Yar! Thar be pirates!

[iDenTiTy]

GTA4 made record 1day opening sales in the UK. I really dont think the devs will be out of jobs

+1

My cousin's friend in Montreal, Canada works for Ubisoft. When Assassin's Creed got numerous "game of the year" awards, he didn't get a pay rise (he worked in Animation).

Poor bugger.

It's all about profit.

 

[Nokkie]

You know people would not steal software etc. If the prices were not insane, argue that all you want but if you can get object x

at

a) R750
b) R149

Which one are you going to choose?

if, it's a good game i'd choose

b)

 

[PeterCH]

ROFL so if you can't afford something you can just take it

I disagree right there. If he can't afford or simply refuses to spend R700 on it and he copies it for free he isn't depriving anyone of any income, is he?
Its not the same as theft, its covered by a different statute in fact its probably not even a criminal act but a civil misdemeanour.

One could take the moral high road and say that GTA IV promotes drunken
driving and prostitute battery, and so refuse to pay for it for that reason.
Morality should be two sided, it's like paying for dubious 'barely legal' porn,
where the porn operator exploits young (although 'legal') women - giving him money is pretty
nasty I'd say.

 

[Keeper]

I will def. be buying an original version of Spore. it's worth my money.

 

[Crusader]

Of course there is always a third option... wait till the game goes to the bargain bin and pick it up for R100 or so. This should normally happen after about a year when all the hype has died down... of course you might be the only one playing it by then

 

[talon]

Of course there is always a third option... wait till the game goes to the bargain bin and pick it up for R100 or so. This should normally happen after about a year when all the hype has died down... of course you might be the only one playing it by then

lol, so true

 

[psichron]

1 year -> bargain bin

In South Africa, games take a lot longer to reach the bargain bin. Also, R700 for a game is a bit insane, you can't expect the average student to afford that.

 

[Ivan...]

Yaaarg!

 

[killadoob]

700 bucks for a game? no wonder piracy is so huge

if you cannot afford it dont use it, bwhahaahaha

if you cannot afford it you would not have bought anyway, so there is no lost sale

 

[gregmcc]

Just looked up GTA IV at 2 random stores (both not the cheapest)
Musica - R770
Amazon - $60 (R432)

And you wonder why there's piracy!!!

 

[Lino]

Just looked up GTA IV at 2 random stores (both not the cheapest)
Musica - R770
Amazon - $60 (R432)

And you wonder why there's piracy!!!

The prices of games is insane. Games are no longer aimed at us students who earn a small income. No its either aimed at kids with rich parents or people who have a serious amount of credit.

For now piracy will continue

 

[gregmcc]

there's no way in hell I'll pay 700 odd for a game - which is why i buy most of my stuff on ebay!

 

[Glordit]

The prices of games is insane. Games are no longer aimed at us students who earn a small income. No its either aimed at kids with rich parents or people who have a serious amount of credit.

For now piracy will continue

Yup... sad that we get raped here in S.A probably R300 of that R700 goes to "import costs"...

 

[killadoob]

import costs

i highly doubt that

its price fixing, surely the import costs of 1 game cannot be 300 bucks

we getting ripped by importers not the import duties

 

[doobiwan]

R700 is ridiculous and the games at that price are not moving. The problem is that we get the EU version of these games which are priced and costed against the pound which absolutely sucks.

In fairness it's only some of the publishers - Ubisoft and Take2 coem to mind, but hats of to someone like EA, who has managed to control there costs, most of their games are available for under R550.

 

[general_koffi]

R700 is ridiculous and the games at that price are not moving. The problem is that we get the EU version of these games which are priced and costed against the pound which absolutely sucks.

In fairness it's only some of the publishers - Ubisoft and Take2 coem to mind, but hats of to someone like EA, who has managed to control there costs, most of their games are available for under R550.

How come PC games cost R300 - R350 while console games cost up to R700?

 

[Picard]

I will not be paying R700 for that game ... it's because I don't have a XBOX or a PS3

Seriously even if it comes to PC then I will probably wait a while and borrow it from someone else like my brother who would be crazy enough to buy it.

And also like PeterCH said, the devs won't lose money if I pirate it. Because if I didn't pirate it, I still wouldn't have bought it.

Developers ARE losing money if people who CAN and WOULD pay for it, go ahead and pirate it.

Of course there is still the moral and ethical issue to deal with but I see it in the light that our money has nowhere the buying power that the $ has. Even if it was direct conversion from $ - Rands, we would still be paying more, relatively, than any American.

 

[fivelza]

The prices of games is insane. Games are no longer aimed at us students who earn a small income. No its either aimed at kids with rich parents or people who have a serious amount of credit.

For now piracy will continue

I bet you plenty who can afford pirate the game in any case....it really boils down to a matter of personal choice.

And also like PeterCH said, the devs won't lose money if I pirate it. Because if I didn't pirate it, I still wouldn't have bought it.

Developers ARE losing money if people who CAN and WOULD pay for it, go ahead and pirate it.

I wish someone would for once put the argument like this....if I didn't buy it I don't have the right to play it (not a borrowed copy).

 

[PeterCH]

I wish someone would for once put the argument like this....if I didn't buy it I don't have the right to play it (not a borrowed copy).

He may not have a right to play it under the licensing agreement, however the industry is not loosing out any money in him playing it without having any rights to do so. These are two different issues. It's not physical theft in the way that if I steal a Bar One from Woolworths, that Bar One did not bring in the revenue it was intended to bring for Woolworths as Woolworths couldn't have sold the Bar One I stole. Look at it a different way, he can't for example try the game out for 7-14 days the way Makro/Game let you try out a washing machine or a TV set, then accept it for a full refund. Laws pertaining to games and software are most draconian.

Someone told me that in the EU, you're allowed to make one copy of a DVD-movie or a music cd and give it to a friend.

PS: As someone who bought a lot of DVDs on release, especially series only to have boxsets at at 20% of the cummulative price come out 1-2 years later I am quite peed off with the way software(game/software/movie) vendors treat us.

 

[fivelza]

He may not have a right to play it under the licensing agreement, however the industry is not loosing out any money in him playing it without having any rights to do so........Look at it a different way, he can't for example try the game out for 7-14 days the way Makro/Game let you try out a washing machine or a TV set, then accept it for a full refund. Laws pertaining to games and software are most draconian.

I see your point but in the case of physical goods such as a TV or washing machine, I cannot really make a copy of the item and can properly try it out. With CDs/games one can easily make a copy and then enjoy the fruits. Your example works with electronic media where people are honest.

I do believe that is theft....but it is my personal belief.

PS: As someone who bought a lot of DVDs on release, especially series only to have boxsets at at 20% of the cummulative price come out 1-2 years later I am quite peed off with the way software(game/software/movie) vendors treat us.

I feel your pain, but that is a price one pays for wanting it now