Piracy - Were you responsible?

[P-J]

These days, I seem to find more and more people who DON'T use any sort of piracy and are dead against it. This includes applications/software as well as games & movies.

So, here's the poll - How many people didn't pirate Amiga stuff back in the day? (Or at least a very significant amount).

(I voted half and half by the way, just so you know I'm not trying to gain the moral high ground )

[Leffmann]

Back then I had a few hundred games and apps, but could count the originals on one hand. I never gave piracy much thought at that age, but I remember thinking that it was only worth buying the game if it was absolutely spectacular, which was a pretty bad attitude of course.

[Gordon]

I have never bought a copy EVER but have made copies of games that friends had bought, for my own personal use.

[DeafDaz]

I used to have around 10 originals and hundreds of pirated games, I only bought originals after playin pirated versions because i felt that the games was worth the money.

[Mad-Matt]

I never really had access to the Pirated/cracked stuff. I had alot of baught games, but also copied friends originals. I still had to copy manuals by hand or rare case photocopy for any text copy protections if lockpick couldnt hack it .

[P-J]

Originally Posted by Mad-Matt

I never really had access to the Pirated/cracked stuff. I had alot of baught games, but also copied friends originals. I still had to copy manuals by hand or rare case photocopy for any text copy protections if lockpick couldnt hack it .

I don't know whether you had the same thing I did, but I wasn't really even aware of cracked versions of games when I first got an Amiga. I know I tried to copy stuff with XCOPY and it failed to play most of the time, but it was only when I met a new mate who had tons of copied stuff that I started to get into it. Like someone else said above, at that age, I didn't give a shit. Whether I do now is irrelevant () but back then it didn't occur to me that it might have an effect on the industry.

Even then, I didn't know they were modified in any way. The cracktros didn't even hammer that point home. 'Twas bizarre.

By that point though I'd amassed a good collection of shop-bought originals, and acquired cracked versions of those just so I didn't have to use the original disks (not to mention the 1-disk rips and such).

[Mad-Matt]

I invested in x-copy/cyclone to make copying originals easier. I dont remember too many failed. mostly it was a case of x-copy nibble mode, and then cyclone deep nibble or apwm for the bootblock.

It was mostly just a few friends buying originals and copying them for each other. Just like we did with spectrum/c64 tapes before

While I never got hold of cracked games my self, nor my friends, my dad would bring the odd cracked game back from his mates. I guess I was oblivious to it being piracy then too and just thaught of the game as being an awsome version with a trainer

It was mostly just a few friends buying originals and copying them for each other

Even when I was older and visiting market stalls for my games, I never really found those x-copy game for a quid stalls. I often swapped Original games for a quid or two, copied, played and did another swap a week later

Writting all this down now, I suddenly feel I was part of the Piracy crowd without knowing it , I helped bring the downfall of Amiga !!!

[DeafDaz]

I don't think that back in the days we were bringing down the Amiga. we were trying to bring the software companies down because of the ridiculous prices they were charging for games. Most of the games released back then were not really worth the £25 quid asking price. That was why I had so many pirated games. Looking back I suppose that copying games did not do much to help people who wanted to make a decent living from software development then.

[ancalimon]

back in the day, we did not have original games sold in Turkey at all. There were computer shops that copied the games for less than 1$ a disk while you waited and looked at the huge catalog

There were some places that sold "a couple of bad" original games, but they were usually at least 2 or 3 times more expensive (150$ for a game which was 50$) and we had less money in Turkey than the rest of Europe. Still I managed to buy Pirates which was later stolen from me and a very bad 3d racing game which I threw away.

I remember Amiga magazines being ridiculously overpriced. (maybe 5 times more expensive)
Luckily I bought them from second hand booksellers (magazines that could not be sold were sent there)

[s2325]

Do you remember title of that 3D racing game?

[ancalimon]

Originally Posted by s2325

Do you remember title of that 3D racing game?

http://hol.abime.net/656

Hard Drivin'

I really didn't like it. It was buggy and I felt ripped off for paying for the game.

[NeroAngelo]

In Poland before 1995-6 or so, the awareness of the problem of piracy, especially Amiga-wise was practically nil. I didn't know what piracy is, let alone that I was pirating anything, but then again, official distribution channels were very lackluster.

So, pretty much every game I owned on the Amiga, save some CD32 titles, was pirated.

Now, on PC, I buy the games I like and wish to keep and return to them after completing them once. I believe it's a pretty fair deal: developer creates something addictive (to me) and I buy it. If it's a one night stand (as in, I finish the game and I don't wanna go back to it again, there's nothing hinting me to experience it once more), then I don't buy that.

[cosmicfrog]

am I a pirate, NO
did I copy software, YES

[roy bates]

i did make copys of software for my own use,mainly because if i destroyed my main copy it was expensive to replace.

as for getting pirate copys,hmm well i can still get pretty much anything i want.
on most platforms if its hard to get, for me theres not much choice.especialy if its hard to get software.

[Paul_s]

I always bought genuine software - but one of my friends who always came up on a Friday for Amiga playing brought copied games with him - I never copied them on to others and did buy a few games out of them (if i really liked a particular game).

[Galahad/FLT]

Ahem

[ancalimon]

I lolled here:

http://www.allowe.com/More/tipjar.htm

Happy to find a game on my site that you thought was long lost?


Feeling guilty about copying my games when you were a starving college student?


Intended to buy a game you "borrowed" from a friend, but never did?


Downloaded one of my games from some "warez" site?

Ease that guilty conscience right now. PayPal me a buck or five or however much you want. PayPal accepts all major credit cards. While you certainly don't have to, I promise it will be appreciated... and help me pay for bandwidth so that others can also enjoy what's here. Thanks!

[prowler]

Not guilty!

Why, back in the day I didn't even have an Amiga! (or should that be ?)

[illy5603]

Nope, not me, never... lol... I think the better question for me would be "Did you own any software that was not pirated?" Yes, Ami-Express BBS and Their Finest Hour.

Now that I am older and have a decent job, I am buying boxed games left and right. Sorry I couldn't have been more gainfully employed back in the day.

Originally Posted by Galahad/FLT

Ahem

Haha, all of those groups you belonged to were "Charitable organizations" and your logo was simply because you guys were fans of synthesizer music.

[Lobotomika]

Proud to be a pirate. Fuck yeah.