Is unlocking on-disc DLC considered piracy?

[OboeCrazy]

We are treated as thiefs it is time we act like them. Fuck big corporations and what theyve done to us.

Yeah, how DARE those people who worked long hours over years of their lives and put their heart and soul into this product get MY money! Screw them for wanting to make a profit!!


...with that thought, I'll be over here. With my oboe. Being a musician who can't make a living because people would rather just steal my stuff.

[Jerom]

You are buying a license. You aren't buying the coded to own. When you sell your used copy of a game to someone, you're selling them the license to play it. You don't own that code, you can't do what you want with it for personal use.

On the back of every Xbox 360 game:
"Unauthorized copying, reverse engineering, transmission, public performance, rental, pay for play, or circumvention of copy protection is strictly prohibited"

On the back of every PS3 game:
"Software license terms available at www.us.playstation.com/support/useragreements"

At that website you can find this:
"You may not (i) rent, lease or sublicense the software, (ii) modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble the software, (iii) attempt to create the source code from the object code for the software, or (iv) download game content for any purpose other than game play. You may, however, transfer all your rights to use the software to another person provided that you transfer the original product and this Agreement with the software."

The fact that you are posting about XBOX 360 and PS3 is irrelevant to discussion about PC game especially when so many PC titles encourage the modification of the code and use of the artistic assets of their game for personal use and none profit sharing of those modification with other consumer who purchased the product.

Again a single example where you are forbidden to modify does not make it a rule and as I've stated you have to look agreement at case by case as obviously they vary from product to product. If you did quote ME3 EULA thank you for clarifying, however if you just quoted a website than it is useless since it's not the agreement that you are presented with during installation but a more generalized version of it.

[knowname]

basically what this is all going to boil down to is yeah, they say that, but their wrong. when one party uses it's position to extort the other than it is simple criminal justice for the other party to fight back. We pay 60 bucks for the game plus will buy dlc plus honestly love the work here so I'm sure lots of merchandise will be bought as well. I don't see it as steeling, I see it as taking our fair share is all.

do you think it's also immoral to lend out your music because the RIAA says it is?

[Chip]

We pay 60 bucks for the game plus will buy dlc plus honestly love the work here so I'm sure lots of merchandise will be bought as well. I don't see it as steeling, I see it as taking our fair share is all.

How on earth is it your fair share? Your fair share is what was advertised to you. What they marketed, that you decided was worth buying. It's like buying a 6 slice pizza, only to find out it was originally 8 slices. You don't suddenly own the other two slices, you paid for 6, so you are getting 6. As advertised. Now I'm not implying that this content was cut from the original game (at least in SFxT's case, same probably goes for Mass Effect 3), but it was an example I ripped from a web comic and it kinda works, apart from the cutting away slices part. As most of us know, the reason most DLC is finished before the game is printed is because the Art Departments (as well as a few others as the game is developed) have nothing to do whilst the game is being made. So instead of them waiting a few months before they can being working again, they get them started working on DLC whilst the game is being made. In this case both teams were efficient and managed to get the content made before the game was finished.

[Veri7as]

The fact that you are posting about XBOX 360 and PS3 is irrelevant to discussion about PC game especially when so many PC titles encourage the modification of the code and use of the artistic assets of their game for personal use and none profit sharing of those modification with other consumer who purchased the product.

Again a single example where you are forbidden to modify does not make it a rule and as I've stated you have to look agreement at case by case as obviously they vary from product to product. If you did quote ME3 EULA thank you for clarifying, however if you just quoted a website than it is useless since it's not the agreement that you are presented with during installation but a more generalized version of it.

Fuckin' A man.

Straight from the ME3 EULA @ http://eacom.s3.amazonaws.com/EULA_M...5.11+FINAL.pdf:
"Your right to use the Software is limited to the license grant above, and you may not otherwise copy, display, seek to disable, distribute, perform, publish, modify, create works from, or use the Software or any component of it, except as expressly authorized by EA."

Yes you have to take it on a game by game basis, but I guarantee if a game has DLC on the retail disc/download then there will be a line in the agreement that protects that content. I just don't see how you can justify stealing content that you haven't paid for.

EDIT:
Let me add this little line from the ME3 EULA as well:
"This Software is licensed to you, not sold."

YOU DON'T OWN THE CODE!

[Jerom]

Fuckin' A man.

Straight from the ME3 EULA @ http://eacom.s3.amazonaws.com/EULA_M...5.11+FINAL.pdf:
"Your right to use the Software is limited to the license grant above, and you may not otherwise copy, display, seek to disable, distribute, perform, publish, modify, create works from, or use the Software or any component of it, except as expressly authorized by EA."

Yes you have to take it on a game by game basis, but I guarantee if a game has DLC on the retail disc/download then there will be a line in the agreement that protects that content. I just don't see how you can justify stealing content that you haven't payed for.

Have you even read my posts?! I am saying pretty much word for word what the EULA that you link says. Go back to my post and read it again but without trying to disprove the point that I am not even trying to make. This thread is not about ME3 espcifically but rather a general idea of unlocking content already present on the CD.

