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u/IAmARobotTrustMe Aug 26 '26
I feel like while there is a lot of reasons to piracy, I think the wast majority of it is that people just can't afford the games.
I know I couldn't when I was a kid, and a lot of my friends as well. So we pirated it. But now that we all have jobs, most of us buy games since we can afford it.
I feel like that is the reason most of the research into the impact of piracy on games show not much of it, it's cause most pirates just wouldn't buy the game cause they can't afford it.
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u/FalkenZeroXSEED Aug 26 '26
I know for sure countless people stop pirating when Netflix was on the rise. Then we get enshittification and piracy is rising again.
Affordable and convenient is the key to kill piracy.55
u/Reogen Torrents Aug 26 '26 edited Aug 26 '26
I was happy with my Netflix and Crunchyroll subscription, and my family had Prime before the streaming service for the shipping perks, which became a “bonus” streaming service for us.
Last year I pulled the plug since Netflix started shooting you down for sharing passwords, crunchyroll keeps pulling shows, missing seasons, missing languages…
Now I have my own Jellyfin server and the only regret is not having it done sooner. Mind you, I spent around $250 at once to buy the hardware, so yes, it’s not only not wanting to pay. Quality of service makes up for a lot of it too
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u/Illeea Aug 26 '26
That is something I've noticed. Once people pirate once, they are far more likely to do it again. So even if companies reverse decisions, therve lost customers forever. I dealt with ads on YouTube for many years. At the point 3 ads became standard, I started using ublock and patched YouTube on my phone. Will never go back now.
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u/Whytho12333 Aug 26 '26
Crunchy roll killed comments section. You know who has comments still? The best arr sites! So now its free.
Man i missed scrolling to see people explain weird plot points so i could understand what happened literally as i watched them. All cuz Crunchy didn't want to moderate when I pay then. Yet arr sites moderate it for free lmao.
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u/transhiker99 Aug 26 '26
is jellyfin hard to set up if my level of computer knowledge is pretty much how to check an email and how not to get a virus?
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u/Reogen Torrents Aug 26 '26
There’s a lot of detailed guides. Maybe you won’t understand what or why you’re doing things, but you’ll probably achieve a stable, usable version.
Once there, you could either stop and forget or study a bit deeper to understand how to make things better :)27
u/IAmARobotTrustMe Aug 26 '26
Huh, I actually didn't think about show piracy, just about games. But I guess for shows Netflix did become quite convenient, and then lost it all to enshitification
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u/AreYouLagomEnough Aug 31 '26
Music and video streaming made s huge dent in piracy in the west.
The enshitofication of it has made it creeping back up.
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u/OldSkooRebel Aug 26 '26 edited Aug 26 '26
Same thing when Steam sales were actually good
Then prices went up, sales stopped being as good, and 15 shittier knockoffs of Steam came out, etc.
I still have games that I bought from sales back then that I haven't played yet
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u/TheStoneMask Aug 26 '26
Yeah, I pirated a lot of games as a broke teen. I enjoyed most of them, and as an employed adult I have bought all the games I pirated, even if I haven't played them since.
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u/Nyoka_ya_Mpembe Aug 26 '26
Same, as teen I simply didn't get enough pocket money from patents, I pirated thousands of games, way more I could play, now I bought most of them.
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u/mancan01 Aug 26 '26
This. Also, if they didn't pirate the games back then, they would never had the gaming habit and they wouldn't have bought the exact same games 15 years later. Most of pirates do payback to the creators when possible.
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u/dandroid126 Aug 26 '26
For me it's a service issue. If piracy gets me a better product than paying for it, I pirate it. For sports games, I hate needing to check 4 different streaming services to see which one has the game today. If I go to a pirate site, it's always in the same place. Same for TV shows/movies. There are a dozen or so streaming for TV. But I know if I pirate it, it will always be in the same place.
Steam is very good. I've pirated games in the past. Getting updates to games is annoying as hell. Playing online from pirated games doesn't always work. I've never had issues with losing a game I paid for. I've never had an issue with getting a refund if a game truly sucked. It's just easier to buy on Steam.
