Jim Sterling (and others) have a few words for you pirates

I know, I know....you don't care what Sterling thinks. But let's listen to what he has to say first:
 
  

isn't he a little late? All he did was say things that have been said for years, then add insults to them.

Sterling is just a glorified troll. You can tell mommy and daddy did not give him enough attention as a child so now he is making up for it. 

" isn't he a little late? All he did was say things that have been said for years, then add insults to them. "

Sterling and piracy. Boy, doesn't this topic sound appealing!

" @CL60 said:

" isn't he a little late? All he did was say things that have been said for years, then add insults to them. "

Apparently not, considering people are still doing it and still defending it. "

" Sterling is just a glorified troll. You can tell mommy and daddy did not give him enough attention as a child so now he is making up for it.  "

Pirating is stealing however it does not hurt the industry has much as they claim it does, the examples you use help prove it. Call of Duty MW2 sold more than any other game and is one of the most mainstream games around (By  that I mean even your grandparents know about it) and it only got pirated 4.1 million times. Same deal with the Sims. While I understand 4.1 million time is still a lot your claim that its bringing down the industry is crazy since most games are not even close to pirated as the most well known games the ones you just used as your example. But I want to be fair to the game industry since they've always returned the favor! right!

" Pirating is stealing however it does not hurt the industry has much as they claim it does, the examples you use help prove it. Call of Duty MW2 sold more than any other game and is one of the most mainstream games around (By  that I mean even your grandparents know about it) and it only got pirated 4.1 million times. Same deal with the Sims. While I understand 4.1 million time is still a lot you claim that its bringing down the industry is crazy since most games are not even close to pirated as the most well known games the ones you just used as your example. But I want to be fair to the game industry since they've always returned the favor! right! "

I didn't know he was English. Also, i agree with everything he said, for a change.

Jim Sterling is an idiot and you're just as big an idiot for simplifying the matter into such a stupid way as he has done. 
 
I counter your stupidity with this.

" Jim Sterling is an idiot and you're just as big an idiot for simplifying the matter into such a stupid way as he has done. 
 
I counter your stupidity with this. "

" @RsistncE said:

" Jim Sterling is an idiot and you're just as big an idiot for simplifying the matter into such a stupid way as he has done. 
 
I counter your stupidity with this. "

Extra Credits? Hell, they're worse than Sterling. "

Yeah, it's all well and good if you live in a country where games and technology are easily available, but in Italy and most other poorer countries pirating isn't even an issue, it's a way of life. I'm guessing that most of those figures for pirated games don't come from American gamers, but from foreigners who just want to play the game for a weekend or two with their friends.

Piracy of games is the same as piracy of movies, however; it is the people who don't have the decency to pay for it if they like it that are hurting the industry. Surveys done in the past have shown that a large margin of people who pirate movies buy them later on DVD. This isn't true of music and games; I assume it's because the thrill of the game is the playing, and once it's finished there's little to go back to. Films, by being a closed narrative, are good for repeated views, and games can't match that usually. 
 
Devil's advocacy, natch.

" Yeah, it's all well and good if you live in a country where games and technology are easily available, but in Italy and most other poorer countries pirating isn't even an issue, it's a way of life. I'm guessing that most of those figures for pirated games don't come from American gamers, but from foreigners who just want to play the game for a weekend or two with their friends. "

" @blueduck said:

" Pirating is stealing however it does not hurt the industry has much as they claim it does, the examples you use help prove it. Call of Duty MW2 sold more than any other game and is one of the most mainstream games around (By  that I mean even your grandparents know about it) and it only got pirated 4.1 million times. Same deal with the Sims. While I understand 4.1 million time is still a lot you claim that its bringing down the industry is crazy since most games are not even close to pirated as the most well known games the ones you just used as your example. But I want to be fair to the game industry since they've always returned the favor! right! "

It may not hurt the industry as much as they claim, but it's still hurting it. That is indisputable. "

Why do people still debate this? both sides are retarded.

" Why do people still debate this? both sides are retarded. "

I'm getting sick of this dismissive "X is a just troll" attitude whenever you see anything like this on the internet anymore. The word "troll" itself has been raped and pillaged over the last year and a half worse than any DS or PSP library. Whoever said Jim isn't making any new arguments here is correct, but the arguments Adam Sessler makes on the soapbox aren't quite original either. He's generally respected here, right? It isn't about who came up with the argument first but getting as many people to see it as possible, and that's why you also see these blogs all on the same issues.
 
And to that "Extra Credits" thing: those solutions aren't new, in fact some have already been tried and have failed with gamers who would watch such a clip. He proposes rewards for people who buy games new - which is exactly what's been happening with these damn preorder bonuses that everyone on the internet hates. Nobody can make a video like this that doesn't simplify some part of the argument to some degree. 
 
