImpalerX Member UncommonPosts: 606
    edited August 2016
    Im sure most people pirate because it basically makes them richer to spend on other things.

    I only play MMO's, so I pay my monthly fees or purchase microtransactions. Single player games bore me nowadays.
  • filmoretfilmoret Member EpicPosts: 4,906
    Those Romanians and Serbians.....  Argentinas and Lithuanians should be ashamed.
    Are you onto something or just on something?
  • gir243gir243 Member UncommonPosts: 50
    Zegaloth said:
    More propaganda with shocker headlines to get that click bait going. Aren't there bigger issues in the world to worry about?
    Yes, there are much bigger issues in the world.  Not sure why you expected to find them on a gaming site though.
  • PhryPhry Member LegendaryPosts: 11,004
    filmoret said:
    Those Romanians and Serbians.....  Argentinas and Lithuanians should be ashamed.
    I think there is probably underlying reasons why those regions have much higher percentages, somehow i doubt the ones pirating games in those regions are running games on high end gaming PC's. :o
  • filmoretfilmoret Member EpicPosts: 4,906
    Phry said:
    filmoret said:
    Those Romanians and Serbians.....  Argentinas and Lithuanians should be ashamed.
    I think there is probably underlying reasons why those regions have much higher percentages, somehow i doubt the ones pirating games in those regions are running games on high end gaming PC's. :o
    Yea something like that is hard to read.  Could be local news or government that promoted it so naturally the citizens are doing it.  Maybe its legal in those countries.  Bunch of factors there and then where did the sample come from was it WOW convention or piratebay website?  Anyhow its taken with a grain of salt.
    Are you onto something or just on something?
  • KingPJohn11KingPJohn11 Member UncommonPosts: 6
    I personally download games illegally just to see if I will enjoy the game. If I enjoyed and I liked it, then that's the time I will support the game and buy it.
  • PhryPhry Member LegendaryPosts: 11,004
    I personally download games illegally just to see if I will enjoy the game. If I enjoyed and I liked it, then that's the time I will support the game and buy it.
    There have been surveys conducted, where its estimated that 25% of those who pirated a game, went on to buy it, not saying that 75% didn't like the game so they didn't, but just that it seems a fairly significant percentage do use pirated games as a 'free demo'.
  • rpmcmurphyrpmcmurphy Member EpicPosts: 3,502
    edited September 2016
    I've seen quite a few studies say that people who pirate also tend to buy a lot more stuff than your average customer. ie https://torrentfreak.com/file-sharers-buy-more-movies-121018/

  • SEANMCADSEANMCAD Member EpicPosts: 16,775
    What is additionally intresting given this fact that despite piarcy PC game revenue still out performs consoles.

    http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/01/dont-look-now-but-the-pc-is-the-worlds-biggest-gaming-platform/

    Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.

    Please do not respond to me

  • SulaaSulaa Member UncommonPosts: 1,329
    Age distribution nicely show how piracy is linked to income.

    When you age and your income (for most people) increase piracy decrease.  One you hit 60+ and start getting pension rather than pay from work,   piracy increase again.

    Same goes usually for countries and wealth.  Piracy is smaller % wise in wealthier countries.
  • SulaaSulaa Member UncommonPosts: 1,329
    filmoret said:
    Those Romanians and Serbians.....  Argentinas and Lithuanians should be ashamed.
    Wealth.

    Australia, Denmark, Norway, Finland, UK, US  <-- countries with lowest piracy rates have also highest wealth per capita from countries included

    Romania, Serbia, India, Argentina, Greece  - are those least wealthiest from countries included and/or hit with severe economic crisises/bankrupcy in last decade (Greece, Argentina, etc)

  • maskedweaselmaskedweasel Member LegendaryPosts: 12,195
    SEANMCAD said:
    What is additionally intresting given this fact that despite piarcy PC game revenue still out performs consoles.

    http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/01/dont-look-now-but-the-pc-is-the-worlds-biggest-gaming-platform/

    similarly and despite piracy, mobile games far outpace PC games 

    http://venturebeat.com/2016/03/29/mobile-gaming-widened-its-lead-over-all-other-game-platforms-in-2015/