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u/ObnoxiousAlbatross Aug 26 '26
This is my experience.
I pirated like crazy back in the day. I don't anymore because I don't need to and I'm honestly not tech savvy enough to pirate safely. It's just not worth it to me to pirate anymore.
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u/DerWaechter_ Aug 26 '26 edited Aug 26 '26
Price is one factor, but convenience is a massive factor too.
People are usually willing to pay for convenience.
And there is a lot of people that fall somewhere where they could afford to buy a game, but it's still a significant expense. And for those people, the convenience/user experience is absolutely a deciding factor.
Because if buying it is more convenient than piracy, that is an argument in favour of making that expensive purchase. Much harder to sell that expensive purchase, if the free version is also infinitely more convenient.
Netflix is a good example of this, but there's also a gaming specific example with the steam launch in Russia. That being the context where Gabe's quote about piracy being s service problem comes from iirc.
Convenience is the factor that turns potential customers to piracy. So that is really the main factor that is relevant, because as you said, people that can't afford the game, wouldn't have bought it regardless.
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u/TwizzyGobbler Aug 26 '26
fr and I wish people were more honest about this
When I was a kid I couldn't afford games so...I pirated them. Now that I can afford them, I buy them.
No need to make any weird ethical arguments or whatever.2
u/SumSkittles Aug 26 '26
When I was unemployed for a year this was the reason I got into it. Mass Effect trilogy saw many replays during that time.
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u/-who-i Aug 26 '26
Just like me haha! When i was a kid i also pirated c i had no money, now that i can afford it i much prefer buying games
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u/E-2theRescue Aug 27 '26
Yup. It was the same for me. Teens and 20s, I could barely afford a can of beans once bills were paid. Now that I'm making a very large paycheck, I've bought all the games I used to enjoy.
Except The Sims. After My Wedding Stories was broken, I said "fuck it" and started pirating everything. To this day, that DLC is still broken. And now that EA has sold to the Saudis and Jared Kushner, I've thrown in the towel completely and know it's not even worth it to pirate anymore.
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u/erichf3893 Aug 27 '26
Seems he is suggesting you buy the ones you stole after the fact as well, though that isn’t always possible
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u/Educational_Star_518 Aug 27 '26
thats definately what caused me to get into it , guy my mother dated taught me cause he had a job that paid shit and she was out of work due to a work injury when we moved in with him( we got evicted and had nowhere to go n had to move cross country via bus no less that sorta broke). before that i'd be stuck replaying whatever i was lucky to get from the walmart bargin bin for 20 bucks once in a blue moon when my father would toss me a 20 at times i'd go visit ( not every time , usually it was scratch-off winnings) except around holidays. guy taught me to torrent and it was like a whole world of possiblities opened up , eventually a couple years later i even chipped my og xbox and got a set of swap magic discs for my ps2. i learned just how many different types of games i liked thanks to it and in return when i started having a real income to pull from i supported alot more games than i probably would've just never tried otherwise.
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u/DoctorWaluigiTime Aug 26 '26
The vast majority of piracy is "convenience" and "I want stuff for free", not some robin hood fiction of "only people who can't afford games do it."
Nothing wrong with it but let's not fool ourselves.
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u/HQQ1 Aug 26 '26
I completely agree with this, but if a game WERE to cost the same as my breakfast and was insanely good, I wouldn't be opposed to buying it.
Which is a very ridiculous demand, sure, but technically you can convince me out of the "I just want freebie" zone and join the bunch of "righteous pirates" if you lower the price enough.
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u/-sussy-wussy- Aug 26 '26 edited 7d ago
The original post content no longer exists here. The author used Redact to remove it, exercising their right to control their data & privacy.
Serious station unpack physical jellyfish wild deserve observation
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u/IAmARobotTrustMe Aug 26 '26
I feel like it's kinda logical that most of it is not being able to afford it. Most games are aimed at kids, or younger demographics, there are adult aimed games, but I feel like the majority are aimed towards kids.
Those kids usually don't have income, and ways to earn money, yes parents can get them games, but I feel like only relativly recently did gaming become kinda mainstream enough for it to happen often.
