Game Copying – Back It Up!

Posted by Stefan Crowe On November - 25 - 2008

As a short follow-up to my article on the morality and legality of game copying, I will be taking a brief look in to some of the more positive aspects. Video game piracy is booming more than ever, I discussed the problems this incurs on the industry and as a result, the gamers. I skimmed over the fact that there are some good reasons to copy games.

I’ll start out by stating that the only real and, more importantly, legal reason you should ever copy a game is as a backup for a game you already own. I’m not even 100% sure this is legal as it can be argued you are circumventing the anti-copy protection, which isn’t allowed, but you are also simply protecting your purchase, which is perfectly acceptable.

Upon making a backup of your game, keeping in mind CD or DVD replication isn’t the only method of making backups, as you can also make a backup to a PC hard drive, you should never share it. Sharing is the big no when it comes to video game piracy. This is what pushes you from the fencepost of uncertainty into the realms of full-blown illegal activities. Sharing games is, in a less severe way (although the game companies will argue otherwise), similar to dealing drugs. Possessing drugs is one thing, but to deal them is completely different and far worse.

I can admit I have made backups of games in the past, simply because a scratch seemed to always destroy the whole CD. However, in the past few years I haven’t seen the need to do this, I don’t know if it is me taking extra care or improved DVD surface protection, but my games haven’t failed to load in years due to surface scratching.

That being said, I still think it is fair for people to be able to make backups of their own game collections. Music and films should also come under that heading too, as they are just as prone to the same losses as video games.