Buying vs Pirating

[Kono]

I wanted to throw this question out their just out of curiosity after last nights discussion.

When do you guys prefer to buy games, and when do you prefer to pirate?

Now, some of the answers are simple, I already know...
Pirate -
The game won't last long when played by us.
The game is short.
The game's reviews haven't been good, but it still looks interesting.

As for buying, that's different for anyone.
Personally, I kind of like the feel of just plain collecting. I'm a huge RPG fan, and looking at my shelf and seeing a bunch of RPGs, all the way back to Original FF7, non collectors-edition, is nice. Companies like Square-Enix and Atlus have some great games and they make me want to buy them just so I can support them. I had Odin Sphere and FF12 burned for the longest time but went out and bought them about 2 months ago. I'm thinking of going to go buy Disgaea 2 as well.

[Koach]

I am more prone to buy if there is some incentive for it. Like a limited edition release or preorder goodness that totally rocks. Also, with the GEN we are in now, pirating games is pretty much quiet for now (on the console side). As for PC, I only buy the game I know I wil be wanting to play online with everyone (thus requiring a key/code).

As for music? I couldnt believe it myself but I actually BOUGHT an MP3 Cd off of Amazon last Thursday. It was Jennings - Femtastic (I had mentioned her before in a post in the music section). I noticed that as much as i loved her, i was still scrambling between BT sites and Forums trying to find someone who had a torrent. I couldnt find anything.

Thats when I realized that when you listen to music outside the mainstream, these things are going to happen. And when you really love what an artist does with his/her music, sometimes it worth shelling out a few clams. I got 13 tracks for $7.99 and I dont regret it one bit.

[Kono]

You bought it?

Burn it for me please. I still listen to her, love it, and haven't been able to find the torrent.

[Seraph]

My viewpoint is changing based on my access to money. Pirating is a positive to the user but a negative to the creator, no ifs or buts.

We can argue all day long about it but when you pirate something you're using something without going through the normal channels of "purchasing". We can justify it 20 different ways but in the end you're still using something without paying for it.

I'm still pro-pirating in hopes that companies will learn that consumers are going to buy low to middle quality crap anymore. You either give us a decent product or face lower than expected sales. On the same note, until this summer my income was on the limited side of things. Cutting corners here and there was normal practice now that I have a career and have access to lots of disposable income, spending 30 bucks on a game or even 60 isn't a big deal.

I also see fun differently. If I can get 36hrs of enertainment or even 24hrs of entertainment out of something, the 30 bucks is justified. The same people bitching over 60 bucks per game or older games selling for 30 will have no problem dropping 30 bucks on movies a month, even more. 8 bucks a ticket, 2hrs of entertainment, the video game is going to come out on top, especially if you play it for just 8hrs.

Additionally I love collecting games but that pretty much is only on the console side of gaming. PCs I've al....wow I forgot what to type. Jonathan stopped by ending with a 1.5hr WoW discussion.

[Sanjitsu]

I see it like this. If I actually OWNED a game and wanted you guys to play it with me...I wouldn't want you to go out and buy the damn game if we could lan up and play off my own game, instead, I would just let you install it on your computer and call it a day. Point and Case, Gohan purchased Unreal Tournament and I was only going to play in a lan setting. So why would I go out and purchase the game when I have direct access to it already? I view it the same way with torrents. Just because I know the person or have access to it physically doesn't water down the fact that I am playing a companies game without actually purchasing it. Physically taking and installing a game that one of you guys bought and going online and downloading a game that someone else bought isn't that different to me. The only difference, society wise, is that the government has more means to regulate the downloading than they are with the physical side making it a more "taboo".

In the end, to each their own. Like Kono, some people enjoy having a huge collection of games and that alone is enough to justify the money spent. Me? Not so much my "fancy". Do I love video games...YES...Am I a video game nerd...YES. Do I want to spend close to $300 for 4 games...not so much. I see that $300 dollars as 2 stones closer to my motorcycle that I want for next summer. So pirating vs. buying pretty much comes down to worth and priorities.