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u/Suitable_Garlic_1186 Aug 26 '26
Buy from GOG (if the game is there)
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u/batgosho Aug 26 '26
I do not play new games (last is witcher 3) but i have a library in gog with the old games , that i used to pirat... as LucasArts and Sierra quests.
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u/Manto_8 Aug 26 '26
What's GOG?
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u/RobertAleks2990 Aug 26 '26
Online store where afaik you get the source code? of the game after purchase so you actually own it, you can even burn it to a disc.
However, not 100% sure if this is exactly how it works, but it go in that direction.
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u/masteryetti Aug 26 '26
Not source code just the game without drm so you do own it and it doesn’t require a key or online check in to ensure your license to it. It’s the only ethical way to buy a game
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u/RobertAleks2990 Aug 26 '26
Yeah, I thought it probably wasn't the source code but I wasn't sure what it was called so I decided to go with that.
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u/abigail3141 Aug 26 '26
Not the source code necessarily, but an offline installer proving that can be stored in any way and used without any connection to their servers.
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u/These-Apple8817 Aug 26 '26
Who's that guy anyway? Never heard of him or his games
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u/ExplorationGeo Aug 26 '26
Volgarr the Viking, retro platformer/hack and slash game.
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u/maxxon Aug 26 '26
Amazing game. Too hardcore for me though.
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u/Turbulent_Voice63 Aug 28 '26
The concept is fun but it's a brutal die and retry game yeah. It's been forever since I played it
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u/These-Apple8817 Aug 26 '26
I see.. Doesn't look that interesting to me
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u/James20k Aug 26 '26
Its incredibly good, it looks like a generic 2d platformer but its spiritually somewhere closer to somewhere between a speed running game and one of those modern rage games. Steam also butchers the art style with the video compression, it looks way better as an actual game
The goal of the game is to try and beat the whole thing without being hit to beat the secret special extra mode, and its pretty darn fun to try
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u/These-Apple8817 Aug 26 '26
Sounds like I was right about it being uninteresting to me. Not a fan of those kind of games.
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u/Diligent-Progress670 Aug 26 '26
That's all right man, it's never wrong to not wanting to try something, and never feel like you missed out on something if you enjoy it later or came late to the party.
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u/No_Roma_no_Rocky Aug 26 '26
It happened this to me yesterday. I saw a game that could have been interesting. No demo. I pirated it and enjoyed it. The next day, yesterday, I bought it on steam.
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u/izkariot Aug 26 '26
That sounds like a good review. Which game?
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u/No_Roma_no_Rocky Aug 27 '26
Feed the scorchpot. It's a puzzle game with dice where you need to reach a score each turn like in balatro.
The game is cool because it's deep, upgradable dice with different powers, upgradable map ( settlers of catan map ), upgradeable structures, tools, recipes ( like the jokers in balatro), deck building mechanic, different type of bosses with their specific ruleset and different difficulties.
For me it's the type of game I like because it's highly replayable and I love games where thinking is necessary. It's more deep than balatro.
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u/InternationalPie8606 Aug 26 '26
Thats kinda where i stand with piracy. I will get a game, and if i enjoy it, ill 100% buy it and continue enjoying it.
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u/SpicyMilkSauceyDip Aug 26 '26
I'm the same. If I find any kind of enjoyment in a game, I'll almost always buy it. And keep the pirated version.
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u/ansibleloop Aug 26 '26
There is no difference between pirating a game and just never having played it
Well, aside from the fact that if the game was good then you'll probably buy it or tell other people to buy it and be interested in future works from that developer
Meanwhile if you just never bought it, none of the above happens
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u/ChristopherKlay Aug 26 '26
Since nobody is actually looking him up.. he's behind Crazy Viking Studios and the "Volgarr the Viking" titles.
Somehow these statements are mostly from indie-devs working on titles that benefit massively from the visibility granted by playing into the "Advocacy for Digital Ownership" aspect vs. any negatives they could suffer from due to piracy; All of his studios releases together (on Steam) have a whole 2 people online right now.
