Space Empires V Pirated!

[Fyron]

Well, to be honest, active torrents are a sign of popularity. If it wasn't popular, it wouldn't be actively pirated.

[President_Elect_Shang]

Atrocities said:
I wouldn't give them the sweat off my groin if they were dying of thirst in the desert...

That's even better than the last one!

[Atrocities]

Imperator Fyron said:
Well, to be honest, active torrents are a sign of popularity. If it wasn't popular, it wouldn't be actively pirated.

A valid point but still it doesn't excuse this violation of trust.

[frightlever]

Meh. Hardcore pirates don't buy games anyway. Casual piracy, if anything, can help a game's popularity by spreading the word. How many reading here pirated IV and either went on to buy a legit copy of it or V when it came out? I read an article somewhere years back that suggested for every legitimate copy of SEIV there were at least 5 pirate copies in use. (and to avoid the inevitable I bought my copy of SEIV from a specialist UK wargaming store for about the equivalent of $90 at the time having got hooked on the demo.)

The truth is publishers are probably the biggest cause of independent developers going out of business so if there's the need for a childish tirade perhaps that's where it should be getting directed. (and for what it's worth as far as I can see Shrapnel isn't a bad publisher. Or Stardock or, for that matter, Steam.)

[Fyron]

Probably very few.

[frightlever]

Ahhh you could be right. However it's definitely true that a pirated game does not equal a lost sale.

[rdouglass]

frightlever said:
... How many reading here pirated IV and either went on to buy a legit copy of it or V when it came out? ...

Not me. And regardless of how many did, it still does not make it right nor does it invalidate AT's position nor does it validate the pirates position.

IMO that is a very poor arguement. It's kinda' like saying that stealing cars is OK cause you'll increase their popularity and that you can 'try it before you buy it'. Hey, that's what the demo was for wasn't it?

[Atrocities]

Good point about the demo. I hadn't thought of that for use in a response.

It isn't really the pirating aspect that angers me, its that someone pirated THESE games knowing full well that they were independantly developed by small one to two man operations who depend upon the income from the sales of their games to help cover the cost of developing other games. They basically stoled from these people, people whom I admire and respect greatly, and that is what pi**es me off so much.

[Romulus68]

I read a comment from Sid Mier (sp?)(I think it was his article)(or Chris Taylor....hummm
) and he commented on pirating as such, "The majority of people that pirate a game would have NEVER bought the game in the first place. So, we aren't really loosing sales."

[AstralWanderer]

Romulus68 said:
...he commented on pirating as such, "The majority of people that pirate a game would have NEVER bought the game in the first place. So, we aren't really loosing sales."

I'd agree. I copied games in my youth when I couldn't afford them (back in the Apple II days) and that certainly did not result in any lost sales. Now that I can afford such things, I purchase them.

People should take a step back and relax a little. It's the lack of visibility on the high-street and mainstream games stores that likely harms independent publishers more (less chance of impulse purchases) and the fear of piracy is what engenders consumer-hostile monstrosities like StarForce.