I don't get how people who don't pirate things can possibly empathize with pirates. Most of them whether it's games or music or whatever talk about whatever sins the company has committed to justify it ("The industry sold out years ago and none of this will affect Lady Gaga anyway so that's why I'll pirate The Fame") and then turn around to outright insult you for doing things the fair way ("You use Amazon MP3? LOL!"). Jim hit this whole thing right on the head. The foreign countries argument is the only thing with any shred of legitimacy.

people excuse and justify their piracy because they know it's shitty, or because they don't want to appear like shitty people. More often than not, piracy stems from a lack of income, disposable or otherwise. Culturally we are driven to obtain what we want by any means necessary, and I think that is one of the reasons piracy is so rampant this generation (I mean this generation of people, as well as it being easy as hell). When I was much younger, I pirated the hell out of PC games like Doom and Duke Nukem, as well as Wolfenstein and Syndicate. Starcraft came from a friend on a burned CD, for instance. People often grow up, and when they gain disposable income they more often than not start spending it on the things they used to pirate. I'm not trying to downplay the effect that piracy obviously has, but hopefully I can explain the reasons (not excuses) why it seems a lot of people turn to piracy. 

" @Rothbart said:

" Yeah, it's all well and good if you live in a country where games and technology are easily available, but in Italy and most other poorer countries pirating isn't even an issue, it's a way of life. I'm guessing that most of those figures for pirated games don't come from American gamers, but from foreigners who just want to play the game for a weekend or two with their friends. "

Do they not have access to the internet in said foreign countries? "

You know what that reminded me of? Donkey Kong Country had some effing rad music.
But also yeah he makes valid points but people are gonna steal shit. I don't see that ever changing. Cause they're jerks.

" @Pinworm45 said:

" Why do people still debate this? both sides are retarded. "

Exactly. The topic is incredibly complex and both sides simplify it into idiotic camps based on some of the dumbest assumptions and logical fallacies I've ever heard. "

" Jim Sterling is an idiot and you're just as big an idiot for simplifying the matter into such a stupid way as he has done. 
 
I counter your stupidity with this. "

I don't know who this guy is, but I liked the video. 
 
I think the problem with the traditional 'piracy is wrong' argument is that it is just way too easy to say "so what?" Why should I care that it's wrong? To this person, there is very little you can say to further try to convince them that they should stop. Someone can admit that piracy is just as wrong as stealing a physical item, but also say that they would steal physical items if there was an equally low chance of being caught. While the wrongness of piracy might give them some reason not to do it, the prospect of free stuff with no consequences is a much stronger reason to do it. And let's face it, not many people are being punished for pirating Modern Warfare 2.
 
While I think this 'so what?' response is the only workable one, it isn't the common one. Sterling is right that people try to justify piracy way too much and I think trying to justify piracy isn't going to work. As Sterling points out, none of the common excuses make much sense. 
 
So, I think Sterling is right, pirates need to stop trying to justify themselves. However, I also think the 'so what?' position is a fine position to take. If you don't care that piracy is wrong, it doesn't seem as though the anti-pirate has much more to say.

" Yeah, it's all well and good if you live in a country where games and technology are easily available, but in Italy and most other poorer countries pirating isn't even an issue, it's a way of life. I'm guessing that most of those figures for pirated games don't come from American gamers, but from foreigners who just want to play the game for a weekend or two with their friends. "

What about PC gamers that get stung by shitty console ports that don't have demos? Unacceptable framerates and menu/ui issues... 
 
Do PC gamers just have to purchase these games blindly?

" @RsistncE said:

" Jim Sterling is an idiot and you're just as big an idiot for simplifying the matter into such a stupid way as he has done. 
 
I counter your stupidity with this. "

I've given plenty more than just a video. Countering with something as simple as that is lame. "

" @Pinworm45 said:

" Why do people still debate this? both sides are retarded. "

Exactly. The topic is incredibly complex and both sides simplify it into idiotic camps based on some of the dumbest assumptions and logical fallacies I've ever heard. "

" @RsistncE said:

" @Pinworm45 said:

" Why do people still debate this? both sides are retarded. "

Exactly. The topic is incredibly complex and both sides simplify it into idiotic camps based on some of the dumbest assumptions and logical fallacies I've ever heard. "

This is more black and white than you think. You're suffering from Pirate Denial Syndrome. Keep splattering your gray paint all over this. Smarter people see the painting for what it is. "

" @LordAssinhiemr said:

" @RsistncE said:

" @Pinworm45 said:

