Don't copy that floppy!

by Christopher Grant { Feb 15th 2006 at 5:45PM }

"Don't Copy That Floppy" is an embarrassing relic of the early 90's; a time period so shameful, the 80's were comparatively modest and respectable. There was a formula for appealing to the youth market circa 1992: mix equal parts neon colors and clumsy rap. The combination of the two produced an intoxicating brew no 13-year could resist.

The video can be blamed on the Software Publishers Association, a trade association whose aims include anti-piracy efforts. For more info than you care to know about this stain on gaming history, check out the unsurprisingly informative Wikipedia entry. Here's a sampling, just a smidgen of what's in store for you throughout the ten minute video:

I'm your MC Double Def DP
That's the Disk Protector for you and the posse
That's your artists, writers, designers and pro-grammers
They pump up the images for games and gramma's that lets you learn, but also play
The games you came here for today
Now I know you love the game and that's alright to do
Because the posse who make them, they love them too
But if you start stealing, there's no more they can do

The entire video is embedded beneath the fold. Be warned: once you've seen it, you can't unsee it.

[Thanks, Revolution Fanboy]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

George @ Feb 15th 2006 6:00PM

It's pretty cOLD outside

2kings @ Feb 15th 2006 6:05PM

"WELCOME TO THE END OF THE COMPUTER AGE!"

Brian @ Feb 15th 2006 6:07PM

...I actually like that terrible rap more than today's rap.

Devin @ Feb 15th 2006 6:10PM

That was the single worst video ever created, and I have seen some bad stuff in my life, what where they even thinking making that

Oblivion @ Feb 15th 2006 6:11PM

Holy crap I just saw the "Don't copy that floppy" message in a "diagram" in the horrible computer book we use in school today. Wow, good timing.

Alkaiser @ Feb 15th 2006 6:12PM

You watched it, you can't UNWATCH IT!

On that note, you should try watching David Hasslehoff's "Hooked on a Feeling" video if you want to wash your eyes out with something.

C. Grant @ Feb 15th 2006 6:32PM

Old comments are getting trashed.

You know, jeeze. I didn't realize it was old when I posted it... I thought it was brand new. Better yet, from the future!

If you've seen it, do something else. Don't waste my time.

ill trooper @ Feb 15th 2006 6:34PM

Damn THAT'S DEF!

Stoopid FRESH!

Let's update it for the '06:
"Don't Vick that Disk!"

or maybe...

"We got a Warrent for That Torrent"

Help, my eyes hurt...

The Lord of Thunder @ Feb 15th 2006 6:41PM

The proper word is "smidgen" not "smitten".

Smidgen is a small amount of something.

Smitten is the past tense of smite, to strike with a firm blow.

Chris @ Feb 15th 2006 6:42PM

"We got a Warrent for That Torrent"

that's going on a t-shirt. great stuff man.

MC Double Def DP @ Feb 15th 2006 7:05PM

I laughed so hard I think I broke a hip. word.

Josh @ Feb 15th 2006 7:45PM

I feel sick...

FloppyCopier @ Feb 15th 2006 8:07PM

Copy my fat floppy bitch!

laughingLoki @ Feb 15th 2006 8:22PM

My prof showed this video last term in SE 101 (University of Waterloo). I was pretty surprised seeing this on Joystiq.

MC DD puts Vanilla Ice to shame. ^_~

rkrocks123 @ Feb 15th 2006 8:26PM

I can't figure out how people are able to watch 10 minutes of this crap! I barely escaped with my life after watching 3 minutes of it!

Jago @ Feb 15th 2006 8:31PM

Well we all know how effective that video was...lol...

I have that in my "funny video" stash on my computer...we watched the FULL video in class a while back and were laughing our asses off.

dajale @ Feb 15th 2006 8:53PM

That was sooooo lame, I hated it. It�s funny top see the anti-piracy campaigns are still as crappy today as there were then. It�s also funny to see that the game companies still managed to make a profit to the point that they now rival film. What a bunch of BS. I�m also insulted by the use of DJ Knock off Cross Colors, who are they trying to talk to? Straight up b*ll Sh*t.

Chris @ Feb 15th 2006 9:01PM

LOL @ the Bill Gates clone at the 03:39 mark

dajale @ Feb 15th 2006 9:07PM

Hoover @ Feb 15th 2006 9:08PM

My computer teacher in 8th grade actually made us watch that.

*shame*

Matt @ Feb 15th 2006 9:10PM

No - no words. No words to describe it. Poetry! They should've sent a poet...

Jacob @ Feb 15th 2006 9:22PM

This is frightening.

I was actually THINKING about that video last night.

A friend and I discovered it on a CD-ROM game way back when it originally came out. We had hours of laughs.

Dan Choi @ Feb 15th 2006 9:56PM

Well, just to take up the other side of the debate, the message of the video was pretty good, though the presentation was laughably dated. Hearing the developer talk about work on Neverwinter Nights was pretty cool (whatever his style mistakes back in the day), as was that brief clip accompanying it from a D&D game from SSI.

Basically, I agree with the message of the video, even if the incentive to "do the right thing" (get a manual, maybe some tech support and a warranty) wouldn't do much to deter kids today. Perhaps that's what happens when a lawyer helps write the lyrics to a public-service rap song?

Of course, the problem of software piracy is a big reason why offline and console games have such a hard time succeeding in Asian countries outside of Japan (and why console manufacturers are reluctant to launch their products there). The same goes for movies as the Hong Kong film industry is buckling under the weight of indifferent downloaders. Online server-side operators are finding ways to make some money in the East, but that unfortunately doesn't diminish the scope of the issue.

Just my two cents.

Justin @ Feb 15th 2006 11:40PM

God that's awful. And hey, my boss looooooves that piece. He even has it on VHS. Then again, my boss is a genuine, demonstrated piece of shit that provably knows nothing. About anything. Really.

Coincidence? I think not!

Darum @ Feb 16th 2006 3:39AM

if i am told not to do something in a rediculous manner, i must do it.

Scythe @ Feb 16th 2006 9:22AM

I think this was bad enough the first time you had it shown on this site a long time ago. Please stop it I can't take it anymore I had therapy to forget about this video and now you brought back those horrid Nightmares.

MrTroy @ Feb 16th 2006 10:08AM

Wow, the scary part is, when I first saw the title for this that song popped right back in my head. Ugh. I was one of the kids who actually saw this in school, ironicly right after I copied some games for a friend.

Yeah we sang the song as we copied stuff. And people walked up singing that whenever they saw people using computer... My god was I lame back then. :(

spam_a_lot @ Feb 16th 2006 12:55PM

Ah, this video take me back. To be a kid again. I thinks it's funny because what the kids are doing is not really illegal. As long as they are not playing both copies at the same time all is well. There intention was not to make a copy to play simultaneously but simply to play on another available computer.