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

Every time I encounter this in real life, I inform the offending party that I am literally an indie dev who depends on people not pirating my games to survive and shit gets awkward REAL QUICK

It's kind of hilarious, actually, I derive pleasure from the exchange
 
At least ask him to stop bragging about it to you. I imagine hearing "...and I totally downloaded it for free!" all the time must get annoying as fuck no matter what your personal stance on piracy is.

nah, not really. I know of some iniquitous scallywags who might use such a friend's transgressions as an opportunity to play new games before buying for themselves. Such things do occur in this mad mad world. Mad world.

no tomorrow...
and I find it's kinda funny and I find it's kinda sad...
 
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""
:lol

masterful
 
I know this isn't true for everyone, but friends that I had in high school that pirated games are having a hard times now at the age of 29-31. I don't know if that goes hand in hand, but the gaming friends I had that never pirated strived to better themselves to afford nicer thing and are pretty successful now. We're even friends to this day. The others I cut ties with long ago.
 
I know this isn't true for everyone, but friends that I had in high school that pirated games are having a hard times now at the age of 29-31. I don't know if that goes hand in hand, but the gaming friends I had that never pirated strived to better themselves to afford nicer thing and are pretty successful now. We're even friends to this day. The others I cut ties with long ago.

I really hope this is trolling.
 
I really hope this is trolling.

You should see some of the other stuff in here. That's tame compared to the fantastic and ridiculous leaps of logic some people are taking. To say nothing of the people suggesting that the OP humiliate or call the police on his friend.
 
I know this isn't true for everyone, but friends that I had in high school that pirated games are having a hard times now at the age of 29-31. I don't know if that goes hand in hand, but the gaming friends I had that never pirated strived to better themselves to afford nicer thing and are pretty successful now. We're even friends to this day. The others I cut ties with long ago.

This is trolling. Definitely trolling....right?
 
I'm not sure what point you're ultimately making here. I was joking around.

my point is pretty obvious: your posts aren't too helpful. And I don't say that as someone with a bone to pick, obviously. They're not coming off as joking, they're coming off more like that quote from clerks: "There is nothing more exhilarating than pointing out the shortcomings of others, is there?"

And now my own last two posts haven't been helpful :-\
 
I know this isn't true for everyone, but friends that I had in high school that pirated games are having a hard times now at the age of 29-31. I don't know if that goes hand in hand, but the gaming friends I had that never pirated strived to better themselves to afford nicer thing and are pretty successful now. We're even friends to this day. The others I cut ties with long ago.

JWGutV7.gif
 
OP ask your friend to build you something with the idea of monetary compensation behind it, something that requires time and effort, take it from his hands when finished and refuse to pay for it.

When he complains state: "This is what you're doing to small indie teams"
 
Tell him

1. When you play pirated games, you can't connect to people.[no multiplay] It's likely that you will be alone, and lose your friends. = NO LIFE

2. No trophy, no achievement, whatsoever. You can't achieve anything.[no real life achievement] = NO LIFE

3. Torrenting is addictive. You can't stop it until you get caught. = NO LIFE



* A friend of mine got addicted to it. The above 3 principles apply to him. lol
 
I want to go on record saying that I don't approve of piracy, and I don't download anything. I also want to say that I DO understand why some people do though.

Dropping $50-60 on a game that turns out to be total dogshit can be hard to swallow. Dropping $50-60 on a game that can be beaten in 4 hours is also hard to swallow. Piracy isn't the correct response to this, but I get why some people say "screw it" and just start downloading. Certain companies like to put shit-in-a-box and slap a $60 tag on it.

I have a friend who buys most games legit. He has a blacklist though of companies who he feels have wronged him by selling garage to him. Example? Gearbox. He was one of the poor suckers who bought Aliens:CM, and because of that put them on the list. They come off the list after he feels like he got his monies worth off their other products. Borderlands next installment is getting downloaded instead of bought. Do I approve? Not really. I get it though. If more people downloaded like that companies might actually try to release good products at all times and never release unfinished trash to make a quick buck.

Why doesn't 'your friend' just not play Gearbox or 'blacklisted' games instead of pirating them...?
 
You need to speak their language.

Something like:

"Arrghh, Matey, stop be'in a scallywag and spend yer coin on games else ye walkin' the plank."

brought to you from Team Mind Yer Business.
 
teleport behind him, say "heh. nothing persenel kid.", and cut him up with your dual katana blades.
who gives a shit, really. glad to see the op ended up dealing with this like a non-crazy person would and just casually bring it up once.
 
