I shall reveal why i refrain from accusing people getting this of using a cracked version.
- I enjoy messing with those that want to pretend they have a legal copy when they don't.
- Being nice to them increases the chance that they will actually buy a copy if they haven't. (Once again, i enjoy it. Otherwise i wouldn't post at all)
- There is ALWAYS the off chance that some of these people have genuine issues with the DRM of the game. There are cases where certain titles had to remove all DRM because no legit player could play while those who downloaded cracked versions could play all day without issues.
- If you piss these people off then not only do you lose the advertising for the game they share with the world* (legit or cracked version) but you run the risk of them giving really negative feedback which can hurt sales even more.
- I personally have nothing to gain from ridiculing people who doesn't know something. They might be living on the edge and have no other options for entertainment than scrounging off what scraps are left. There are many people in this world who deserves the same as us but live in such horrible conditions that they cannot afford any of it, not even their fault.
Still, we are willing to send donations to these people for a better life but can't share a free copy of something they would never afford? Copying is free, nothing changes hands after all.
* - Advertising, there are quite a large number of games that i have bought thanks to having my friends telling me about those games. Most of the games i have been told about have started out as cracked versions.
There are countless games i have had no interest in buying but downloaded to see if they where any good after which i have bought them because they where better than i thought. (This game included, i thought it was just another crappy "simulator" titled game but it was great!)
Many of the games i have used cracked versions of i have shared with my friends, these friends then wanted the benefits of automatic updates etc so they bought them. In many of these cases these friends would be highly unlikely to ever know the game existed.
One can argue that downloaded cracked copies of the games cost developers money however, there have been independent studies made that reveals that if a game gets a cracked copy released early then interest in that particular titles increases way beyond what it does without a cracked copy.
And in any case, the number of cracked copies in use is about 1/30 to 1/200 of a particular games total sales, all depending on how the game is released in retail and if it's actually any good.
If people aren't likely going to buy your game in the first place then you are not losing anything.
That would be like saying "People just drive through my town but doesn't stop to shop in our market, we are LOSING MONEY here people!"
So does that mean that particular town is losing money, should they re-direct traffic in town so that drivers are forced to buy something?
No, it just means they are passing through and not buying anything. If one where to make it harder to pass through town then traffic would divert to the outskirts of town actually reducing sales.
Just some food for thought.
Myself, i will ALWAYS encourage people to buy the games i like and i will not blame them for not doing so or testing the game on cracked copies because i know if they didn't intend on buying the game in the first place then there's little chance of them buying the game.
If i can increase that chance by being nice to them, supportive and suggest they update their game (in essence, a roundabout way of saying "buy the game") then i might as well have given them a reason to buy the game because clearly they are interested enough in the game to download it and ask for help with their issues.
I will use that interest to push them over the final hurdle and purchase the game.
It doesn't work every time but when it does, it benefits both me, SCS and the rest of the community.
So please people, be nice even when it's "obvious" they are using a cracked version.
On extended hiatus.