The morality of downloading pirated versions of games you already own

[Deleted member 48434]

Before I say anything, I would like to clarify that I don't actually do this, or indulge in piracy in general.

But this is something that's been on my mind lately. It would be very convenient to simply emulate many of the older retro games I own on PC. I have a few VC games on Wii, and I think the store has been shut down now, anyway, preventing re-download.

Sadly, I do not have a way of ripping the data from their carts/disks, and I think that ripping is technically the only legal way to obtain emulatable games.

If this topic is considered too controversial, mods can feel free to lock it, I'd understand why.

I don't think I'd personally do it anyway even if it were legal, I wouldn't wanna risk malware.

 

[Deleted member 23212]

Well, I personally have no moral qualms against people pirating, though obviously for legal/moderator related reasons I'm not going to tell people where to pirate.

 

[Dio]

it can be a moral conundrum, but your example of VC is really important. If the pub is making you enjoying something you bought more difficult, that's their problem, not yours.

 

[YesNoMaybeSo]

The way I see it, if I've paid for a license to use software, is how I attain the software even relevant? Technically sure, morally? There's nothing immoral about playing something I've paid for.

 

[Lant_War]

It's illegal, but not immoral. Especially with Cartridges that are hard to rip without buying extra hardware.

 

[Dark Knight]

I'm cool with it. I figure if you like it enough to play it in other forms you're willing to give good word of mouth about said game, that's all the creators themselves would probably hope for: initial purchase, subsequent appreciation, and free advertising.

But definitely buy that version at least once.

 

[Deleted member 3010]

If you already own and paid for the games, I personally can't really be mad at someone for downloading, even though it's illegal.

Not everyone will want to invest into devices that will dump all these forms of medias. One nice thing is that we're getting more options, but they're still all relatively expensive. I did, but I have the collection to make it worth the money. The average Joe who have a handful of SNES/64 games and doesn't want to buy a Retrode or Super Nt to dump his carts to enjoy those same game on, his/her phone or whatever, I just can't be mad.

I often offered my devices to friends, but they don't give a shit and just download everything and then some, that's the real world. It's more me who's being looked at as the crazy one when I talk about my devices to people who don't know me well lol!

 

[spman2099]

Morally speaking, if you own it, and pirate a copy, you are totally in the clear.

 

[Necromanti]

The way I see it, if I've paid for a license to use software, is how I attain the software even relevant? Technically sure, morally? There's nothing immoral about playing something I've paid for.

Click to shrink...

If you could re-download a copy and use the same license that you paid for, then I could see a case for it. However, owning one license wouldn't entitle you to additional licenses at no extra cost.

I also understand the argument that people use for pirating games they once owned, but I don't know how easy it is to justify in terms of an argument. Having owned something once upon a time doesn't mean entitlement to getting it again for free.

 

[Hamchan]

There is no moral issue with it. You paid for it already. I wouldn't even be afraid of malware for the older games.

 

[Htown]

As long as you actually own the game and haven't sold it or anything, I don't see a problem.

The only issue is that technically, if you get the game from a torrent, you're also simultaneously uploading to a bunch of other people, which is a lot more questionable.

I have a few VC games on Wii, and I think the store has been shut down now, anyway, preventing re-download.

Click to shrink...

Servers are still up for downloads at the moment, you just can't buy anything new or add points. Just go to the shop and click "Titles You've Downloaded."

 

[Deleted member 364]

Edit: didn't realize any piracy talk is taboo, my b.

 

[Lashley]

You already paid for it

 

[Lant_War]

People have been begging Nintendo for years for the option to buy games in the back catalogue legally, and they refuse to do so. Pirate away lol.

Click to shrink...

Where do you draw the line?

 

[Htown]

People have been begging Nintendo for years for the option to buy games in the back catalogue legally, and they refuse to do so. Pirate away lol.

Click to shrink...

that's not how that works

 

[Deleted member 364]

Edit: didn't realize any piracy talk is taboo, my b.

 

[YesNoMaybeSo]

If you could re-download a copy and use the same license that you paid for, then I could see a case for it. However, owning one license wouldn't entitle you to additional licenses at no extra cost.

I also understand the argument that people use for pirating games they once owned, but I don't know how easy it is to justify in terms of an argument. Having owned something once upon a time doesn't mean entitlement to getting it again for free.

Click to shrink...

But am I getting another license? They're not attached to the software, and the software isn't physical. Unless each license is somehow encoded into each respective piece of software, I'm doing nothing but reproducing the means to use it. I'm taking nothing additional if I pirate software that I already own the right to use.

 

[Richietto]

I think its fine, if you own the game its kind whatever.

 

[Lant_War]

I think if a game can't be purchased legally, it's reasonable to pirate said game. It's why I encourage companies to port their games to new platforms slowly over time. It's game preservation.

Click to shrink...

Is purchasing a second hand copy illegal?

 

[Jroc]

For some reason going through the hassle of acquiring cartridge dumping software and dumping my own copy of Ocarina of Time is okay, but going online and downloading a file that is bit-for-bit identical to my manual cartridge backup is considered wrong. Keep in mind that this entire process is done in the privacy of my own home and will never be independently verified by anyone else (not that anyone could considering the ROM would be the same anyway).