  • alkarionlogalkarionlog Member EpicPosts: 3,584
    filmoret said:
    Those Romanians and Serbians.....  Argentinas and Lithuanians should be ashamed.
    for?

    btw i'm pretty sure the brazil one is wrong, there is a lot more piracy here then just that, only way for you to find a PS3 game here is more likely being a pirated copy


    also you can always say it wrong to piracy but understand, most country there is a lot of tax on then since they are imports and since goverments don't consider then as art or usefull for anything so tehy put even more taxes on it, some places games in US cost around 60-80, is around 300+, most will piracy just for that much, others for the challenge the DRM apply on it, now I ahd to piracy some games I bought too because it won't work otherwise, or not really willing to let the cd inside.

    let's get real here if the game is good and there is a good support for it and they give the finger for they players they will sell well with DRM or without it, there is a reason most games nowadays are pushing heavy for hypes and paid reviews and no demos for it, they know very well if was not for these his lame game wouldn't sell
    FOR HONOR, FOR FREEDOM.... and for some money.
  • alkarionlogalkarionlog Member EpicPosts: 3,584
    laxie said:
    Many of the games today are social experiences.

    I recall the first Call of Duty games had no matchmaking. There was no difference playing on a pirated server, to playing on an official server. I'd imagine it's much more difficult today.

    Running a Minecraft server open to pirated clients is a huge hassle. You would need to expose the server to all sorts of modified clients and packets. That's why majority of serious server owners wouldn't consider it.

    I suppose being a pirate is very inconvenient in a good number of games, even if you get the game to run without issues. You still face the problem of not being able to access the official servers (and the online content).
    only, you forgot, most people who do it do on Single player, and don't wnat to play online, also lets get real here, games like dragon age inquisition with a multiplyer is nothing like the game per see and being online or not means little, diferently from a battlefield game who you don't even bother to play the single player and jsut drop online right after the install
    FOR HONOR, FOR FREEDOM.... and for some money.
  • DrDread74DrDread74 Member UncommonPosts: 308
    "50% of pirates stop pirating because services like Steam made it easier to buy it than pirate it."


    Hey Games Industry, Are you seeing this? Can you go talk to the Music and Movie Industry about it please?!

    http://baronsofthegalaxy.com/
     An MMO game I created, solo. It's live now and absolutely free to play!
  • SEANMCADSEANMCAD Member EpicPosts: 16,775
    Sulaa said:
    Age distribution nicely show how piracy is linked to income.

    When you age and your income (for most people) increase piracy decrease.  One you hit 60+ and start getting pension rather than pay from work,   piracy increase again.

    Same goes usually for countries and wealth.  Piracy is smaller % wise in wealthier countries.
    age alone I am sorry to say does not provide that link.

    It could just mean that people who like to watch Mattock are less inclined 

    Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.

    Please do not respond to me

  • SulaaSulaa Member UncommonPosts: 1,329
    edited September 2016
    SEANMCAD said:
    Sulaa said:
    Age distribution nicely show how piracy is linked to income.

    When you age and your income (for most people) increase piracy decrease.  One you hit 60+ and start getting pension rather than pay from work,   piracy increase again.

    Same goes usually for countries and wealth.  Piracy is smaller % wise in wealthier countries.
    age alone I am sorry to say does not provide that link.

    It could just mean that people who like to watch Mattock are less inclined 
    Income of people on retirement is lower than those in working age of 30-60, and especiall 40-60 when peak income usually take place. 

    Those retirement 60+ will pirate more because they will want to play and they will have less available resources to do so legally. Simple as that.
    I am sure following years and decades with following research and data on the matter will prove it.
  • RidelynnRidelynn Member EpicPosts: 7,383
    When I was young, I used to pirate. I didn't have any money, it was that simple. It was wrong, I totally acknowledge that. If I did have the money, would I have bought them at the time? That is hard to say. Piracy was so invasive where I was at, and at that time, it was just a bunch of kids swapping around a stack of 3.5"'s - why would i go out to buy this at the store, and pay out of pocket, when Joey down the hall already has it and I can just borrow and copy it from him right now? Between everyone that lived in the dorm at the time, we had a huge catalog of software available - so much so that our little 50MB hard drives couldn't possibly hold it all at the same time. That still goes on today (just not with 3.5" floppies any longer), and that's a tough culture to crack.

