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My grandfather’s name is Gene, and he passed away a while back. Grandpa retired many years ago, and he and his wife Nola were married for 50+ years. My grandpa died married. They also gave birth to four kids, one of which was my mom. At the turn of the millennium, my parents were divorced, for reasons I still don’t know. Of all my grandpa’s grandkids, two are now divorced, and we may be seeing three very soon.
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Three million, nine hundred twenty thousand. That’s how many copies of Crysis 2 were pirated. That’s how many copies of a very solid game (one that I said was one of the best of 2011) were stolen by people on the internet. People had no excuse to do so, and yet they stole it. Why? Because it was free, and they knew they could get away with it.
Can we take this into account for a second? $235,200,000 in potentially lost revenue. That’s insane.
Before I continue, I know that I need to clarify a couple things. First, I will say “potentially” lost revenue because not everyone who pirates video games does so to steal. Though I doubt it, maybe some of those people bought the game after stealing it. However, I also say “no excuse” in regards to Crysis 2 because there is a demo for the game, so you can’t say you stole it to demo it.
The fact of the matter is that, ultimately, there is a business behind video games. This isn’t like the music industry, where you can go the South Park route and try to say that it’s okay to deprive millionaires of money because fuck them. Not everyone involved in video games is rolling in dough. Beyond that, though they make more than what I do a year, I’d argue that they deserve to because of the hard work they put in.
I’m being frank. I know more about game development than most video game fans. The top people in the industry put in a lot of time, energy, and spirit into their work. These talented gents and ladies pour their souls into their work, often times working 12+ hour days just to get a game finished on time. Think of all the content that was in a game like Skyrim. Think of how detailed the visuals were in Gears of War. Think of how thick the storyline was in Planescape: Torment. Crafting these took a lot of work, a lot of heart, and a lot of money to put together.
By pirating, you’re saying “I don’t care about your hard work. Fuck you.”
So, the video game industry did exactly what they wanted to do when it came to a solution. They said “fuck you” right back. You know what? We deserved it.
DRM is not a virus. DRM is a symptom of the virus called piracy. There are too many people on the internet who are willing to steal because there are no checks and balances against them doing so. There’s no federal team looking out for the well being of the artists. There’s no watch-hounds keeping their eyes on cyber thieves.
I’m an honest man. I work hard to get paid every other week, and when I come home I buy the things that I have earned with my own money. Most people are not honest people. Thus, some people end up paying for the sins of the few.
Is it fair? Hell no. Is it part of life? Yes.
Listen, I don’t mind people being miffed about DRM. I’m not happy with it either. Thing is, I’ll fully admit that I’m not doing anything about the problem. Neither are you. Shut the fuck up if you’re not going to be part of the solution.
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There are several things about the modern world that I simply can not understand. I don’t know how Piers Morgan has a job. I don’t know why some psycho kills someone with a weapon and it’s my rights that come into question. However, the biggest head scratcher of the day comes from a Christian school getting sued by one of the biggest lovers of press conferences (aka a media whore) Gloria Allried and her client.
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So, I felt the need to start something new, if for no other reason than to give this blog a bit more life. So, every week I’m going to try and find the dumbest thing said this week (or at least made public), the smartest thing, and the funniest thing. Here goes.
Dumbest Thing: Though this may apply to the funny category due to its outrageous nature, Apparently, the University of Colorado at Boulder thinks that a woman’s best defense against rape is vomiting, peeing, or praying that Aunt Flo is in town. I don’t think this is the worst advice ever, but I think its safe to say that leadership in Colorado is kind of lacking due to being a gaggle of morons.
Smartest Thing: “There’s room for one more.” Words uttered by Jake “The Snake” Roberts in trying to convince troubled pro wrestler Scott Hall (also known as Razor Ramon) to try Dallas Page’s yoga program, and accept help from his friends to finally turn his life around. Kudos to those two guys, and to the fans who still have the heart to pray for a guy they’ve never met. It takes much more strength to live in love, if I may quote Times of Grace.
Funniest Thing: I hate to brag (no I don’t) but this one comes from me at work between a female co worker and myself.
Female Co - Worker: So, Micah, if you have so many good memories of your marriage, have you ever thought about contacting your ex wife?
Me: Oh, I have. Then I realized I’d probably end up killing myself, and I like the veins in my wrists unpierced and full of blood.
Hopefully I’ll have more next week. Until then, I’m Micah C.
Yup.