It’s probably worth pirating games just to test play them before buying the good ones for online play
Comment on Pluralistic: "If buying isn't owning, piracy isn't stealing"
Saltblue@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Pirated valheim, played 20 hours, bought the game.
Pirated baldurs gate 3 on early access, bought the game with only act 1, that’s how good it is.
Pirated Valhalla, played 5 hours, uninstalled that trash forever.
Started pirating streaming services when they told me that I can’t watch shit anymore because streaming service b and c took the shows, and now I have to pay two different streaming services if I want to keep watching.
psud@aussie.zone 1 year ago
Huschke@lemmy.world 1 year ago
It’s also great to check if my aging pc is even capable of running it somewhat smoothly.
Rubennaatje@feddit.nl 1 year ago
You can just return steam games within 2 hrs tho
Huschke@lemmy.world 1 year ago
True, which again brings us back to “piracy is a service problem” which imho it totally is. I never pirate steam games.
gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 year ago
Not all games are on Steam
Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 year ago
I haven’t pirated games in like 18 years
I’ve never paid for movies, showes, or music lawl. I’ll donate or but merch if I love a musical artist tho
sailingbythelee@lemmy.world 1 year ago
We pay for three video streaming services plus Spotify plus Kobo’s monthly plan for audiobooks plus a monthly Microsoft tax for apps and cloud storage plus regular Steam purchases.
Anyway, I just got back into piracy after a 15-year hiatus due to the enshittification of video streaming. It reminds me of how cable TV got ridiculous back in the 90s and so people figured out how to hack the satellite feeds and make pirated VHS tapes to pass around. As Gaben has said, piracy is always a service problem.
I’m still happy with Spotify and Steam. I’m mostly okay with audiobooks, too. However, Amazon is fucking with that service too by making some books Audible-only. For example, you can get Books 2 and 3 of Tchaikovsky’s Children of Time books on various platforms, but not Book 1 because Book 1 is Audible-only! Am I going to reward Audible for that kind of malicious licensing? Haha, no, of course not.
Saltblue@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Fuck them, they want our money and our data, while giving shit services.
jasondj@ttrpg.network 1 year ago
Just for curiosity, how do you find Kobos selection compared to Libby/Overdrive (or similar), if that’s an option in your area?
I really can’t be happier with either, for audiobooks or ebooks, considering their price (free, through your public library). Drawback being that selections are limited depending on your library (but you can be linked to several, and you may be eligible for several…here in Massachusetts, anybody in the state is eligible for BPL plus the regional networks and colleges (I.e. COFAN). And there are libraries in other states that accept patrons from anywhere. And you can be on multiple waitlists
But, the limiting selection or not being able to get instant access when you want to scratch that itch. I bought my wife and I kindles on Prime day. Those each came with free Kindle Unlimited months. And then there’s Prime Reading as a benefit of being a prime member.
But, while I like ebooks, my wife greatly prefers audiobooks (she’s at 140-something for the year, and rarely uses her kindle because the phone is way more convenient for audiobooks). And the audiobook section there is terrible and clunky…they really want to push you to Audible…and while I do enjoy the occasional sales, I can’t justify a “subscription” to “own” an ebook.
Would love a service that had a good selection of ebooks and audiobooks, and compatible with kindle and IOS
sailingbythelee@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I have never tried Libby or Overdrive, though one or both are an option in my area, I believe. I have this vague feeling of unease associated with only having a certain amount of time to listen to the book.
I chose Kobo because they are a smaller company competing with Amazon. They have a subscription where you pay about $15 per month to get 1 credit per month. Since most audiobooks are about $35, it’s pretty economical and I feel like I’m supporting the artists, too. Plus, seeing the new credit every month keeps me reading/listening to literature rather than just doomscrolling.
Kobo’s selection is very good. The very few times I haven’t been able to find a book on Kobo, it is because of some shitty Audible exclusivity problem. I mean, a person is almost compelled to pirate the book in that case, just to punish, in some miniscule way, Audible’s anti-consumer, anti-competetive practices.
PersnickityPenguin@lemm.ee 1 year ago
There are other book sellers besides amazon
sailingbythelee@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Yes, I know. I said in my comment that I am on Kobo’s monthly audiobook plan. My comment about Amazon is that they are fucking with the market by not allowing other companies like Kobo to sell certain audiobooks.
MaxVoltage@lemmy.world 1 year ago
imagine buying audiobooks in the age of Perfect Text to Speech
sailingbythelee@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Oh man, you have to listen to Andy Serkis read LOTR. Or the full cast version of World War Z. These are full audio performances. At the moment at least, some narrators are much better than automatic text to speech.