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Originally Posted by timj219
Would you demand this of any other industry? Should gas stations stop expecting police to arrest people who drive off without paying for gas because exxon hasn't made their product more enticing? If I steal a car will I be absolved if I tell the judge I could never have afforded to buy that model anyway?
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Honestly, I think it would depend on the numbers of those comitting such crimes. In the thread about immigration you made a point that while the immigrants are here illegally there are just too many to prosecute. In comparison I suspect that far more people pirate software, music, and movies then are in the US illegally, and yet you are willing to allow them to stay in the US because they are there in such high numbers that it would be inconceivable to go after each one. Does it make it any more 'correct' to do? No but why would it be acceptable for one crime but not another?
As well I argue that illegal immigrants are driving down wages, hurting working Americans, as well as increasing costs for education, healthcare etc... which affects every American whereas piracy only trims the bottom line of companies who continue to make profits regardless. Either an illegal act is an illegal act or it is open for interpretation. You can't pick and choose which you prefer to enforce.
Quote:
Originally Posted by timj219
As for who is losing a sale, what about the competitor of that expensive software maker who produces a cheaper product that contains a smaller feature set and slightly more difficult interface? That competitor might expect to sell a copy of his software to lots of people who can't afford the expensive one. If everybody just steals a copy of the expensive one the competitor just lost his whole market.
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I agree to an extent. As far as application software goes, I think the bulk of the piracy is done by those who want to 'fiddle' with it and learn it, not profit from it. Most companies ensure that their software is legal so that they will not suffer any legal action against them.
For games I really can't say. As I mentioned earlier, I fully support those companies who do release a final, relatively bug-free product, however they are few and far between these days. If I bought a car only to find that some of the parts weren't included I would return it immediately. Unfortunately there are no such options when buying games. As for the bulk of the population it likely is done simply to save $$.
I'm not a programmer myself, but I understand and appreciate the time and effort that goes into making these products. In most cases, however, I have learned that it is not the programmers or even the developers who are rushing the product out, but the distributors who are pushing for quicker release times for their products. When I can, I buy directly from the developer because they take pride in their product and are more likely to release a finished product.