Quote:
Originally Posted by Safe-Keeper
My experience with pirates is that many of them take it as a God-given right to take certain goods and services without paying for them, and that they take offense even if you joke about them.
But yes, I love it when developers pull stunts like this. I prefer them to do more subtle things, though, so that players may not be aware they're the victims of a pirate-punishing feature. Like Silent Hunter 4's "bug" that turned the submarine crewmen around you into fish-eyed monstrosities if you played on a pirated game copy.
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Well coming from a poor country I had had my share with playing pirated copies so I can offer insight.
First these pirated copy gamers are not making losses for the game developers and publisher at least not directly. They simply don't have the finance to buy genuine copy and until several years ago there was simply no place to genuine copies as well and the temptation is great when pirated copies became the norm. It doesn't mean I support pirated copy gamers though but I'm merely saying that game developers and publishers don't lose much from pirated games in my own personal opinion.
Second these gamers are not going to be broke and penniless all the time. They'll find a decent job and a good career and rise the climb of social ladder. They will in time buy genuine copies when that happens and that usually happens and within a short time frame as well!!! So copy protection that aims to agitate pirated copy gamers would have long term negative effect for that game developer and publishes because it antagonizes their future customers in what they feel a personal way. Everyone would not appreciate being pisse* off intentionally and many carry that memory and disgust into much later in their life. Copy protection should try to minimize pirating but not aim to agitate pirated copy gamers who will likely become their future customers. Doing otherwise imo is foolish and stupid but I've learned that even the stupid and foolish could succeed too in life and in some places it's even the requirements.
Anyway it's just my personal insight coming from my own experience. I've since buy and play genuine copies and when they are not available from local retailer I get them from abroad through the internet. Most popular PC games are available in genuine copy nowadays though. Excluding somewhat niche games like Arrowhead and Total War. They stopped selling TW after Empire for some reasons.