GalCiv2, Emule and Piracy
I actually searched Emule (Emule doesn’t need any ‘meta-sites’) for a collector’s edition serial or keymaker but I couldn’t find it. I couldn’t get the collector’s edition because I pre-ordered too late (after the gold date). But it turns out its not needed as I don’t need the pretty box, just wanted the ship decorations and non-collectors serials were able to dowload the collectors-only ship parts. I searched Emule again last night for serials/keymakers and they are still not any there. Not needing the serial to install the game seems to have made the crackmaker groups unmotivated to make a keygen, but you need a serial to download updates, which would encourage a would-be pirate to buy the game.
BUT, you can download the update files from emule though, in addition to the game itself. I am a legal user of the game, but turned to Emule for a ‘free’ collectors edition upgrade that turned out to not be needed (unless you want a limited edition box and extra non-game bells and whistles).
Btw I buy most of my PC games but I download keygens (I loose my manuals almost all the time and CD cases a lot more than the CD itself) and NOCD cracks for every single one of them.
I only pirate games with serious availability problems (such as non-usa games that have to be imported such as championship manager) and games that I can’t buy because a store decides to enforce a game’s age restriction (M-Rating). I think if I were lower income I would pirate more games but I would at least buy what I could reasonably afford and If i could afford just two games per year, Galactic Civilizations II would be one of the two games (and Pir8 the other 6-10) that I would buy legally.
I think the real psychology is that every game you find in that store has a crack with its name on it. Alchohol 120% cracked CD-Image (if applicable), KeyGen, and NoCD Crack.
Its not that not having copy protection increases or decreases piracy. It is that it is futile. So the game/media companies, Legal and Not Legal users alike are spared inconvience by just not including copy protection. I feel more sympathetic for vendors who sell copy-protection-free, but most people don’t give a damn. Piracy increases a little (not a lot because copy protection is futile), and that small increase is negated by people who really want to reward wicked-cool games, especilly if they are not packaged in safes (that are futile and crackable by 60% of the user base).
I don’t want my DVDs stolen by the TSA or airline luggage handlers, but I can’t afford everything I want (or replace what is stolen) either. And I lose serial numbers or scratch CDs. Or I am Just plain greedy or just don’t want to get a job (if parents buy the hardware). I have money, but not every one does. I hate carrying CDs and I’m not ever carrying DVDs or portable electronics (only the DVDs got taken, fortunately) in my check-in luggage ever again. And even if in a case, I do play games on city busses and fiddling with DVDs/CDs are a drop-hazard for the machine.
Like Windows Genuine Advantage and GalCiv2, update files are pirated too. And if the patch updates start needing install-time serials, a keygen will be made for it. Though I think a GalCiv2 keygen will have a significant delay, especially if the game directory is direct-copy transplantable (like x-plane whos only protection is a easy to crack CD-dongle instead of a serial for updates), as the ‘installed’ directory will be rarred and shared and may make keygenmakers/crackmakers de-prioritize the game. If activation is needed, well activation cracks (with phone activation exploit or not) are everywhere too though often much more delayed. From a non-piracy perspective, I love toting games on my external hard drive. X-Plane is 65Gig installed with world-scenery and 3rd party goodies and it needs a drive all to itself. I’m a laptop person but a bet desktop hoppers probably would find external USB hard drive toting very convienient for reasons other than piracy.
A major motivator for piracy, especially in today’s fast-paced small-medium sized workplace, which i think is more applicable to appz than gamez is time. Unless its an instant email with a serial number, you will almost certainly find and download to completion a copy of the application and any needed cracks before you can get your next-day email (uncommon now) or deal with the contracts, legal crap, and red tape to get a license and serial key (VERY common now). And you know you will always have at least 2 people wanting a given thing yesterday and Emule (BitTorrent is better if its wide-scale marketed) will serve your needs cheaper, and more importantly, faster than legal channels. You get your tool within and hour or two and the logistics can be turned over to the dedicated red-tape person for eventuall legalization (probably won’t have time; money everywhere around you; time isn’t quite so plentiful). With some software packages, dealing with the licensing is as bad as a doctor trying to get an HMO to pay them, but it is sitting right no Emule (This type of software is not as mainstream so it fares better on Emule than BitTorrent) ready to download within hours, image, crack and all.
