I would like to take a few moments to talk about game piracy this is some what of a touchy subject in the world of gaming. But there is something that has always bother me about this subject, what I often find myself asking is how come someone who uses tools such as no CD cracks is automatically considered a software pirate? To me that’s like saying that just because you own something that could be use for illegal proposes must mean that’s the way you’re using it. Now I will agree that most people probably use cracks for illegal or pirated software, but just because you have a crack does make you a pirate.

The reason that I have decided to bring this up is because I bought a game called Hitman: Codename 47 when it was released on November 3, 2000. Now like most games after I finished it I went on to others but I like to come back to my older game and play them sometimes. So I installed Hitman on my PC and when I tried to start the game of course I got an error, ok no big deal I’ll just patch the game and then I’ll be all set. So that’s what I did, I found the patch on the official site under support at the bottom of the page was the patch but right above the patch was a note as follows:
Now I would understand if this game were 5 or 6 years old I don’t expect them to support their games forever that’s just not cost efficient, but this game is only 3 years old. So I was reduced to find the answer else were and that’s what I did I looked around for sometime and finally found the answer I was told to try the no CD crack, so what could it hurt right? Well I tried it and it worked the game now runs fine and I’m able to enjoy my game.

I think what upsets me the most about this is that I see this appearing more and more often SOME companies will create a game release it, charge you 50 dollars for it then just forget about it. The reason I only used the word some is because there are a few companies that do things a little different and this is the way I would like to see more companies doing things. I have seen some companies that will support games for 5 or 6 years and then move on but what makes then different is that they will release the source code for the game.

In my option this solves a lot of problems one is that there are usually communities of fans that have programming experience that enjoy this game as well so they work on finding ways to get it to run. This also adds to the games playable as the community can now do things with the game that it couldn’t do before. The way I see it this is just a win/win situation. Well I think that just about does it, please feel free to add your option and tell me what you think.

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If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker that came along would destroy civilization.

I will not support companies who assume that every user of their product is a potential pirate/thief. This is most obvious in the paid mp3 arena where many companies have tons of restrictions as to the format, number of times you can copy an mp3, if it only plays on your computer, mp3 player, no burning etc.

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Div, I can only assume that you don't play any computer games then. I have not bought a game in the last several years, that you don't only need the CD to play it, but they place physical errors on the disk to prevent it from copying. I have broken disks before and since there is no way to make a backup copy, I have to call the developer for a new disk. They are happy to provide it at a price...

Dsmith- I am sure they will do anything for a price. Might even change the title to Bobby Rox. I think if you have purchased the cd, you should be entitled to make an unlimited # of backups for it.

Most software companies do go overboard, however, I do not blame them one bit. Here is ONE example. A new game called Age of Mythology from the Age of Empires Series was cracked BEFORE the final release came out.

This game was hosted by ESO. Ensemble Studios Online, or something similar to that. Little did they know they would be taking on one of the better game hackers out their. ESO finally made an 'auto-update' feature to fix these hacks that came about for the program. However, it was an ongoing battle between ESO and the hacker. About 3 months of going back and forth, and hacing the hacker make well over $20,000 selling the hacks and his auto-update feature, ESO fixed the problem.

ESO had a meeting about this particular person and came to an agreement to pay him $2/5,000 to stop making the hacks. Since then, he stopped. But others have started. Imagine going back to the old days where if the CIA heard of a good hacker, their hired him. The govenement has stopped that now.

This is just one example of what developers has to be put through. You will find out in a few year that the hacks people make for games will actually ruin the game. I myself play Age of Empire - Conquerors on the Zone.com. This same person made hacks for the game I play, however, I talked to him over about 1 year, and we made a patch for the game. Now we are good friends But the game has suffered a lot, going from around 12kpeople online all the time to around 3k.

Now to get back more on the subject of piracy. How do you expect 16 year old kids to pay for programs such as 3d Studio Max? Which has a $3,000 price tag. I am sure there is an education discount that is a lot less, but seriously, $3,000 is a lot of money.