    Steam (and services like that) changed that equation a good deal. Now, I get something on Steam, it's there (more or less) forever. I don't have to worry about scratching the CD, or the floppies going bad, or losing the CD Key. I don't have to worry about the copy being infected with viruses or not being able to apply patches and bug fixes. There is a huge benefit there to purchasing over an online service that offers unlimited re-downloading, playing on (for most titles) unlimited differing computers and activations, and I don't have to worry about preserving physical media or licensing keys.

    I stopped once I had money to buy stuff legitimately, and once the risk of pirated software being a trojan horse for viruses became very high. Wiping and reformatting an infected computer just because I didn't want to spend $5 on Commander Keen was a poor choice on my part, and ultimately once the convenience of online services surpassed the risk of using pirated software, that was the tipping point for me. That being said, I do not buy things where the DRM is so crippling that it's harder to play (UPlay, etc). I don't pirate them either, I just don't touch them. I also don't fund kickstarters or "pre-releases" any more - the company will get my money when it's wrapped up in a box (metaphorically speaking, in the case of digital releases) and ready to ship.

    I recognize the fact that software companies need to get paid to write their software - that's ultimately how we get better games overall. Today, I buy games from companies I like, even if I don't play them. I've purchased a lot of titles just because they are available on OS X or Linux. I've purchased a lot of titles from developers I have enjoyed from other titles. I don't consider that a waste of money - part of it I consider restitution for my younger days, and part of it I consider an investment in future titles or platforms.

    And hey, maybe one day I'll actually get around to playing my entire backlog of games. 
  • cheyanecheyane Member LegendaryPosts: 9,386
    Not worth pirating just wait for sales and now with so many places selling games cheaper why pirate.
    Garrus Signature
  • HulluckHulluck Member UncommonPosts: 839
    edited October 2016
    I have. I also tend to buy the very same games which I have.  When I played games more than I do now. I was spending a couple hundred every few months with sales! Is what it is. Advertising and interviews often deceptive. Consumer beware I guess. But I found a way to mitigate it and used it. I actually spent more money this way as well. A lot more money than I would have normally spent.  I found titles which I would never have given the time of day. Enjoyed them. Wanted full functionality and current updates. Bought it. Worked out this way a lot. Hence I spent more!   People can call it what they want. Publishers and developers got more out of me this way though.  I don't game much anymore. Or have much interest to. With exception to series that I have long been invested in. Thus I don't download either. Hell can't remember last time that I even looked. Not spending nowhere near the money I use to either.    I don't justify anything. It just is what it is. The fact is I spent more when I did then than I did before or now.   ALOT MORE.

    1. If I liked a game I wanted an official copy so that I had the newest updates.  Often pirated titles were many months behind.

    2. Full function of the social / online aspects of the game.


  • SEANMCADSEANMCAD Member EpicPosts: 16,775
    edited October 2016
    despite piracy:

    http://www.winbeta.org/news/pc-games-still-rule-consoles-mobile-2015-sales

    Of that $61 billion, $32 billion was in PC gaming, $25 billion was in mobile gaming, and $4 billion was in consoles. For comparison’s sake, one estimate of worldwide movie box office gross revenue for 2015 is $26.8 billion (via boxofficemojo.com).

    Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.

    Please do not respond to me

  • SovrathSovrath Member LegendaryPosts: 32,780
    Zegaloth said:
    More propaganda with shocker headlines to get that click bait going. Aren't there bigger issues in the world to worry about?
    It's a game site with news on games. It can't all be sandbox vs Theme Park and solo vs group.

    Besides, the idea of piracy affects businesses (yes I know, gamers forget that making video games is a business) and how companies deal with piracy affects players.
    Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb." 

    Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w


    Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547

    Try the "Special Edition." 'Cause it's "Special." https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/64878/?tab=description

    Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo 
Sign In or Register to comment.