Gyarr. I Be a Pirate.

by Heath Hindman

Original Editorial: Piracy and Morality

The topic of piracy and all of its spin-off topics have lead to debates that seem to have no end in sight. To make matters worse, I’m here shooting my mouth off in a rebuttal to an editorial that was posted last week, entitled “Piracy and Morality: Why Ethics Are Essential to Business.”

First, one thing must be made clear: NOT every pirated video game, movie, or CD represents a lost sale. If I had no intention of buying a game, so I downloaded it or got a free copy burned from a local game pirate, the creators don’t really lose money. I just wanted to check the game out for an hour or so till I got bored, instead of going so far as to throw $50 at a small curiosity. The money required to purchase everything I’ve ever been curious about would be a higher amount than I will make in my lifetime. Speaking of $50, the editorial I’m countering referred to that very amount as “measly.” I believe the sentence went something like, “These people get what they want, and the amount of work that is put into these massive projects is all thrown away, like so much cardboard packaging, so that someone can have a measly $50 to spend on other indulgences.” No, son, that’s not the case. Some of us have bills to pay, making the aforementioned $50 for every game that intrigues us in the slightest all the more unaffordable. In addition, there are many folks out there working for the minimum wage, which after the taxes are taken out, (I’m basing this in PA) comes to about $4.10 per hour. One game can cost 13 hours of work. That’s hardly a “measly” amount.

Now, back to piracy and such. If the creators weren’t going to get my money anyway, and then I play their game for free, there is no lost sale. They get no money either way, because my interest in the game is minimal. What about USED games? If I buy a used game, the creators get—guess what—NO MONEY. Should the sale of used games be illegal? Of course not. And yet the argument could be almost exactly the same. If I go to a yard sale, or hit ebay, or search the bargain bin of Electronics Boutique to find my games, the creators of the game get absolutely nothing, while at the same time, a business man (whether independent or otherwise) makes money from the product. Uh oh. That sounds like the same beef people have with piracy. However, it would be ridiculous to outlaw the resale of games (or other things, for that matter), because the whole concept of such a thing is just silly.

One could argue that by purchasing a used copy of the game, they are buying the officially licensed product, therefore making it different, and incomparable to piracy. This point, however, is pretty much irrelevant because the effect that used game sales have on the industry is the same that people complain about with piracy. The creators get no money whether I get a burned copy of the game or if I get it from a guy down the street. Even though one game has to be sold at full price for this process to begin, others get the game later on, while those that made it STILL get nothing—as if it were pirated. I am the fourth owner of my copy of Final Fantasy Tactics. The guys at Square didn’t get a dime for three sales of the item. Should my friends and I be arrested for reselling/buying this game?

Mr. Spaulding’s editorial goes on to say, “And all the while, the industry suffers. If people don't get paid for making these games, they don't make these games anymore. It becomes more difficult to sell games, and I would even go so far as to say the overall quality of the games themselves suffer, because companies would rather pay for a surefire sale rather than take a risk. Prices go up, as well.” Swing and a miss. Video games are selling as well now as they ever were (if not better). And remember when Super Nintendo games cost upwards of $70 for one game? New games now generally cost $40-50, and use far greater technology than that which was available in the SNES days. It should also be noted that the prices for everything go up with time, due to inflation.

“Piracy and Morality” also brings music into the discussion. One observation I’ve made is that even “artists” born in this new age of rabid CD-burning and MP3 downloading are doing just fine. I haven’t heard anything about Britney Spears going bankrupt, or complaining about injured album sales. Last I checked, she has more money than she’ll ever need. I dare say CD-burning is more popular than game piracy, and yet those involved with these pop stars could comfortably use flaming $100 bills to light their cigars.

It should be noted that I have actually never even pirated a game in my life (although I do have some burned CDs and some DVDs which are pirated somewhere in Hong Kong). I buy games new or used, depending on the circumstances. I am writing this simply because I can see that a pirated game, DVD, or CD does not necessarily represent a lost sale, and does not always mean the item’s creator lost money. It’s not a difficult concept to grasp.