While attending Mini-MegaCon, I noticed a booth that disturbed me. It was one I had seen before at FX Show. It is people selling the bootleg video games. I don't know why I take it more personally than the guys selling bootleg tv series and anime. I don't even get pissed when people pirate music or games. But when it comes to the roms and emulators, in a way, it isn't even about them having those things, it is the selling of these stolen goods.
While the Xbox 360 is not listed with these vendors, it is because they know that the older console systems do not seem to be looked into as much as the "next gen" systems we have now.
I took a quick video of the booth that was being run:
I wish I had a solution to this problem, but all I think we can do is be aware of these practices where developers are not making their money but instead is going to thieves.
[ Read my Livejournal'sh account of a day at Mini-MegaCon here, if you want to see the Cosplay from the show click here, and also read my piece on comic artists stealing from other artists ]
Comments
Piracy does not equal stealing since the developers still own the original product, therefore nothing is lost except theoretical sales.
Which is the whole point video games are made to begin with.
What's the issue? The fact that you have a double standard, or the fact that someone was making money? In the end, there might be some very, very, very slight monetary loss for the companies who own these games. But in the end, the $4.95 NOA might have lost out on means a little less then squat. There's no difference between this and those folks who pirated The Star Wars Holiday Special for the last three decades.
I think this is less an issue of piracy, and more a matter of the writer's personal opinions, which are self admitted to be targeted towards game piracy alone. The fact that this is on a journalism based website is just asinine. I believe the writer needs to hop off the high horse he appears to be on and figure out why his "line in the sand" is so ill-defined.
Piracy does equal stealing since you are obtaining protected works without paying for them. Just because you are duplicating them, does not mean you didn't take them. If you are using and enjoying the product but did not pay for it, then you stole it.
As for the article, the author is clearly saying he doesn't feel one person pirating a game or CD is as bad as someone else doing it for the sole purpose of making a profit. By legal standings, the people selling the pirated material would get in much more trouble then John Q. Idiot that bought it. Both are breaking the law though.
simple answer. don't charge so f*cking much for the games in the first place. long live piracy.
w*nkers and your capitalist greedy whores.
lower the price and piracy will lower too, in the end these are stealing from buyers under Bureaucracy laws
, mainly w/ the sales aspect because most if not all the games they are selling aren't even made anymore. and the people buying the pirated ones probably wouldn't buy them from legal distributors b/c they don't want to spend the money so if anything the vendors are making sales that otherwise wouldn't exist so the rights holders aren't actually losing sales
Ok I sympathize a lil with IP owners. Heres the deal tho... In this case at least people ARE playing for the IP. In a way its kinda like buying generic cola. I wont defend the sellers but I find it amazing that some punk kids can make money of of something that is basicly free on the internet. IP holder need to get off the high hourse take the wal-mart approach to selling and turn the stuff into gumballs and nickle and dime the world (hay a billion dimes does add up) Small busness do this all day long if only corps would stop paying ceo's millions that could lower prices and reach a mass market instead of a niche one. But corps are all bout the busness cycle and not really about products and services even with corps in ression I guarantee that the elite's are still making money shorting the company. And that my friend is the real crime.
forgat u white folksters if u got money buy it but dont tell me to spend 60 dollars on a game cause i ain t got money to eat.i bought a mod chip store.
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