Torrent – a cure to that. You buy only thoroughly checked software.
Only torrent AAA games if you can afford to (if you can’t, go nuts).
If you pirate an indie game, that developer might not be able to afford to make another. Try to use a demo (or even the ol’ steam buy and refund) to check the game in that case.
AAA studios generally make their money from shitty business practices these days, so 100% feel justified in pirating those if you want to play them.
Buy only software you need/want. Torrent helps. The amount of As is irrelevant.
Demo or pirated they still don’t get money mate…
Pirating is usually used as a demo, lots of people still buy after trying a game through torrents. Lots of indie devs gush about pirating actually boosts their sales. You’re looking at this from the wrong perspective.
Downloading a demo helps engagement statistics which feed recommendation algorithms
Pirating helps pirates.
Not casting any kind of judgement, just pointing out who benefits
(Disclaimer I pirate shitloads, just not indie stuff)
When I can get a game on my wishlist for under $20, the time cost of unpacking and patching a game is often more than the value against my bank account.
Like, sure, if they want $90 for something and I can get it for free, fuck it. Especially if its a re-release of a re-master of a 30 year old classic I already have on a console. But I’m not going to short Owlcat Games or Larian or some other high quality indie studio when its well within my budget and affords me 50-100 hours of original gameplay, easy.
Testing. I’m talking about the testing. If the game is in your wishlist it doesn’t mean that the game is good.
Game cracks have their own flaws, especially when you’re running them through an emulator.
If I’m going to spend the time to make a game properly payable, I’m not going to give up on it and download a fresh new copy after the first few hours of play, even if I do like it.
I got Wrath of the Righteous for $4. I’m not going to pirate it, demo it, decide i like it, re-download the game, and restart the campaign over a game selling for loose change. I’ll just take my chances.
Neither am I going to restart Cyberpunk after two hours of tinkering with settings and another fifteen hours of gameplay just to send a company with over $1B in revenue my fist full of quarters.
I’ve played around 60% of my library an still have to remember this to myself all the time.
I feel like I do gaming right:
- Find a single blockbuster game from last year that looks good, download it
- Play it for 3-4 days straight over a long weekend without sleep, using a trainer to skip the grindey parts
- Finish it, get sick of gaming, sleep
- Don’t feel the need to touch another game for at least another 9 months
I pick up about ten free games a week. The backlog is still growing uncontrollably, but at least it’s not costing anything anymore!
Of course, true enlightenment comes only when you accept that you will never be able to play every game you already own, let go of the worldly desire to clear your backlog, and buy more games anyway. At this stage of enlightenment, you transcend the need for willpower.
Transcending the need for willpower is a great way to put it, regardless where you end up. It’s always good to dig into the basics of what you really want, what you get from it, etc.
Like in this case, if it brings you some small joy to spend $14 and get a handful of games you’ve been reading/hearing about for years, I bet that is objectively a good use of your money and time given your priorities in life. No need for willpower, because you’re doing the small thing that helps you enjoy life.
In my case, I still play games on PC and console, but I started completely ignoring the sales and mostly not even using my wish lists. I still occasionally buy games, and most often on sale, but between my existing library and all the other stuff in life I am happy just ignoring the sales. No need for willpower because the desire went away.