Will torrent websites ruin PC gaming?

[seanpull]

I feel discouraged when I go to a torrent website, and I see 15,000 seeders, and 12,000 leechers on Borderlands 2. And that's just one site, at one time. Now my point is that game developers may soon find it unprofitable to make PC games, or at least, less profitable than making Xbox games because of how many copies are stolen. Let's assume 300,000 copies of Borderlands 2 were torrented. That's gotta be at least 10% of their sales? Maybe less. But still a significant amount. And, although it's possible to torrent Xbox games, it's much more difficult. I just want to hear what you guys think.

 

[casualcolors]

Where the copy came from is likely someone bought the game, made an ISO and started seeding. I suppose it's possible, though improbable, some sort of hacking or physical theft occurred in order to procure the ISO or some disgruntled employee posted it.

In any case, what I've been talking about is no different than copying between VHS, CD, DVD, etc as you've already bought a copy of what you're copying. Any time a new format comes out someone has to make them and often retouch them in order to adapt to the new format so any such copying is a direct lost opportunity for revenues. Yet the only really touchy area I really see is PC game ISOs. Do you have an issue with such copying?

I will assume though that you've invited people over for sporting events, perhaps even pay-per-view ones, since you avoided that. In these cases you've denied those companies revenues especially in the case of the latter, you vile vile human being.

To your first comment, most likely the former. What you're doing as a result is procuring fenced goods.

To the second, it would be the same if you took your PC copy and then ported to your PS3 in your basement. Since you're not doing that, what you are actually doing is paying for a convenience largely unobtainable to you otherwise.

To the third, since the party providing the pay-per-view isn't restricting how many people can come over to my house and watch it, there's no fault. Similarly, Sony isn't stopping you from inviting people over to play Rock Band. You're trying to draw one of the most stupid analogies I've ever read on Toms out of two completely dissimilar things because you know that what you (by your own admission) care to partake in on apparently a regular enough basis to vehemently argue about it, is just theft. It just makes you tacky to me. I doubt that comes as any great surprise to you, though.

 

[majestic1805]

I don't consider the analogy stupid, obviously. In each case a copy is being made that bridges devices without giving extra compensation to the original producer. That's what I'm going on and in that sense I see zero difference. I would echo jcb94's statement that it's not like something physical and irreplaceable is being taken. When I download something the 1s and 0s are still there at their source. So, I would say your statement about calling them fenced goods is wrong as it implies something irreplaceable has been taken depriving the owner of its use and given to someone else and that's not happening.

I liken it to having a device that can perfectly replicate a product. For example, let's say a Ferrari. The original is kept in tact in every respect yet it creates a new one exactly like the original. I get a Ferrari essentially for free. The owner I copied it from still has his (or hers) too. Now we both have a fancy car. No harm no foul. I didn't "steal" anything.

You can consider me tacky if you wish. That's certainly your right. However, technology always has and always will be an enabler. This issue will never go away and new ones will crop up perpetually. The law is also impossibly slow compared to the rate of invention as is corporate change. Morality is largely subjective. If anything, I say these issues force the issue to provoke change and is not wrong but is merely a period of adjustment.

If Sony changed their Rockband EULA restricting it to be played by the purchasing consumer only you'd tell me I was wrong for letting friends play? I'd say you're crazy. There is a certain threshold between what can be asked of people and what people will simply do because it makes sense to them irrespective of law or convention.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

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