Yantelope

I think upgrading and improving your character as you go usually adds a nice layer of depth to the game. Deus Ex is probably the best example I can think of. It's tough to implement though. You can't have the upgrades making the game too easy but you don't want the game to be too hard if you don't purchase the correct upgrades as well. I think the best kind of upgrades are the ones that help you play how you want. Crysis 2 did a good job of this letting you increase your stealth or shields depending on how you like to play. Jedi Knight II also had a great upgrade system. There is something really rewarding about going from a weak padawan to an all powerful Jedi. A bad example could be the Fable games. Generally you just pump up every stat and there's never any hard choices to make. Additionally magic was way over powered in the first game and your lightning spell could kill everything. For a game that was supposed to change your look depending on how you play I always ended up looking the same.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/aug/10/riots-without-responsibility I found this interesting. Wondering what you Brits thoughts were. Seems like entitlements are the question on everyone's plate whether it be the US, UK or even Greece.

I bought a Gameboy Color because they marketed it as though it would add color to your old games. Well it did but only in a Super Gameboy sense. When I found out that the screen shots they had been showing of Zelda DX required you to buy the new version I was a bit pissed off. I bought it anyway though and I have since played though it countless times. Zelda: Link's Awakening is probably the best handheld game ever made. Oh, and I bought this on many of your reccomendations: In the words of Yzma "This had better be good!"

See, I used to think this too but the fact is that only 20% or so of people (last I heard anyway) buy DLC. It's just that the profit from those 20% of people more than makes up for it so the DLC march continues.

Oh look, Driver PC got delayed... I'm shocked. Seriously, Why do they pretend like they're not delaying it for piracy reasons?

Yeah, if you check out the DRM, Project Ten Dollar thread I agree with a lot of what you're saying. I have to think that Ubi has at least some sales data to judge whether DRM helps increases sales though.

Yes, without any numbers or figures for us to go off, publishers can blame pirates or make claims as to the effectiveness of DRM and we have no way of verifying them. I'm not really sure why they'd be deliberately misleading the public though. If their DRM really does nothing for sales why would they bother to keep implementing it? I'd also like to point out that I'm totally cool with stripping out the DRM from a game you've purchased. I just think that pirating a game to demo it is not justified by saying that developers are somehow taking advantage of you. I also don't see how developers are taking advantage or mistreating gamers outside of perhaps installing malware unbeknownst to users. I'm fairly certain that's illegal too given the way Sony had to pay out large settlements for putting hidden malware in their audio CDs years ago. EA may have gotten away with it but it's in no way condoned.

Almost every crack group tells you to buy the game if you enjoyed it within the instructions file. And agreed with Rocky, "deal with it" isn't a solution. Consumers have rights as well. Consumers wield all the power. They are the ones with the money. Developers exist for one reason and that is to get your money. If you don't get treated right by a developer then you don't purchase their products. It's simple supply and demand. and was more what I was referring to when I said you're justifying your actions. Also, your article about EA promoting piracy is really the guy talking about how they're coping in the wake of piracy. They've begun selling services to pirates and making money that way. It's not evidence that piracy helps sell games. It's actually evidence to the contrary.

We actually already discussed a lot of that stuff earlier. Also, still sounds like you're just justifying your actions to yourself.

Man, now I feel tempted to play TF2 just to get suckers to give me games.

That's the million dollar question. Sales data on PC is really hard to come by.

I've actually switched my buying preference from console to PC. Graphics are better and the games are usually cheaper. Origin had Bulletstorm for $9 yesterday. I'm gonna wait for the $5 mark though.

Yep, the first one was fun.

Probably because we're discussing this but apparently there's a demo for the new Driver game on the consoles but the PC version is not getting a demo.

Then comparisons aside, does your financial situation change the morality of your actions? Does not having money change whether it's right or wrong to illegally download a game?

My answer is that I just don't buy all that many games. Buying games at full retail is silly. Here in the US we have outlets like GameFly or Blockbuster to rent console games. Occasionally my fiancee will borrow games from friends (I've never had friends with similar tastes) and plus there's always checking online reviews from places you trust (e.g. not IGN) No one says you have to buy the game the first day. In fact, you don't really have to have the game at all. In capitalism you as the consumer hold the cards in that you can choose to walk away and not purchase the product. Come to think of it, I don't know the last time I bought a new game on Day 1. Pokemon, I think? Most games I buy for under $20 and quite a few under $10. Call me cheap but I just know where I am in the market. And this is what I would define as "being careful with your money".

Who is being deceitful? If a game or movie really is garbage then the reviews will reflect that. Whether your palette is so refined that you hate movies or games that receive positive reviews is in my opinion a personal problem and even if you don't like something what entitles you to a refund? You're never guaranteed to enjoy anything in life. In any case, generally people are not trying to sell you a poor experience. I don't see how being careful with your money and sneaking into a theater are related. If you're going to talk about the poor then we can have the age old argument about whether it's wrong to steal bread if you're starving but I don't think that's the same as pirating a videogame.

I suppose you could have a situation in which you did deprive someone but that doesn't change my situation in which you don't. If a theater did give you the option to pay for your movie after you watched it if you thought it was worth your time do you think they'd make more money or less money? The whole pirate demo argument boils down to "I'm trying to spare myself disappointment by acquiring something that doesn't belong to me."

again I would like to ask of any of you have dropped $60 on a game after pirating it. If not then the whole demo argument is invalid.

There is no one to one comparison but it's fair on the level that sneaking into a movie doesn't deprive anyone from anything either.

You're telling me that you can't gain enough information about a game to make an informed decision without pirating it? Based on what? Back up your opinion. It's no different than anything else in life. You can't tell if you'd like a roller coaster without riding it but you don't sneak in the back seat. With pretty much everything in life there's no guarantees. I'm just a little surprised because there was a time in my life when I downloaded a game or two but I never tried to justify it to anyone. I just thought that if I had more money I probably would have dropped the $20 on it.

With all the reviews (as many as 80 or so for big titles), gameplay videos, youtube playthroughs and forums to discuss games it's easy to know if a game is garbage or not before you buy it without playing it. I've also seen plenty of movies that I didn't much care for and never got a refund back for my time. For my wife and I to go to a movie it's as much as $14 a ticket if it's in 3D. The cheapest is if you go early on a saturday and maybe you'll get in for around $7 per ticket. Still, $14 for two tickets is about the same as $15-20 for a cheap game. I don't pirate a movie because I'm not sure if I'll like it and I probably wouldn't pay to go watch a movie after I'd already seen it so I don't believe pirates really run out and drop $60 on a game they've already pirated. In fact, that's a great question, how many people here have ever paid full price for a game they've pirated and I'm not talking about picking it up for $5 from a steam sale or bargain bin several months after you pirated it.

If I'm not positive I'll like it I wont spend $60 on it. It's really rare that I spend a full $60 on a game. Also, I know everyone can't spend $20 on every game that interests them but I also know that with the advent of steam people are complaining that they have so many games the can't finish them all. I find myself in this boat and as a result I have more content than time.