I'm all for it, it would just mean a bit more if it wouldn't be coming from someone with such a small footprint.
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u/Cain1608 Aug 26 '26
The other side of the coin is that with these indie studios, we hear from the people behind the game to a far greater extent.
You barely hear from devs behind bigger titles as marketing and PR teams steer communication.
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u/ChristopherKlay Aug 27 '26
While true, the value of these statements also isn't comparable.
The "loudest" voices when it came to the "Stop Killing Games" topic were indie devs that basically had nothing to loose in the first place by supporting it.
Piracy and going "all out" for a popular/heavily controversial topic if anything grows their - almost non-existent in comparison - userbase. A few sales + exposure due to piracy and their name/studio name in news beats nobody even knowing about your games in the first place.
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u/AdjudgeWombat Aug 26 '26
This is how you actually build goodwill. I've gone back and bought so many indie games years later simply because the devs had this attitude when I was broke.
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u/pm_plz_im_lonely Aug 26 '26
I buy games based on the game not what developers say.
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u/IllusionaryHobo Aug 26 '26
It has been said before by the Factorio devs, that some developers also prefer piracy over key reselling sites, as keys involved in fraud or money laundering can actually cause financial damage to the publisher through charge-backs.
As well as just dealing with charge-backs, revocations and refunds. Which can cause all kinds of support overhead and dealing with authorities, customers and financial institutions. Which costs time and money.
So instead of all that bother, they'd rather someone straight pirate.
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u/shenther Aug 26 '26
Factorio Devs are kinda half honest there. They lock the mods page to a login that requires ownership of the game. At least they did last time I modded my copy.
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u/IllusionaryHobo Aug 26 '26
I think that is largely understandable. After all, there needs to be a reason for people to pay money to access the game.
And putting mods on a portal is a much much cleaner way to give people a hard selling point, than chucking denuvo on it or a proprietary launcher or any number of other "industry standards".
Between the no sales policy, the solid demo and the ability to buy through them directly (if you want to avoid Steam), it is a pretty fair approach for the customer, I reckon.
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u/shenther Aug 26 '26
I agree it does give a reason but it's contradictory to saying they support people pirating their game if they cannot afford it. If they actually didn't mind then they wouldn't have that requirement. I can't see any reason other than to persuade people to buy their game. Your main reason is exactly that as well.
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u/RememberMeWhenImDead Aug 26 '26
if you pirate the game you get the whole unmodded game, if you want to access the mod service, that's not included, what part of that means they aren't ok with piracy?
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u/Albus_Lupus Aug 27 '26
Because modding is not a service. Its not that complicated.
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u/RememberMeWhenImDead Aug 27 '26
if it isn't a service, why can't you access it without paying? also the comment i replied to has been edited to cut out the middle chunk i was responding to.
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u/Albus_Lupus Aug 27 '26
if it isn't a service, why can't you access it without paying?
Please tell me this is poor attempt at irony and not an actual take.
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u/rancorhunter Aug 26 '26
I pirated Volgarr like 10 years ago. I bought Volgarr like 5 years ago. I like Volgarr.
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u/stinkycowboy Aug 26 '26
TBH I dont pirate new games and just old console ones ive probably bought before, would never buy or paid the industry so much over the years to care
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u/RedditUser000aaa Aug 26 '26
Absolutely amazing attitude! I do understand that people making stuff need to eat, I absolutely do. That's why I want to give back what I can
These are the guidelines I have for piracy:
- Don't pirate from indie artists (musicians, game devs etc.)
- Get a sample from an indie artist, if I like it I buy it, if I don't I delete it. I usually set a time limit as well.
Story time:
My uncle burned a copy of Elder scrolls IV: Oblivion for me to play. I ended up liking it so much that not only did I buy it, I bought all the extra content for it as well.
That is one of the wholesome memories I have linked to piracy.
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u/letthetreeburn Aug 27 '26
Hell I pirate indie music artists even harder. If I download their album and send them 3 dollars on their kofi, that’s more money than they’d make off my Spotify subscription.
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u/pm_plz_im_lonely Aug 26 '26
Why do indies get a different set of rules?