"You pirated that? Why? It's from an 8 man team that needs anything they can get, and it only costs like 15 bucks anyway." Something like that. Then if he adamantly defends it, say that you kinda see what he means but you still don't really agree or whatever.
Far too reasonable to be offered as advice on the internet.
Just cleverly replace a games '.exe' or shortcut-target file with a prank virus '.bat' file.
A little too passive-aggressive.
write him a long letter detailing your concerns. perfume it and seal with a kiss
Too tsundere.
Show him this topic, then stare into his eyes.
Personal, measured, and a bit homoerotic. Perfect.
 
I really hope this is trolling.

This is trolling. Definitely trolling....right?


Well it's true for me. Is it stupid for me to have observed this from the people I've grown up with? Pirating didn't lead them to that, they made bad decisions elsewhere too in life. I don't know how this is trolling. This is an observation I've made. It's not like I clumped everyone and their dog into what I've seen.
 
Well it's true for me. Is it stupid for me to have observed this from the people I've grown up with. Pirating didn't lead them to that, they made bad decisions elsewhere too in life. I don't know how this is trolling. This is an observation I've made. It's not like I clumped everyone and they're dog into what I've seen.

If you cut ties with those people long ago, how do you know they're living these miserable lives you painted them as living?
 
I want to go on record saying that I don't approve of piracy, and I don't download anything. I also want to say that I DO understand why some people do though.

Dropping $50-60 on a game that turns out to be total dogshit can be hard to swallow. Dropping $50-60 on a game that can be beaten in 4 hours is also hard to swallow. Piracy isn't the correct response to this, but I get why some people say "screw it" and just start downloading. Certain companies like to put shit-in-a-box and slap a $60 tag on it.

I have a friend who buys most games legit. He has a blacklist though of companies who he feels have wronged him by selling garage to him. Example? Gearbox. He was one of the poor suckers who bought Aliens:CM, and because of that put them on the list. They come off the list after he feels like he got his monies worth off their other products. Borderlands next installment is getting downloaded instead of bought. Do I approve? Not really. I get it though. If more people downloaded like that companies might actually try to release good products at all times and never release unfinished trash to make a quick buck.
Boarderlands and Boarderlands 2 where great games, so your friend blacklisted them because of 1 game and will pirate their next game to feel justified? That's not how blacklisting works. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. It sucks that he got duped, but that's why you should never pre-order and even if you do, read or watch a review or 2 before opening your copy. If it reviews bad return it. In this case there were NO reviews that said this game was good.

If your friend pirates then fine, but don't use the, "OMG THEY BURNED ME ONCE TOO MANY TIMES" excuse, because it's his own fault for throwing down money on a game and not waiting for impressions or reviews.

If you cut ties with those people long ago, how do you know they're living these miserable lives you painted them as living?
Facebook stalking.
 
Glad you tried to educate him with the video but until he gets a bit more insight (i.e. probably working in the software industry himself and on a product he cares about), some people will just stick to their ways and not much you can do.

Does suck though - I agree.
 
Hopefully none of you here participate in the manga thread because we basically consume pirated materials by daily basis there :P Hahaha.
 
Drop him as a friend.

I would never associate with someone who steals media.

You should probably delete your whole contact list because I guarantee you they've pirated some form of media at one point or another. Most likely music.
 
I know this isn't true for everyone, but friends that I had in high school that pirated games are having a hard times now at the age of 29-31. I don't know if that goes hand in hand, but the gaming friends I had that never pirated strived to better themselves to afford nicer thing and are pretty successful now. We're even friends to this day. The others I cut ties with long ago.

Lol that's really funny. All my friends pirated games/music when we were younger, and we're all successful adults.

Guaranteed some of the moral white knights in this thread actively pirate themselves, or have in the past. Can't imagine ending a friendship with someone because they pirated video games, unreal.
 
I know its hard to fathom but most adults pay for their media. Atleast in the US.

Tell that to anyone who watches shows that aren't in their country, read manga that has just come out in Japan, or watches anime that hasn't been licensed for an official translation yet. You are mostly clueless.
 
Lol that's really funny. All my friends pirated games/music when we were younger, and we're all successful adults.

Guaranteed some of the moral white knights in this thread actively pirate themselves, or have in the past. Can't imagine ending a friendship with someone because they pirated video games, unreal.

It's like there's some contest happening about who can be more offended and morally righteous.
 
Tell that to anyone who watches shows that aren't in their country, read manga that has just come out in Japan, or watches anime that hasn't been licensed for an official translation yet. You are mostly clueless.

No im really not. You just described the minority in the US which is exactly what i posted. I see your still insulting people you dont agree with. Poor form.
 
I always lol when people use "Devs are dicks and screwing us with DLCs!" as an argument to steal games made by people who would never do that.
 
No im really not. You just described the minority in the US which is exactly what i posted. I see your still insulting people you dont agree with. Poor form.

You talked around my point that pirated music was prevalent and mainstream for a long time because of how easy it was to access. You do the same thing about Destiny and you're doing it here and it's pretty funny. You talk around people's points to shore up your own flimsy ones.
 
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