[Saxon]

Two quick things I would like to say in regards to the Last post.

First, I live in Kenya and I had to mail order my copy of SE4. I see no reason that living in Australia should make one any less ethically bound to pay for the game than living anywhere in the world. There are plenty of things I would like to have and can not get, but that is part of living where I live. Having to wait a week for something to come in the mail is not a big hardship, certainly not one which would justify defrauding someone of cash and credit for a game they spend serious time creating.

Second, “everyone pirates games” is a clearly false statement that your friends have given you. Economics is pretty simple, if people don’t buy games, they won’t get made. Sure, a few shareware games are out there (SE1-3), but most good games are commercial. Therefore, people buy games, in fact, most people buy games. Your friend’s argument is false and poor reasoning. It goes back to what Mom used to say, “If everyone else jumped off the cliff, would you?” Mom is from Queensland, so I have always assumed this was an Australian proverb.

While I agree with you, the reasons people pirate games are diverse, I would disagree with you on the black and white issue. It is pretty clear that pirating a game is wrong and the justifications are not ethically strong enough to justify it. From where I sit, pirating a game to save a week of waiting for entertainment is ethically wrong. Pirating a game to save my Mom’s life is wrong, but ethically justifiable. People pirate games to save a few bucks and to have a bit more fun, not to save lives.