What is the best way to approach a friend who pirates games?

You know what, i used to ALWAYS Pirate PC games in the past but with the way Steam and GOG have gone in the last 4-5 years i dont do it anymore....and funny thing is all the games i used to Pirate i would say that 98% of them i now own legally!

So yeah try the Steam route
 
It sucks but what can you do? Hopefully he will be a little more mature in the future & grow out of it. It's pretty difficult NOT to afford games these days.

I'd suspect many people go through a piracy phase when they are dumb kids, and as they grow up they become wiser and see how it sucks and is hurtful, and (somewhat, if not completely) change their ways.

Well, in most countries :/
 
wondermega said:
It sucks but what can you do? Hopefully he will be a little more mature in the future & grow out of it. It's pretty difficult NOT to afford games these days.

I'd suspect many people go through a piracy phase when they are dumb kids, and as they grow up they become wiser and see how it sucks and is hurtful, and (somewhat, if not completely) change their ways.

Well, in most countries :/
Click to expand...

It's like bragging about shoplifting. It's just a scummy thing to do.
 
You sound like a fun guy to be friends with.

I'd mention you don't agree with it and then let it go. Maybe find a new friend if you're too good for someone of that moral repute.
 
Tell him that bragging about torrenting as if it were doing something badass makes him sound like a douche. Even if your social circle has completely accepted piracy as the norm and would consider you a weirdo for caring this argument will still be something they'll probably sympathize with.
 
Show him Steam during a sale.

That said, it really isn't any of your business(only the developers should worry about it), nor is it worth losing a friend over(imo).
 
Morrigan Stark said:
Xpliskin, I think you're being trolled. No one genuinely believes that using a logo as avatar is equivalent to pirating a game, I'm sure.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I don't really see how people are drawing such an extreme correlation. I'd love to see all the articles about publishers wanting money from forum users for using their art as display pictures though. I'm sure there is a massive movement out there just waiting to explode.
 
Let your friend be. If he asks your opinion, be delicate and respectful while offering your own moral view. Nobody likes a holier than thou attitude, just don't get preachy. If he shares similar views and moral ethic, he'll probably come around :)

Bottom line: Being a good friend is more important than your personal choice(s).

/Hallmark moment.gif
 
The "none of your business" replies are such bullshit. Someone committing a crime (and then bragging about it) is your business, and you're well within your rights to tell them to stop, or just contact the authorities.

He sounds like an ass, so I'd choose the latter. Let him deal with the big fine.
 
Skiesofwonder said:
A good friend of mine just started illegally downloading torrented games on his PC. It's really not any of my business so I just changed the subject when it came up, but lately he has started to brag about it. And to make things even worse, he has moved past AAA titles and into indie game territory. Today he mentioned how awesome a high profile indie title was and that he torrented it. At that point I realized that I had to say something because it would be morally wrong not to. This is a eight person team that I'm sure they could use as much money as possible.

But I don't know how to approach it. I think if I brought it to his attention in how this was wrong and I disapproved, he might consider stopping. But I don't know how to approach the subject without sounding like an ass and damaging our friendship. Have any of you dealt with this before?


Edit: to my knowledge he only started doing this a week ago.
Click to expand...

Brag about the fact that you like to buy your games because the developers gets the money they deserve. That will make him think and it's not rude or anything. Will that make him stop? Probably not but he probably won't bring the subject up again.
 
Griddlelol said:
The "none of your business" replies are such bullshit. Someone committing a crime (and then bragging about it) is your business, and you're well within your rights to tell them to stop, or just contact the authorities.

He sounds like an ass, so I'd choose the latter. Let him deal with the big fine.
Click to expand...

Yeah, i'm sure the local authorities have nothing better to do than arrest someon that might have downloaded a pirated file from the internet. They'll be all over it. Maybe he will even get a cash reward and the key to the city for turning his friend in!
 
Griddlelol said:
The "none of your business" replies are such bullshit. Someone committing a crime (and then bragging about it) is your business, and you're well within your rights to tell them to stop, or just contact the authorities.

He sounds like an ass, so I'd choose the latter. Let him deal with the big fine.
Click to expand...

A crime, lets put him in jail ! That bastard deserves to be assraped by all the rapists in state prison !

Seriously, I used to pirate most of my games as well, but now that most games have an online component, and steam makes them extremely affordable, I rarely do (unless I want to test them out to check if my 3 year old laptop can run it), but if it does run it, and if im interested, I buy it shortly after. Im not against, nor in favour of it...I understand some people do it because they cant afford it, others do it because well...its "free".