The idea of this being a moral dilemma is ridiculous to me.

With piracy of rare games and abandon-ware you could technically argue that you're unfairly devaluing the copies owned by other people, but no one should ever care about the "backup vs download" debate when it comes to emulating games you already own.

 

[Deleted member 48434]

Is purchasing a second hand copy illegal?e

Click to shrink...

No, but companies really wish it was.

 

[Weiss]

Nice try, officer.

 

[Richietto]

For some reason going through the hassle of acquiring cartridge dumping software and dumping my own copy of Ocarina of Time is okay, but going online and downloading a file that is bit-for-bit identical to my manual cartridge backup is considered wrong. Keep in mind that this entire process is done in the privacy of my own home and will never be independently verified by anyone else (not that anyone could considering the ROM would be the same anyway).

Click to shrink...

Thats a good point.

 

[Kapryov]

Probably not technically legal, but whatever.

I'm pretty sure this thread will get locked though. Piracy threads never go well.

 

[ggdeku]

I've been banned on this site for talking about this. I have 0 qualms with downloading a rom of a game I own as many times as I like.

This forum's policy in talking about downloading roms is extremely silly, since I guarantee the vast, vast majority of people here have and continue to download roms and buy games second hand. In fact we allow threads talking about jp only games with fan translations and romhacks. Its obvious in these scenarios people arent buying jp carts, dumping the roms and patching them. Seems a bit silly the rules here are so strict around piracy and roms in general.

 

[BurnKnuckle21]

The way I see it, if I've paid for a license to use software, is how I attain the software even relevant? Technically sure, morally? There's nothing immoral about playing something I've paid for.

Click to shrink...

Agreed.

 

[Necromanti]

But am I getting another license? They're not attached to the software, and the software isn't physical. Unless each license is somehow encoded into each respective piece of software, I'm doing nothing but reproducing the means to use it. I'm taking nothing additional if I pirate software that I already own the right to use.

Click to shrink...

I guess it depends on the limitations of the license agreement set by the owner of the software.

Seems a bit silly the rules here are so strict around piracy and roms in general.

Click to shrink...

A lot of sites do it for a reason (namely to avoid legal action) and go with a "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

 

[luffie]

I am not sure what others do when they pirate a game they've already owned, but sometimes the original copy is actually filled with tons of DRM, online login requirements etc, even when the game can be played offline. And the pirated version actually has that all removed and you simply play without hassle and better performance. So in that sense, I find it reasonable, after all, you can always opt to enjoy better for something you've already purchased.

Legality is not equivalent to morality. Remember Xbox once makes it almost illegal for you to lend your games to your friends. Will that be legal? Yes, but is it moral? NO. Sony has to make an additional ad just to make fun of Xbox stupid mistake.

 

[Hokey]

I don't do this but if you've paid for anything once before I feel like you should be OK to enjoy it however you see fit.

 

[Molten_]

I don't care if people pirate. it's why I release all my art, games and music for free ; all media should be freely available to anybody. but I'm aware that I'm of the extreme opinion here.

 

[L Thammy]

I don't see it as any more nefarious than ripping a movie you own on disc so that you don't have to carry it around when you want to watch it, except maybe that you have to support a piracy site to do it. You're not harming the company who made the game nor are you getting it without supporting the developers.

The weird area is where you're buying games that aren't being made anymore, in which case who are you even supporting by going out of your way to buy them. I did this when writing up something for One Must Fall Battlegrounds, for example, but it's hard to tell if it was even a legit copy. I don't know if any of the publishers are still around - last I heard, the guy behind the One Must Fall series was working on Planetside.

 

[Latpri]

The way I see it, if I've paid for a license to use software, is how I attain the software even relevant? Technically sure, morally? There's nothing immoral about playing something I've paid for.

Click to shrink...

Additionally, my license is my own and I should be able to sell it if I want to

 

[jsnepo]

I think it's fine as long as you're not sharing it. That's actually the problem with torrents because you're also seeding what you're leeching.

 

[SturokBGD]

I have a few VC games on Wii, and I think the store has been shut down now, anyway, preventing re-download.

Click to shrink...

FYI the Wii store is closed so you can't buy anything, but you can redownload anything you bought.

 

[Jawmuncher]

I think you got enough answers to your question OP. As this is a hard conversation for the community to have without running into the FAQ, the thread has now been locked.

Per the Faq

Copyrighted Material and Piracy

Encouraging piracy, admitting to piracy, threatening to commit piracy, and linking to piracy websites is strictly prohibited. This policy also applies to links to torrents, direct downloads, pirated reproduction cartridges, streams of pirated content, and unauthorized releases of any kind. More information on this policy and DMCA takedowns is available in our terms of service. Do not embed copyrighted material such as magazine scans. Copying and pasting entire articles or reports for redistribution is also prohibited.

Homebrew and Emulation

While software piracy is never acceptable, emulation is legal and discussions about it are welcome. As long as a hack can be used for legitimate homebrew and/or legal emulation it can be discussed here, and those discussions should not be derailed by piracy concerns. Do not enter a thread about homebrew or emulation and conflate the subject with piracy.