Phinehas

Ugh. Sexual innuendo and revealing clothes are only thought to be "mature" by those who aren't. It's kinda the same way that saying "booger" is edgy...when you are in kindergarten.

Yeah, the vitriol is a bit shocking. I suppose people are running out of things they can hate, and you know how much people really like to hate--especially tolerant people.

If I could download Chris Tomlin, Jars of Clay, Switchfoot, etc. music packs for Rock Band, I'd be much more broke than I am. But maybe my Rock Band instruments wouldn't be collecting so much dust. I know what moves me and what doesn't and don't really feel a need to apologize for my tastes in music.

There are at least two radio stations here in the Austin market that manage to do just fine for themselves playing these artists, so I have to think that there is money to be made, whether by EA and Harmonix or someone less...er...accomplished. I'd just as soon see the Rock Band creators step up to the plate, but I can't really fault another business wanting to step in where it sees a commercial need to fill.

"1. People with no money. If you don't have $60 to spare on the game, you won't be buying it no matter what. When I was a kid 25 years ago, I was in this group. I grew up poor, so I didn't have money for games, so I bought C-cassettes (or re-used my dad's old ones) and empty floppies for a fraction of the cost instead and copied all my games."

If you can buy cassettes or floppies, then it is not true that you have "no money." It is only true that you don't have as much money as you'd like. Most of us don't have as much money as we'd like. That's just the way scarcity works. When we don't have as much money as we'd like, people with integrity prioritize their needs and wants and choose to purchase what they can. People without integrity take what is not rightfully theirs and try to justify why they were entitled to it. Period.

"2. Collectors (or obsessive leechers). People who torrent everything. These are the people who download dozens of different games every week. There's absolutely no way in hell these people would buy even a fraction of those games, ever. Many of them won't even really play the games, instead they get their kicks on "owning" a crapload of games, most importantly "more than the kid next door" (also see achievement whores...)"

And we have some sort of proof that the number of people in this imagined category isn't zero?

"3. People living in places you can't buy the games...probably a pretty small group these days, but torrents can reach many more places than retail channels can. I remember back in the day before the Internet (*GASP*) and living in a small country, we just would not get all the games distributed in the country. The pirated copies, however, somehow always found their way in."

Pirated copies are not the only option for getting games that are not distributed locally. Its just the most blatantly self-serving option.

"1. The ones who would otherwise buy the game, but don't, because they get the game for free

2. The ones who wouldn't buy the game even if there wasn't a pirated copy available"

I suspect that a large percentage of those claiming to be in category 2 are actually in category 1. Without the option to pirate the game, how can we really know whether someone would buy it or not? The moralization of those who claim to be in category 2 seems to be entirely too self-serving to be trustworthy, does it not?

Bottom line: If a game is worth ***playing*** then it is worth supporting those that developed it.

PS: Love joystiq, hate their commenting system. :(

"1. The ones who would otherwise buy the game, but don't, because they get the game for free

2. The ones who wouldn't buy the game even if there wasn't a pirated copy available"

I suspect that a large percentage of those claiming to be in category 2 are actually in category 1. Without the option to pirate the game, how can we really know whether someone would buy it or not? The moralization of those who claim to be in category 2 seems to be entirely too self-serving to be trustworthy, does it not?

Bottom line: If a game is worth ***playing*** then it is worth supporting those that developed it.

Since when do people have a right to things they can't afford? The sense of entitlement is breath-taking.

Dr. sez:

"I can't begin to count the number of games I've pirated that I had no intention of ever buying."

Of course you didn't have any intention of ever buying it. Why would you when you could play it without buying it. It is only in an environment where you can't play if you don't pay that you'll really discover whether you will buy something or not.

Your moralization is incredibly self-serving. Shocker.

In case any one else was as curious as I was...

trog⋅lo⋅dyte
   /ˈtrɒgləˌdaɪt/ [trog-luh-dahyt] –noun
1. a prehistoric cave dweller.
2. a person of degraded, primitive, or brutal character.
3. a person living in seclusion.
4. a person unacquainted with affairs of the world.
5. an animal living underground.

Agreed. I think games have great potential upside for influencing gamers in positive ways. I'd love to see the industry invest in this sort of research--embrace the science instead of denying it. To me, that would be much better than the current failed PR strategy, which, though it plays well on gaming blogs, totally falls on its face in the mainstream media.

***

Please forgive the double-post. The reply system made me do it, so I am obviously absolved of any responsibility.

Agreed. I think games have great potential upside for influencing gamers in positive ways. I'd love to see the industry invest in this sort of research--embrace the science instead of denying it. To me, that would be much better than the current failed PR strategy, which, though it plays well on gaming blogs, totally falls on its face in the mainstream media.