As an Artist myself, I'd prefer people to pirate my stuff, instead of not enjoying it...And maybe if games these days had higher quality and less *DLC* milking...people would buy it...but hey, thats just my opinion.
 
If he's actually bragging that he's getting stuff for free, that's kind of stupid.

But if he's willing to do it and still supports the games he can, I don't see the problem.

Either way it's not really worth anything other than just suggesting that he supports some of the developers or sharing your own viewpoint if the topic comes up again. If he just doesn't want to, who really gives a shit? It's not worthwhile to try and force him to do anything.

Also, lmoa at the people who are suggesting that you report the friend to the authorities. What the fuck are they gonna do?
 
Cannon's armed, hard to port, sails loose.

Tell him to buy everything he plays when he can afford it, even the shit stuff
 
Griddlelol said:
The "none of your business" replies are such bullshit. Someone committing a crime (and then bragging about it) is your business, and you're well within your rights to tell them to stop, or just contact the authorities.

He sounds like an ass, so I'd choose the latter. Let him deal with the big fine.
Click to expand...

He sounds like an ass? Then what do you think you sound like?

I can't imagine that you have any friends just for the first part. That you think you can tell them to stop like you've giving them an order.
 
When they start bragging, just say you don't care or shrug your shoulders and move on. It's what I do when my friends talk about stuff that annoys me. One time I even got up and left during the middle of one of their sentences lol
 
Griddlelol said:
The "none of your business" replies are such bullshit. Someone committing a crime (and then bragging about it) is your business, and you're well within your rights to tell them to stop, or just contact the authorities.

He sounds like an ass, so I'd choose the latter. Let him deal with the big fine.
Click to expand...

Try calling your local police about internet pirates and see what happens. Let me know how fast they dismiss you while they go address matters of potential bodily harm in the real world. To say nothing of potentially wasting a cop's time with this hardliner nonsense.
 
Griddlelol said:
The "none of your business" replies are such bullshit. Someone committing a crime (and then bragging about it) is your business, and you're well within your rights to tell them to stop, or just contact the authorities.

He sounds like an ass, so I'd choose the latter. Let him deal with the big fine.
Click to expand...

You're well within your rights to do that, yeah. But you don't do that to your friends. Piracy sucks, but shopping your friend for it is a weasly shitbag move.
 
shuri said:
Tell him that if he does not stop, you will simply report him to your local authorities or to the makers of the games. Friend or not, this has to stop. His torrenting is hurting devs, and the smaller devs actually NEED to those sales.

Sometimes you need to go hard.

edit: Another way would be to simply get him a steam account, and whenever he express interest in pirating a title; just buy it and gift it to his account. Make him aware of that. It might be expensive for a while, but in the long run, your example will impress him and he is going to start buying his own games. Send him txt messages about steam deals every few days, remind him that pc gaming is not expensive and that deals are always to be had.
Click to expand...


i LOLD at all this.
 
Griddlelol said:
The "none of your business" replies are such bullshit. Someone committing a crime (and then bragging about it) is your business, and you're well within your rights to tell them to stop, or just contact the authorities.

He sounds like an ass, so I'd choose the latter. Let him deal with the big fine.
Click to expand...

Dude, have you ever been actually robbed? Have you told the cops that someone at a party stole your cell phone, and you could actually describe their face?

Because if you have you'd know that the cops response would generally be "We don't have the time or the manpower to deal with cases like this. Sorry. We'll file a report and tell you if anything comes up."

Now think about that, and then think about whether or not they'll give a fuck about someone stealing bits of 1's and 0's. They frankly don't.
 
It's none of your business. Worry about yourself. You can disapprove of it, and make him aware of that, but don't lecture him or harass him about it. You don't want to be 'that guy'. You don't have to approve of everything your friends do. Everybody is their own person.

You should honestly only start to worry when it's very serious stuff. Like, they get addicted to really hard drugs and it's having a detrimental effect on their life, or they start participating in criminal activity, like shoplifting rings, gangs, arson, etc.
 
I know many people like him. Guys who earn a lot (7K/month) but can't be arsed to buy games they like.

There is nothing you can do. Pirates gonna pirate.
 
I wouldn't approach them about anything. Telling me something like about how I'm supposedly an idiot for paying for my games would get me to tell them to fuck off though, but I wouldn't bother with further explanations in that case either.
 
Join him in his new life crime. Wear matching eye patches while you pillage the internet of all the free video games!!!

Or you know... mind your own business.
 