" Why do people still debate this? both sides are retarded. "

Exactly. The topic is incredibly complex and both sides simplify it into idiotic camps based on some of the dumbest assumptions and logical fallacies I've ever heard. "

This is more black and white than you think. You're suffering from Pirate Denial Syndrome. Keep splattering your gray paint all over this. Smarter people see the painting for what it is. "

Did you miss the part where he said BOTH sides do it? Christ, you people are the same as politics. If some guy says he disagrees with a liberal policy, well christ allmighty he must be a tea partier trying to get rid of evolution in schools who worships cardboard cuttouts of Bush. "

Sterling is a clown, but everything I have seen I actually agree with him. His blog about the length of games and this thing is pretty spot on. I haven't seen much else that he has done to be honest, and I can totally see why people would find him annoying, but he clearly isn't completely a troll. 
 
Regarding piracy, it's all about supply and demand. I'm providing demand in buying games so there's not much else I can do.

And to that "Extra Credits" thing: those solutions aren't new, in fact some have already been tried and have failed with gamers who would watch such a clip. He proposes rewards for people who buy games new - which is exactly what's been happening with these damn preorder bonuses that everyone on the internet hates. Nobody can make a video like this that doesn't simplify some part of the argument to some degree.    

Why do we still have topics about Jim Sterling? Why? Go to Destructoid if you can't seem to stuff your fat face with anymore Jim Sterling.

" @LordAssinhiemr said:

" @RsistncE said:

" @Pinworm45 said:

" Why do people still debate this? both sides are retarded. "

Exactly. The topic is incredibly complex and both sides simplify it into idiotic camps based on some of the dumbest assumptions and logical fallacies I've ever heard. "

This is more black and white than you think. You're suffering from Pirate Denial Syndrome. Keep splattering your gray paint all over this. Smarter people see the painting for what it is. "

Did you miss the part where he said BOTH sides do it? Christ, you people are the same as politics. If some guy says he disagrees with a liberal policy, well christ allmighty he must be a tea partier trying to get rid of evolution in schools who worships cardboard cuttouts of Bush. "

" @Pinworm45 said:

" @LordAssinhiemr said:

" @RsistncE said:

" @Pinworm45 said:

" Why do people still debate this? both sides are retarded. "

Exactly. The topic is incredibly complex and both sides simplify it into idiotic camps based on some of the dumbest assumptions and logical fallacies I've ever heard. "

This is more black and white than you think. You're suffering from Pirate Denial Syndrome. Keep splattering your gray paint all over this. Smarter people see the painting for what it is. "

Did you miss the part where he said BOTH sides do it? Christ, you people are the same as politics. If some guy says he disagrees with a liberal policy, well christ allmighty he must be a tea partier trying to get rid of evolution in schools who worships cardboard cuttouts of Bush. "

I was about to say the same thing. This guy is pretty much the George Bush of video games.  IF URE NOT WITH US THEN URE WITH THA PYRUTS HURRRRRR  Played Cowboys and Indians too much as a child methinks?  PS. Yes, clearly I am not smart enough to see it for what it is. Just like I wasn't smart enough to get into one of the top Universities in the world and into one of the hardest programs to get into in the entire school itself. Resorting to personal insults is retarded and is just making me look at you in a manner that says, "Jesus this guy has no idea what he's talking about." "

" @LordAssinhiemr: You wan't to know why you don't see this as a complex issue? Because you have an inability to accept any logic other than your own incredibly flawed conceptions about how things are or should be. Additionally you're basing all your arguments on your beliefs concerning socioeconomic principles which essentially means you can just adjust your system to match your arguments any way you see fit. The fact of the matter is that copyright infringement is a very complex issue; if it was as simple as you claim it is then it would have been solved years ago but it hasn't been. "

I have no idea who Jim Sterling is.

I'm still going to download whatever I want. 
 
 
Come at me, bro.

" @RsistncE said:

" @LordAssinhiemr: You wan't to know why you don't see this as a complex issue? Because you have an inability to accept any logic other than your own incredibly flawed conceptions about how things are or should be. Additionally you're basing all your arguments on your beliefs concerning socioeconomic principles which essentially means you can just adjust your system to match your arguments any way you see fit. The fact of the matter is that copyright infringement is a very complex issue; if it was as simple as you claim it is then it would have been solved years ago but it hasn't been. "

Are you going to tell me where I'm wrong or are you going to keep spewing paragraphs that run around in circles?    If you want to discuss copyright infringement, the basic principle behind it is just that, basic.   So....where are you going to start telling me if pirating is acceptable or not? "

" I have no idea who Jim Sterling is. "

" I have no idea who Jim Sterling is. "