Downloading...

Yes it is time for that topic; downloading copyrighted material. Some say it is stealing, others say it is their right and some claim it to be a 'try before you buy' method. As for me I belong in the second and last group.

Games often have demo's you can play and trailers to watch, however we all know that these are often misleading and lack the overall feeling of a game which is why I want to try the full product first. If they changed to system to play the full version of game X for 1 or 2 hours before buying I would do it in an instance. However when it comes to games there is a second thing which has little to do with downloading but still is relevant. You see, in the gaming industry $1 equals €1 which is total bullshit. They can sell the a game for $50 in the US but for some magical reason they can not sell the game for €40 in the EU. In other words for every sold copy they make an additional €10 ($12.50) just because the Euro is stronger. Therefor I refuse to buy games until the price drops under €30~€40, depending on the game of course.

Movies are a different story; they only have trailers with the soul purpose of getting people to see them. You can see them in the cinema for €8, buy them on DVD for €20 or download them in 1080p HD for free. As for me I prefer to watch them in the cinema. The setting is just so much better but finding people to come with you sometimes is a hard thing to do, not to mention how certain movies are showed only in a hand full of cinema's around the country (*cough* アニメ movies). In that case I just download them in HD (because 42" TV) but if I liked it enough I will always buy them and the merchandise.

Now music I download no mather what. I am a mess when to CD's, not to mention that bands I like are hard to get over here. I also prefer to buy vinyl when it's an old band and let's just say that ripping vinyl is too much of a hassle when you can just download the album in 30 seconds.

Lastly there are books. I don't have an e-reader, I hate doing intense reading from a screen for over 10 minutes and I only read books in English which are VERY cheap to buy. So yes, I buy them because not only are they €7 max, they are also perfect to make you look smart and reading them from paper is very relaxing; perfect if you want to sleep.

So, opinions everyone? Ow a small reminder, the posting of torrents int he multimedia section is in fact allowed! Hwo does that make you feel?

If I have access to free content I will take advantage of it. I pay for the books, albums, and movies I want to have.

Those I wouldn't pay for I download. In the end these bitchy industries don't lose any money from me.

As for the "preview" aspect: It's easy to get reviews of anything from all perspectives online. I don't trust demos or trailers or singles either, so I look for feedback.

Games: I would no matter what. Modded wii and have the mod chip for NDS. Might as well use it. It saves money lol.

Movies: Obv since I am anti-social, it is perfect for me to dl movies.

Music: Lol I still have an iTunes card with $10 as my Christmas present from on of my aunts. And basically what you said.

Books: I would buy the book b/c it keeps you away from the distraction of the internet. You can bring it anywhere if you needed to[like a study book or w/e].

The "info-mercial" where that "You wouldn't download a car" thing came from pisses me off. I am not breaking into a store and stealing a physical, 'they are going to miss this' copy of a movie. I am downloading a virtual image of a physical copy, and no one is losing anything. I wouldn't have bought it anyway.

I personally believe it is stealing but I do it anyway. I also keep up to date with the current events to know what's going on and keeping informed.

movies: i download a low-res rip of the movie, if i like it, i buy the DVD/hi-res download
music: most of the time i just get it from friends, if there is a band i like i buy it.
books: i buy them from the "pre-loved" bin
games: i buy very few games for more than $40, old games i torrent.

I download music because instead of supporting the "evil corporations" I would rather support the artist alone.

hale, my favorite artists don't even tour around here so oh well. Though I still plan on buying some vinyls later on.