If he was my friend I would just constantly flame him for being a scumbag thief and bring it up in casual conversation when you're around groups of friends.

example 1: You and the pirate guy just chillin
Pirate: "Oh man this new game is so cool, check it out"
You: "Yea, it is cool. Glad I paid for mine like an honest person. How does it feel to be scumbag thief?"

example 2: You and pirate and group of friends
Pirate: "Oh man, isn't it fun to socialize with friends in a casual setting?"
Friend #1: "Oh yea"
Friend #2: "Friends are great"
Friend #3: "Glad we know people we can trust"
You: "Did you guys know this pirate steals video games all the time? Watch your wallets"

example 3: Phone conversation
Pirate: "Want to come over and hang out?"
You: "Have you stopped stealing shit all the time?"
 
Ketch said:
If he was my friend I would just constantly flame him for being a scumbag thief and bring it up in casual conversation when you're around groups of friends.

example 1: You and the pirate guy just chillin
Pirate: "Oh man this new game is so cool, check it out"
You: "Yea, it is cool. Glad I paid for mine like an honest person. How does it feel to be scumbag thief?"

example 2: You and pirate and group of friends
Pirate: "Oh man, isn't it fun to socialize with friends in a casual setting?"
Friend #1: "Oh yea"
Friend #2: "Friends are great"
Friend #3: "Glad we know people we can trust"
You: "Did you guys know this pirate steals video games all the time? Watch your wallets"
Click to expand...

Or you could just not hang out with him rather than string him along for your own twisted pleasure like an asshole.
 
Ketch said:
If he was my friend I would just constantly flame him for being a scumbag thief and bring it up in casual conversation when you're around groups of friends.

example 1: You and the pirate guy just chillin
Pirate: "Oh man this new game is so cool, check it out"
You: "Yea, it is cool. Glad I paid for mine like an honest person. How does it feel to be scumbag thief?"

example 2: You and pirate and group of friends
Pirate: "Oh man, isn't it fun to socialize with friends in a casual setting?"
Friend #1: "Oh yea"
Friend #2: "Friends are great"
Friend #3: "Glad we know people we can trust"
You: "Did you guys know this pirate steals video games all the time? Watch your wallets"

example 3: Phone conversation
Pirate: "Want to come over and hang out?"
You: "Have you stopped stealing shit all the time?"
Click to expand...

You sound like a dick
 
Ketch said:
If he was my friend I would just constantly flame him for being a scumbag thief and bring it up in casual conversation when you're around groups of friends.

example 1: You and the pirate guy just chillin
Pirate: "Oh man this new game is so cool, check it out"
You: "Yea, it is cool. Glad I paid for mine like an honest person. How does it feel to be scumbag thief?"

example 2: You and pirate and group of friends
Pirate: "Oh man, isn't it fun to socialize with friends in a casual setting?"
Friend #1: "Oh yea"
Friend #2: "Friends are great"
Friend #3: "Glad we know people we can trust"
You: "Did you guys know this pirate steals video games all the time? Watch your wallets"

example 3: Phone conversation
Pirate: "Want to come over and hang out?"
You: "Have you stopped stealing shit all the time?"
Click to expand...
Are you me?
 
Marcel said:
Or you could just not be his friend rather than string him along for your own twisted pleasure like an asshole.
Click to expand...

The asshole is the guy stealing shit. Friends don't let friends be scumbag thiefs.

If OP is really friends with this guy, like actually values him as a person, then it's his duty to make sure he knows what he's doing is wrong.

impact said:
You sound like a dick
Click to expand...

Yes, I'm a dick to thieves. They deserve it.
 
Steel said:
Dude, have you ever been actually robbed? Have you told the cops that someone at a party stole your cell phone, and you could actually describe their face?

Because if you have you'd know that the cops response would generally be "We don't have the time or the manpower to deal with cases like this. Sorry. We'll file a report and tell you if anything comes up."

Now think about that, and then think about whether or not they'll give a fuck about someone stealing bits of 1's and 0's. They frankly don't.
Click to expand...

Stealing and piracy are both two different things. Piracy is harmful, but not nearly as harmful as theft. Besides, in my experience the police have been helpful in retrieving stolen phones. Provided they are trackable (so basically any current smartphone). A few of my friends have dealt with stolen phones and retrieved them.

So many people pirate files on the internet that enforcing it would be way too time consuming and plenty of average people pirate files without even realizing what they are doing is technically illegal.
 
Griddlelol said:
The "none of your business" replies are such bullshit. Someone committing a crime (and then bragging about it) is your business, and you're well within your rights to tell them to stop, or just contact the authorities.

He sounds like an ass, so I'd choose the latter. Let him deal with the big fine.
Click to expand...