I understand that businesses can usually afford expensive programs and software, but us kids can't. In the business industry, there is a very small percentage of piracy going on compared to those of kids.

Why would kids be pirating software so much? Well, what kid has $800+ to pay for Macromedia Studio MX? Not many do. And software companies do not seem to care much either. They offer an educational discount of like $100-$200. Even if the product was $200 I still bet a lot of people would continue to pirate the software. Until companies lower their prices to help the lower-income market, they will contiue to experience piracy. And for that they deserve it.

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You're right, I don't play computer games...

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BobbyDouglas - I was more aiming at the Game Piracy and not software piracy all together mainly because I total agree with you on this I don't usually say anything about that type of piracy, companies like Microsoft, Macromedia, and Discreet make most of there money off other companies not the public, Microsoft for example make less than 1% of it's annual income from the public.

But I do disagree with the last statement you made

Companies will experience piracy until the day they give it away for free, Here in the states I'm middle income and over all 50 dollars for a good video game isn't that much and I'm not complaining about the price and some games you will even found for 20 dollars, but even at those price there still piracy I think that piracy will continue to be around forever.

As far as them deserving it I don't think so if I were to stand in there corner I would be saying that it is there product and they can do anything they want with it. Besides high prices don't hurt many, most will get it one way or another.

The reason I'm against Game Piracy is that your no longer dealing with companies like Microsoft, some companies are big and they do have lots of money but from my experience smaller companies make better games over all, but these companies are hurt more by piracy then say Microsoft.

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If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker that came along would destroy civilization.

OMG!!!!! my luck ever sucks!! PcxGamer you already know that I recently purchased the old game Nuclear Strike from eBay and can't getting running on Xp. Get a load of this...... I been recently playing Hitman 2- Silent Assassin and ended up liking it I decided to purchase Hitman: Codename 47 ( I never played it, and wanted to see how the 1st part was). So anyways I looked around here and couldn't find it (dated), so I decided to purchase it off eBay.
So I did, in fact its on its way right now!!!! Than I stumbled across your post and found out that game doesn run on Xp either!!! LOL!!! This is even though http://www.ntcompatible.com/compatibility.html mention it is compatible, but i'll take your word for it.

LOL! anyways I may need that No Cd patch for the game to get it working off you once it arrives, I check it out 1st. I'm 100% serious and not writing this post for kicks. "HAIL, TO NO CD CRACKS"

That's really funny I don't know why I decided to play that last night I just want to play it all of a sudden. I'm glad that I did now. This is what the focus was when writing this article I have for years been using not CD cracks and I even have some other stuff that isn't game related that I mess around with. But I have never once used any of this for illegal activates. And with last nights hitman story it just gave me one more reason to use them.

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If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker that came along would destroy civilization.

If a games company fails to support an older title, surely the end user is entitled to use any available means to get it running on their system. Piracy for me is a narrow term which only covers activity that denies the publisher revenue that should be generated for them by sales of the title. CD cracks, which I have used for convenience, dont count as piracy in my view unless they are used to install multiple copies of software on multiple systems thereby denying sellers their due.

First let me say... no CD cracks are great! The first thing I do when I buy a new game is look for the crack. I generally play several games at a time and hate to have to keep switching the CDs in and out. Not to mention, once the game is loaded I put the CD back in the jewel case where it's safe (no need for a backup copy now).

As for software piracy in general... if someone wants it bad enough they will get it. Companies need to worry less about pirates and more on why people are pirating. Like several of you have said... make it more affordable. I agree $50 is not too much to pay but that still drives many young people to try and get a copy. Why sell 10,000 copies for $50 when you can sell 50,000 copies for $20... just a thought.

I guess I am forgetting about the fact that many people have the money but they pirate anyways.... so maybe I am wrong. Maybe game companies need to get as much from the people that do pay.

I think it would be worth a try though. By the way, while I am on my soap box, support gaming companies .... buy the game!

Thanks for listening to my rambling,
Kelandra