As it could be clearly seen from my post I do not have ME3 and have not read the EULA untill you linked. However I did say what is alright and what is wrong in case it was worded that wayor another. In no way did I even hint at justifying stealing a content that you have not payed for. I explicitly went on to give and example of a game that this kind of action is OK and when it isn't.

[knowname]

How on earth is it your fair share? Your fair share is what was advertised to you. What they marketed, that you decided was worth buying. It's like buying a 6 slice pizza, only to find out it was originally 8 slices. You don't suddenly own the other two slices, you paid for 6, so you are getting 6. As advertised. Now I'm not implying that this content was cut from the original game (at least in SFxT's case, same probably goes for Mass Effect 3), but it was an example I ripped from a web comic and it kinda works, apart from the cutting away slices part

I like that actually... except in this case the extra two slices ARE included in the box... only, say they are frozen. And for an extra 10 dollars you can unfreeze them!! lol yeah right :/ I could live with it if the pieces actually WEREN'T there that way I'd at least feel like I'm actually getting everything I'm paying for. But in this your paying for the game, given the ENTIRE thing, but told you can't play all of what you've been given?

Why did they even put it on the disk and not make it d/lable content? As I said before, so they couldn't meet the deadline/ were lazy or greedy. Is this reason to give in? To slackers and criminals?

. As most of us know, the reason most DLC is finished before the game is printed is because the Art Departments (as well as a few others as the game is developed) have nothing to do whilst the game is being made. So instead of them waiting a few months before they can being working again, they get them started working on DLC whilst the game is being made. In this case both teams were efficient and managed to get the content made before the game was finished.

Well they do have the cover/ back cover to be made. Not sure if their involved in the advertising, but I'm sure they'd need artists too. wait artists... who code?? Really?? Or did you mean they (being the creative team... artists being the same thing??) script it while the coders code it when their done? Yeah, if it was real DLC, but this is included on the game disc.

*I* am not complaining or defending such an issue, I'm just saying, if it's there, it's fair game! It shouldn't be there in the first place!!

[Veri7as]

Have you even read my posts?! I am saying pretty much word for word what the EULA that you link says. Go back to my post and read it again but without trying to disprove the point that I am not even trying to make. This thread is not about ME3 espcifically but rather a general idea of unlocking content already present on the CD.

As it could be clearly seen from my post I do not have ME3 and have not read the EULA untill you linked. However I did say what is alright and what is wrong in case it was worded that wayor another. In no way did I even hint at justifying stealing a content that you have not payed for. I explicitly went on to give and example of a game that this kind of action is OK and when it isn't.

I understand that you're just going by what is ok within the boundaries of the agreement, but what i'm saying is that a company will never allow you to access the DLC. There will always be a line that protects the content that you need to pay for.

Modding a game like Torchlight where the company encourages it, is completely different than unlocking paid, protected content by modding the code.

*I* am not complaining or defending such an issue, I'm just saying, if it's there, it's fair game! It shouldn't be there in the first place!!

It's not fair game if you haven't paid for it. Just because it's on the disc doesn't give you permission to access it.

[Jerom]

But the only way that it is even different is due to the license. Most of the best selling PC titles (in the early days) were successful due to active modding community. In many cases there were assets used that were on the disc but not present in the game otherwise.

To stress a point that there is no difference between a game like Starcraft 2,Torchlight,Fallout 3, Minecraft, Half Life, Civilization series or Mount and Blade (Just example of games that actively encourage modding) and game like Mass Effect 3 except in the license.

So if license says, be my guest edit the code, create mods (not in those exact words obviously) but would also protect the content and sell it to you for a fee. What would you say? I'd imagine you say that I am not very logical as it is a contradiction. Well it's not. An example that had made quite a few waves back then is Civ 5, there are quite a few DLCs that sell you additional civilization to play as, however same thing could be done (and is done) by a mod (In reality there is nothing to a civilization in game of civ 5 except starting trait and two unique units which both are simple modifications).

[Veri7as]

But the only way that it is even different is due to the license. Most of the best selling PC titles (in the early days) were successful due to active modding community. In many cases there were assets used that were on the disc but not present in the game otherwise.

To stress a point that there is no difference between a game like Starcraft 2,Torchlight,Fallout 3, Minecraft, Half Life, Civilization series or Mount and Blade (Just example of games that actively encourage modding) and game like Mass Effect 3 except in the license.

So if license says, be my guest edit the code, create mods (not in those exact words obviously) but would also protect the content and sell it to you for a fee. What would you say? I'd imagine you say that I am not very logical as it is a contradiction. Well it's not. An example that had made quite a few waves back then is Civ 5, there are quite a few DLCs that sell you additional civilization to play as, however same thing could be done (and is done) by a mod (In reality there is nothing to a civilization in game of civ 5 except starting trait and two unique units which both are simple modifications).

If the agreement allows for modification but protects the on disc DLC, then you can mod to your hearts content, so long as you don't access the DLC that you have to pay for. This now opens up the ability to create a mod that would literally do the exact same thing as the DLC, but I'm sure there would be something that prohibited use of the DLC assets or concepts. Again it's going to be up to the company to put these types of restriction in their agreement. If it's fair game in the agreement, then go for it, but companies will protect their property like no other.