This might seem stupid, but hear me out.
Fallout 3 on Epic is 39 GiB, the reason for that huge size is you’re forced to download all the language packs, same story for Tomb Raider and FFXIII.
As someone with a monthly data limit of 140 Gib, and who has to share it with a family, these - unnecessary - download sizes are unacceptable and make me want - and plan - to pirate the game -which even though I didn’t play for I still legally own*- and only having to download 7 GiB.
I would’ve complained about disk space but you can just remove the extra languages conveniently located in saperate folders**.
This also applies to single player games with privacy-invasive DRM and usability-hurting DRM***, and for people who hate the idea of DRM in general.
*Own as a service and a using license.
**Unless you are tight on disk space and cannot fully download the game before removing the files.
**DOOM 2016 didn’t work on Linux duo to the DRM being incompatible with proton.
I would say that’s not pirating from an ethical perspective. If it’s actually legal with current laws may be another story.
My viewpoint is I’ve paid for the right to play the game, where I get it from doesn’t matter.
Piracy is effectively legal in Canada, for downloading. ISPs can’t share your private details without a warrant from the courts, and the courts have rejected mass John Doe lawsuits to unmask users.
Plus, infringement for private use has a maximum penalty of $5000, but could easily be set by the first case creating court precedent at 3× the retail price of the pirated media (punitive damages are usually capped at 3× the value of the good, in Canada.)
That means that going to court would be incredibly expensive, could only target single individuals, and would likely set a precedent that they can only get $60 in damages for a $20 movie. Not going to happen.
So, piracy is effectively legal in Canada, for private use. Just don’t be stupid and profit from piracy.
7gb inflated to nearly 40gb. That’s absolutely absurd holy crap
Even if you’re excessively concerned with morality and what people think of you, the only people realistically going to kick up a fuss about “pirating” games one already owns are Nintendo’s lawyers.
I hate capped internet accounts. As the dad, I’d have to police the kids especially not to blow the monthly cap, and eventually I switched to a lower bandwidth but unlimited option and there was finally peace in the family.
How much more did that cost? And did the kids notice the drop in bandwidth?
I don’t remember it costing much more and the kids seemed relieved to not incur my wrath on a monthly basis. And not long after, my ISP increased the speeds on all accounts, so it more or less got us back to where we had been anyway.
Incidentally, if you’ve been with a particular ISP for years, it’s worth talking to a person when you change your account. They may have some discretionary power to give you say an introductory rate on a better plan to reward your loyalty?
