Piracy, Stealing: It doesn't matter what you call it...

IT'S WRONG.

There are no legitimate excuses to support piracy (which I will call it from now on so no one throws a hissy fit). Let's run through the common ones...

"I wasn't gonna buy it anyways!"

Wrong. There are three possible reasons you could use this:

1) "I'm to poor to buy it!"
Well, that sucks for you. I feel your pain, I really do. But there's a solution - stop playing videogames and get a job. It really is that simple. If you don't have a job, but have time for videogames, it's because you're not trying hard enough. If you prefer being broke but having fun, more power to you; but don't pirate from the developers because you're too lazy.

2) "I don't like it enough to buy it!"
Then you shouldn't get to play it at all! You made use of it, however slight, and therefore you should have bought it. Should you be able to watch part, or all, of a movie in theaters without paying for your ticket, because you didn't like the move that much? No! I can't explain this any more clearly. You are unfairly making use of the dev team's product without reimbursement.

3) "I'm just trying it out!"
What if you try it out, for the entire game, then decide you don't want to buy it (either because you don't like it - if so, why are you playing it - or because you just beat the whole game), you still got access to a part of the game that other, honest people didn't. Yes, it can be a hit or a miss when buying a game, but you can read reviews, go on forums, try a demo, Gamefly it, and perhaps even buy the game and return it if you decide you don't like it (I don't know if retailers offer that). So, nice try, but no.

"I'm not hurting the industry!"

Uh, actually, you are. Developers can't make games if no one buys them. Maybe a game sells so well that it would be successful regardless of whether you bought it or not, but the developers still deserve your money because you enjoy their product whether you pirate or buy the game.
Also keep in mind that, if everyone said that, no one would buy games. What you do does make a difference.
And - this deserves special attention - how much of a jerk can you be? Not only are you stealing (I know I said I wouldn't use that word, but it seems basically the same to me), you are just letting every other gamer take up your slack, like we're chumps who should pay for your stuff. No!

"They don't deserve my money!"

Oooh, playing the moral champion card eh? Well it's BS. If you want to make a statement about a publisher/developer's ethics, you don't pirate it, you don't use it. Spread the word about said publisher's lack of scruples, boycott it, vote it down on IGN - but pirating brings you down to their level, or worse.

So, in summary, pirating = dick move.

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The Sama   

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