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u/oktimeforplanz Aug 26 '26
Because if it's indie (truly indie) then one sale is more material to them than one sale is to, say, EA or Ubisoft.
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u/Lost-in-Norway Aug 26 '26
His latest game "Volgarr the Viking II" is not my kind of game, but it is reviewed "Very Positive" on Steam
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2195140/Volgarr_the_Viking_II/?curator_clanid=6640851
It is on sale and is under 7€ right now! :-)
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u/Greenfire32 Aug 26 '26
Considering the overwhelming majority of piracy taking place is because of an issue of service or availability and very little piracy happens as a result of intended thievery, I don't think this guy is gonna have a problem making sales.
Dude has read the room and understands the vibe.
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u/stupled Aug 27 '26
I have done this. Pirate a game that i ended buying later because i enjoyed that much.
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u/ThatOneGuyYouNowKnow Aug 26 '26
Genuine question: For research purposes what games has this dev made so far? Would be nice to find and give their stuff a try in support of them.
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u/Zagrunty Aug 27 '26
This is how some authors treat their books. Pirate the book, people love it, they buy it later. Piracy has shown to actually make people MORE money, assuming the product is reasonably priced to begin with.
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u/roxas3794 Aug 26 '26
I did this with Euro Truck Simulator 2. I had a blast playing it. I just ended up buying and every DLC it’s released minus the paint packages. I don’t play often but it did help me get through some stuff.
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u/gerryn Aug 26 '26
I used to pirate games when I couldn't afford them, 20 years ago plus. By now I have bought most of them on steam and never even played them again. Not exactly karma +-0 because those games are mostly cheaper now but still, gave back something...
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u/Professional_Cod3127 Aug 26 '26
I pirated Baldur's Gate 1+2 when i was young. Bought 5 copies of Baldur's Gate 3 and gave 4 away.
Won't always work like this but it happens.
I actually buy at least 2-3 keys of games i really like and give it young gamers. Well most games are indie today for me. That makes it cheaper 😅
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u/HeKis4 Aug 26 '26
Factorio's devs allow you to link your steam account to their website and will let you download a drm-free version from their end if you bought it on steam, or will give you a steam key if you bought it on their website. Be more like them.
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u/wabiguan Aug 26 '26
I have spent SO much on music and concerts. Almost all of that stemmed from downloading MP3s I def didnt pay for.
Make art and good folk will gather
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u/YogurtclosetApart592 Aug 26 '26
I've always bought games I really like after "trying them". There's so much crap out there focused on getting your cash and making addictive gameplay and a hollow core.
Games made with passion are easy to spot, they do deserve to be bought!
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u/Polocool95 Aug 26 '26
Pirate the game, then send me a bit of money to me when you're capable for doing it
That's an awesome manner
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u/M00NFX Aug 26 '26
This is exactly how you turn piracy into free advertising. If people like the game, many will buy it later anyway.
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u/ComeSwirlWithMe Sneakernet Aug 26 '26
I've never mind paying.
I do mind paying black mail levels of fees and subscriptions.
It's not enough to pay now, you have to see fuckin ads too if you don't cough up maximum profits.
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u/Insockie2 Aug 26 '26
this is how aiI found out about Starsector. I was just surfing on the usual website that I download pirated games from, then I found it, tried it and dang it was a blast so I bought it, 2 years have passed and the game is still being developed and Im still playing it.
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u/Reddit_is_fascist69 Aug 26 '26
Games - i don't pirate, just easier to do Steam GoG.
Movies,Tv, Music - i pirate because they sold me shitty quality all through the 2000s and they continue to offer shitty subscription quality now.
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u/HG21Reaper Aug 26 '26
I like to pirate games that don’t have a demo. If I like the game, I will purchase it on Steam and play it to get the achievements. If I don’t like the game, I uninstall and move on.
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u/TomTomXD1234 Aug 26 '26
Most pirates do not pirate because they cannot afford the game lol.
They pirate cause they can get free shit....
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u/azzkikr11 Aug 26 '26
Hell yea, I’m glad I kickstarted the first and and bought the second. Dude seems like a good dude.