A minor crime. Do you report your friends to the authorities if you see them jaywalking? If they commit a parking violation?
 
Ketch said:
The asshole is the guy stealing shit. Friends don't let friends be scumbag thiefs.

If OP is really friends with this guy, like actually values him as a person, then it's his duty to make sure he knows what he's doing is wrong.
Click to expand...

Duty? I'm sorry, is the OP suddenly a constable of morality? He's not obligated to do shit.
 
I'll fully admit I used to pirate games when I was a kid and didn't have much in the way of disposable income, but as soon as I was employed and could make purchases I pretty much quit cold turkey. The same goes for most of the people I know that pirated -- a co-worker and I had a discussion the other day about how we both gave it up for games and software once we had jobs.

I don't think it's viable to try and 'convert' someone, though. I'd just not engage him when he brings it up.
 
Maybe convince him into purchasing the games after he tries them. I know a dude who torrents games and movies. If he liked them, he purchases them. Its still wrong and I if I wanted I would tell him about how wrong it is to torrent stuff and yada yada yada but hes old enough to know this and just like in your case, its none of my business *sips*

I just know he always ends up buying them anyways. I don't think it would matter if he gets caught.
 
Tygamr said:
Stealing and piracy are both two different things. Piracy is harmful, but not nearly as harmful as theft. Besides, in my experience the police have been helpful in retrieving stolen phones. Provided they are trackable (so basically any current smartphone). A few of my friends have dealt with stolen phones and retrieved them.

So many people pirate files on the internet that enforcing it would be way too time consuming and plenty of average people pirate files without even realizing what they are doing is technically illegal.
Click to expand...

I'm actually not equating the two. My friends' who have had their phones stolen have not had the same luck, the police were somewhat sympathetic, but not helpful. That being said, I'm making the same point you are, there's no incentive to crack down on people pirating files, because the police can barely work on more important things as it stands.
 
Marcel said:
Duty? I'm sorry, is the OP suddenly a constable of morality? He's not obligated to do shit.
Click to expand...

If he actually wants to be this guys friend then yea he does. It's not okay steal stuff, it's not okay to let your friends steal stuff either.

If you're in this thread defending people pirating games I want to know why you think it's okay to steal stuff.
 
I find that the best approach is to use humor.

Preaching, or trying to force your opinion on someone will just cause resentment. So try to joke about it, perhaps how he's cheap, or how his computer will eventually curl up and die from viruses.

And that is the truth, if he cares about the health of his PC, this will eventually kill it. Perhaps joke about that, and let fate run its course?
 
Skiesofwonder said:
It's really not any of my business
Click to expand...

Thats all that needs to be said.

Every man walks his own path.

If he is bragging about it, tell him you dont personally agree with it, but you arent judging him for it. Tell him you would appreciate him not bring it up with you. Past that, keep it moving. Its not your place to be staging an intervention about piracy.
 
Maybe you should stop blaming and try feeling.

Kleptomania is a psychiatric disorder that is extremely difficult to live with. It can have some serious legal and personal ramifications. The person living with kleptomania deals with a great deal of shame, remorse, stress and guilt that is associated with stealing. Kleptomania is behaviorally categorized as an impulse control disorder.
Click to expand...
http://www.addictionhope.com/mood-disorder/kleptomania/treatment
Treatment Plan for Kleptomania

When struggling with kleptomania, it can be shameful to admit that there is a problem. This mental disorder can eventually ostracize the sufferer from society. It prevents you from living a normal life. A kleptomania treatment team has to be created. This team will be comprised of friends and family, a licensed psychologist, a kleptomania treatment program, and a support group
Click to expand...

Or you could keep shaming him, I'm sure that will eventually work.


A better way, http://www.kleptomaniacsanonymous.com/support.htm
 
Skiesofwonder said:
And to make things even worse, he has moved past AAA titles and into indie game territory. Today he mentioned how awesome a high profile indie title was and that he torrented it. At that point I realized that I had to say something because it would be morally wrong not to. This is a eight person team that I'm sure they could use as much money as possible.
Click to expand...

lol, it's less morally wrong to pirate AAA games?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

  • Poll
What is the best Persona game?
2 3
106
940
TintoConCasera replied
Multi-console Bros: what's the best way to add extra inputs to your TV?
28
1K
Gerdav replied
What’s the best plug and play way to play emulated games?
2
63
4K
simpatico replied
Being a “Patient Gamer” is the best way to play.
2 3
113
6K
YeulEmeralda replied
Best way/cheapest way to renew gamepass ultimate? (Coming for renewal)
16
4K
kiphalfton replied
Top Bottom