Amiga Format CD 29/amigaformatcd29.iso/-readerstuff-/nick_anderson/articles/others-pt2/piracy

Text File | 1998-06-02 | 7.2 KB | 124 lines

**** PIRACY ********************************************** PAGE *************

-------
   |    n the not to distant future computer games may not exist! Shocking
   |    news isn't it, but not surprising considering the amount of theft
   |    that goes on in the industry.
-------

A lot of new users wonder what the big thing is about this so called `Piracy'.
Well there is an easy way of putting this, it means quite plainly `Theft'.
For a few years now it has been illegal to copy a computer program which
has been copyrighted unless you have permission from the publishers.
Unfortunetly some people have decided that they can use pirated software
cheaper than buying the originals and then have all the newest games around.
What they don't realise is that there won't be any new games around for
the Amiga in a few years (Or do they?), think about it, would you develop
for a machine, and spend loads of money on developing, for a machine which
nobody is going to spend money on your games, just copy them? Tell me what
you think, Dan Wood, 3 Cavendish Drive, Darlington, Co Durham, DL1 2GQ.

Now, let's think about it... What are people's reasons for copying?
Why do they do it? Most of them say that the reason they do it is because
the games are too expensive. But why is it then that the cheap games, for
about £3-6 are still copied? On the Spectrum, I know someone who has the
entire Mastertronic 199 range all copied for it and they only cost £2.
So the cost excuse just isn't a good enough reason. Some say that it is
because games are too crap, but if that's the reason, why do they want them
in the first place? If there are any pirates out there reading this (Yes out
of all our 126 readers!), or any ex-pirates please get in touch, Dan Wood,
3 Cavendish Drive, Darlington, Co Durham, DL1 2GQ. Remeber that you don't
have to give us your name and address and we will show you all the letters
we receive next disk. You are not breaking the law if you used to be a pirate
and you have given up now, FAST (Federation Against Software Theft)
and the police are not interested in ex-pirates so you can write without
any worries at all, even if you still pirate, please write to us, we will
treat all letters in the STRICTEST privacy, under no circumstances will Page
give your name or anything else to FAST or the police if you write, we swear
to god. We want to keep all our members happy and will tell no-one of your
name or address.

I myself have been offered plenty of pirated software since I first got my
Atari 400 in 1982. I refused the temptation and I never owned any pirated
software for any of my 8-Bit machines. But when I first got my Amiga about
4 years ago (it was an A500) I was offered a copy of the game Lemmings,
and I accepted it, the reason I did was because I wasn't well educated of
the piracy case on the Amiga at all. Of course I got rid of the copy
straight away as I knew it was illegal, but I wasn't aware of the damage
it was causing. I asked the person who has the 199 range for the Spectrum
all copied why he does it. Here's what he said...

` Well, I copy the games because I can. I mean the games are cheap enough,
yeah, but it is even cheaper to buy some blank cassettes and copy
them off a mate. All my games aren't pirated, I have plenty of originals
but if you can get something for free then it is human nature to accept
it. '

While I can understand some of his points, it is not human nature to
accept it when they know it is wrong, which is the reason why I and many
other people have quit or never pirated. If his way of thinking continues
the Amiga will not get any of the new `smash' games and we will be
confined to cheap games which are crap. Then this means the Amiga will
die, how many people would stick to a machine which only has old games
when you can buy another machine with all the latest games out on it?

Another reason which has only recently been brought up is that people
are addicted to pirating. They need new games as they bored with their
old ones and they want the new games now and can't afford them so
they pirate them. And some are really addicted to it, they have
the money for the games but go and pirate anyway because they can
get it for free. But if they can't afford the price of Amiga games then
they should buy a machine like the Spectrum or Commodore 64 which have
loads of great games available for around £2-£6, £15 at the most.

If we want the Amiga to live then we have got to stop the pirates.
I do however sympathise with the people who have given in to the temptation
and use pirated software. If you really are going to still pirate can
I ask you to do one thing? Go out and buy just two or three of your
favourite games, if all the pirates do this, it will be a start.

If we want to kill the piracy then we must find out where the stuff is
coming from. There are Radio Stations which are for pirates, the
pirates put in a cassette and record games being sent over the air
then put the tape in to their computer, this way could be excellent
if people would send PD programs over the air which would mean loads
of free software that is legal. Also there are BBSs for pirates like
Atlantis, and Skid Row who have their own BBSs. I have seen them before
when I was round a mates house (Don't worry, we did report the board).
On these BBSs people pay so much a year and then they are allowed to down-
load games and other software onto a disk to play. With these types of
piracy it would be possible to wipe them out. But there is one area where
only the pirates themselves can wipe out, the kind where you copy
a game for all your mates, they copy it for their's, and they copy it
for their's etc.

But what ways can we stop it?  If people report them and then FAST
and co. will put a stop to it (or at least try). This is really the
only way to stop it (there are others, but they are not really realistic).
Software companies do put protection on the games, like the code wheels
and the manual protection, also they put protection on the disks where
they are reconised as non dos disks from Workbench and CLI, when you
put games in when Workbench is loaded you get icons which have things
like DF0:???, or DF0:NDOS, DF0:BAD etc. These are not copyable from the
Workbench or Shell but people are getting copiers like, XCopy 8, Cyclone
and other clones, which can copy most games. But the manual protection
isn't fool proof, all the `cracking crews' do is hack the code and
remove the lines that deal with the protection which means the pirates
just type in any old crap, while the rest of us have to fiddle on
with the wheels, and the manuals. Although some game publishers are
starting to not put the protection on the games anymore as they think
they will just get cracked anyway. But they must still put it on, OK the
`cracking crews' will crack it, but the people who copy games for
their mates won't which is the most popular type of piracy.

Most publishers are saying that they are going to leave the Amiga soon
and move on to other computers. But when we are all crying and upset
and the Amiga is dead, we will only have our selves to blame.

Daniel Wood
PAGE

If you have any views on this subject please write to us:
Dan Wood, 3 Cavendish Drive, Darlington, Co Durham, DL1 2GQ.
All letters will be treated in the strictest confidence.