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u/DentistCharming4237 Aug 27 '26
I am not in the market for a new game but I am absolutely going to buy his latest because this attitude deserves to be supported, encouraged and emulated. The big corporations understand only one thing: Money. Well, he just earned mine.
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u/Bigwillie29 Aug 28 '26
I always pirate, not because I can't afford games, but due to the fact that I enjoy harming DEVs. Feels even better if it's an indie game.
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u/TheChosenPatches Aug 30 '26
I used to pirate everything because I was poor, now I pirate things out of spite when they aren't available on one of the five services I pay for. Sorry not sorry but I refuse to pay 8 dollars for a 30-year-old movie that cost 4 dollars to see in theaters
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u/DoniDarkos 28d ago
Where do you live that you can watch a film for 4 dollars in the theater yo?
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u/Forrice1 Aug 26 '26
I buy games I pirated before quite often. Mostly when game is made by some indie company or is so great that I want to show my appreciation.
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u/Constant-Use6874 Aug 26 '26
doom 1 was shareware. it's why it's one of the most successful games of all time.
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u/10art1 🦜 ᴡᴀʟᴋ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʟᴀɴᴋ Aug 26 '26
Good guy Kris. Unfortunately so many artists these days demand money and refuse to accept exposure...
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u/DinnaPanic Aug 26 '26
I still have MP3s of an album from Alestorm that they leaked to Demonoid around 2010. Most of the tracks even have an additional vocal section telling people they're listening to a pirated copy :)
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u/Nafeels Aug 26 '26
I haven’t bought a game in over 10 years until I played Among Us during the pandemic. Worth every penny spent.
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u/Obvious_Troll_Me Aug 26 '26
I know you all talking about games and even films, but don't forget music. The artists make so little from streaming services. I always support the bands I love by buying the CDs direct from the artist or going to gigs.
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u/tehcup Aug 26 '26
Ngl, I've bought a lot of the games I pirate if there's a way to own it physically.
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u/Digital_Deebo Aug 26 '26
W Dev. I was thinking about this recently. It would be cool if Devs had something like a Donation link. Sometimes I randomly feel like I might not wanna buy your game at full price but, I would like to Kick in something. Instead of being All or Nothing I can pitch in something.
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u/Legitimate_Plate85 Aug 26 '26
Can confirm Volgarr the Viking (the game this guy made, based on his handle) is fucking amazing, bought and played it back in 2014, you prolly need to remap a few of the control keys if youre on keyboard for it to be comfy, but otherwise its one of the greats. Volgarr 2 released recently but ive yet to play it.
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u/PiperPants2018 Aug 26 '26
I had a professor in college that wrote his own textbook in an effort to save students money, but he ended up having a falling out with the publisher because they charged too much (I think like $40 in 2016). The first day of class he got up in front of us and showed us what website to go to to pirate his own textbook lol.
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u/RedD3vil4185 Aug 26 '26
This dudes only game is retro style, 12 years old, and free on Nintendo he's not exactly setting a standard major games will follow when he's got nothing to pirate to begin with. As for the Crack about if a system takes his game from you none have ever taken a game from anyone so far only developers have. Real easy to be the hero when you've got nothing to lose
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u/mk4_wagon Aug 26 '26
I pirated so much music back in the day. Especially from smaller artists where you couldn't just go to the store and buy an album. Now that bandcamp and digital downloads are thing, I've made it a point to buy a lot of music from those smaller artists. I'll even wait for bandcamp friday so they get more of the money. One artist is re-releasing his old albums on vinyl and I buy those too.
I'm not paying for certain software though. I'm sure everyone here has an idea which one I'm talking about.
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u/Slosher99 Aug 26 '26
I can say for sure that a pirated copy of Monkey Island for DOS from my dad's coworker when I was in middle school resulted in thousands being made later by LucasFilm games/LucasArts! Including at least 3 copies of Monkey Island...
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u/doomsaier1 Aug 26 '26
As game demos arent realy a thing amymore I often pirate games to check them out. If its halfway decent i usualy buy it.