Going over all the digital copyright laws in multiple classes these past few weeks hasn’t created any startling realizations for me. I first downloaded the game Quake back in 96 on my dial up modem. Since then I have been downloading software off and on throughout the years. I knew it was wrong and illegal, but I still continued to do it, justifying it by saying, I am only downloading what I would never have bought to start with.
I kept up with that mentality over the years, especially when it came to software that was in the thousand dollar plus range, like 3D Studio Max. I could never afford that software nor could I have access to it anywhere around me. I never created anything with the software that was sold or used by anyone other then myself for learning the program.
I installed a mod chip in my PlayStation so I could play the burned games my roommates in college had. I chalked this up to the same as borrowing a game from some one. No money lost to the publishers as I wasn’t going to pay for the title anyway. When I modded my Xbox and realized that I was no longer buying games, I figured out that out when I was no longer finishing the games I had. I would have the attention span of about 2 weeks and then move onto something else. I vowed to no longer mod my consoles to ensure that I finish games. That didn’t work out, I still have a 2 week attention span, but more cause I don’t have the time to invest. I did find though that without modding my Xbox 360, I am buying more games, but I’m also buying them at reduced prices.
That carried over to my PC gaming habits also. I stopped downloading pirated games so I would have more time to focus on other things. I found that my PC game purchases didn’t change though. I still bought about 1 every 2 months and still do to this day. What did change was my thoughts on pirating windows. I got sick of dealing with all the problems having a cracked copy created and decided it was the one piece of software I use MOST and is worth the purchase.
There has been one major change that I still haven’t “corrected”, Pirated music. I still download MP3s left and right. And yet I still buy the same amount of music on CD, about 3 a month. What did change was an increase in concert ticket sales for me. I tend to buy tickets to see the band in person now instead of spending the $10 on a CD, I spend $40 on a ticket to see them live.
What has never been an issue for me is movies. I buy DVDs left and right as I prefer the extra features and the multiple soundtracks that you just can’t get with downloaded movies. I will grab a movie if it is in the in between state, like Star Trek right now, no longer in theaters and not yet on DVD.
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