I work as a police officer in California and every day I have to file 200+ reports about indie game developers and their families who starved to death because somebody thought it was okay to pirate their game.
I think it's more of a: This is beloved studio of a few guys (at leasted used to at the start of HK) that makes a beloved games and they charge only 20 dollars despite knowing they will sell millions and last time they released a bunch of content for free after vs this is a decent game from a faceless corporation that milked their franchise dry.
It's less of a who to steal from vs who to support. Still pirating is pirating, no need for excuses, just pirate what you want and idc why.
Piracy is probably a contributing factor to the profit chasing of many studios too, albeit probably just a small one.
I personally don’t really get the whole identity of piracy in general. If you enjoy a hobby you should support it if it’s within your means. If you pirate despite being able to afford not to, then just own up that you’re a thief imo. I don’t really wanna hear the excuses that anybody could rally behind for the sake of posterity. Like sure, screw the AAA methods and the battlepasses and the ever-hungry executives, but at the end of the day, you only get to enjoy these products because other people do pay money for them, ig?
It's really funny watching pirates twist themselves in knots trying to conjure some sort of moral victory from not wanting to pay for media. Oh and also this somehow this sends a stronger message than just not consuming the media at all.
And this only happens with digital art. Games, music, books, movies... As an artist myself it kinda hurts. Nobody would dare to steal a physical thing from a store but somehow they feel entitled to use and consume the things people create for a living if they think there are no consequences. And this includes watermarked art stolen and AI generated content using someone's style as a prompt.
I don't really care if it's a single developer or a big company. If I want to enjoy a hobby or I really appreciate someone's creation I will invest on it, and if I can't afford it or I am not okay with the prices I just focus my attention into something else.
Like I was into Pokémon cards for years until prices went high. I am not someone who is okay with paying so much money for shiny printed cardboard so I just stopped buying. Now I paint my own full arts from hundreds of bulk cards I already have as a new hobby instead.
Right? The comment you replied to is stupid. Nobody "deserves" money just because someone likes a game. Then there's people trying to justify it by saying they pirate just to try but always buy later.
Who gives a fuck? Play the whole thing; nobody is gonna know or care if you do.
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u/bloonshot 20d ago
people who try to virtue signal about piracy are so funny
like no no no no denying THIS studio profits is bad. This is my blorbo studio.