What stops someone from sharing a games files?

[CBumEnjoyer]

What stops someone from literally buying a game on steam, opening up the games folder, and emailing it to someone so that they can have it?

[cinedine]

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย The Giving One:

It's actually fine to share game files like this. For example, a friend that does own the same game on his account that currently does not have a good internet connection to download large files.

As a matter of fact, it is not. You are making copys and distrbute them. Which is still a copyright/distribution right breach. Pretty much every EULA will have a clause about unauthorized duplication and most laws only allow this for personal use.

With DRM there are no consequences. But if the game is DRM free, you are pirating.

[Mailer]

Emailing an entire game would probably take a lot of commitment, and time for that matter, considering how much data that is.
Although it has already been explained earlier in this thread about games needing Steam to properly launch in the first place, even the executable, there *are* (probably) a very specific set of games that actually used to allow you to launch them, despite not actually logging into Steam. One of them was Steredenn, which I happened to own at the time. Theoratically it would have been possible to send the entire game along with an email and it might've been playable on the other end once they had recieved it. However, I suspect a recent final update to the game actually resolved that exception, so it's no longer possible, thankfully.

[Start_Running]

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย cinedine:

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย The Giving One:

It's actually fine to share game files like this. For example, a friend that does own the same game on his account that currently does not have a good internet connection to download large files.

As a matter of fact, it is not. You are making copys and distrbute them. Which is still a copyright/distribution right breach. Pretty much every EULA will have a clause about unauthorized duplication and most laws only allow this for personal use.

With DRM there are no consequences. But if the game is DRM free, you are pirating.

In the example givenm so long as both actually own a license such a transfer is actually pretty legit. Note the glaring red qualifying phrase. This is a very specific example and in the case of drm the game will simply find the license on the account in question

[Unknown]

Instead of buying and sharing the game you can share torrent link ;)

No, I don't support piracy.

[g unit]

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย Fazazer:

What stops someone from literally buying a game on steam, opening up the games folder, and emailing it to someone so that they can have it?

It's not that simple, your files don't just get installed into the game location (that's right, the game lies to you!) it is also installed into all kinds of user appfolders, all kinds of registries.

But it's perfectly true, if you can extract the steam mandatory requirement for the software to run, which can very often be very simple, you can just take the game files, then, which is the really important part, take the stuff out of the user apps folder etc, and put it into a setup program. And then you have a pirated game.

A little programming knowledge goes a LONG-G-G-G way in computers folks, heed my words. The premium on understanding how OSes actually work only keeps getting higher.

[Radene]

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย cinedine:

But if the game is DRM free, you are pirating.

If the game is DRM free, then the publisher decided that they're OK with people copying it. Since the publisher has the last word, it only makes sense that they'll only release DRM free if they aren't bothered by dissemination of the game. Otherwise, they'd have invoked some sort of DRM.

[cinedine]

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย Radene:

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย cinedine:

But if the game is DRM free, you are pirating.

If the game is DRM free, then the publisher decided that they're OK with people copying it. Since the publisher has the last word, it only makes sense that they'll only release DRM free if they aren't bothered by dissemination of the game. Otherwise, they'd have invoked some sort of DRM.

What? No. Just because the door is open does not allow you to enter the house.
They are not "okay" with it. They may tolerate that some people do it, mostly as in "they'll do it anyway". If they were okay with people just distributing their game, they'd made it freeware or public domain.
Take print media for example. Just because there is no way to enforce rights management doesn't make it okay to copy books or articles.
Or take CDProject Red. They released the Witcher games DRM free but still went after pirates. Heavy handed even: https://www.pcgamer.com/cd-projekt-red-admits-sending-letters-to-witcher-2-pirates-was-a-mistake/

If you distribute software without having the right to, that makes you a pirate by the very definition.

[Gus the Crocodile]

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย Radene:

If the game is DRM free, then the publisher decided that they're OK with people copying it.

Yeah this is an assumption that flies in the face of international copyright law. You do not have a blanket license to redistribute any work that lacks DRM. You have the license you’ve been granted by the owner of the work, whatever that is.

Some - even many - creators may not care that individuals copy their work, but that should not be taken as an assumption about any particular creator let alone all of them.

[g unit]

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย Gus the Crocodile:

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย Radene:

If the game is DRM free, then the publisher decided that they're OK with people copying it.

Yeah this is an assumption that flies in the face of international copyright law. You do not have a blanket license to redistribute any work that lacks DRM. You have the license you’ve been granted by the owner of the work, whatever that is.

Some - even many - creators may not care that individuals copy their work, but that should not be taken as an assumption about any particular creator let alone all of them.

I agree 100%, it may be an implied signal that the owner doesn't mind it being copied.....but it might not be.

If I don't wear a football helmet everywhere I go that does not mean I am inviting you or am ok with you trying to punch me, for example.

Also international shmerternational, nobody cares about that tripe, try getting extraidted as a non high profile case, especially from a third world country LOL, you should only care about your own territory first and foremost. Legally speaking.

[werhsre334]

Start buying from GOG.com, no DRM.

I'm mainly still on steam until my friends on steam move over.

[Winged One]

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย Vinny "The Uncle" Orsini:

Start buying from GOG.com, no DRM.

I'm mainly still on steam until my friends on steam move over.

except that alot of developers don't put their newer games on GoG since they are not comfortable with the lack of DRM

[g unit]

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย theseraph1:

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย Vinny "The Uncle" Orsini:

Start buying from GOG.com, no DRM.

I'm mainly still on steam until my friends on steam move over.

except that alot of developers don't put their newer games on GoG since they are not comfortable with the lack of DRM

I think they mostly do that because they 1 don't care (most people don't even know what GOG is) and 2 the lack of drm kind of puts them off. But mostly they don't care

[The Giving One]

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย cinedine:

As a matter of fact, it is not. You are making copys and distrbute them. Which is still a copyright/distribution right breach. Pretty much every EULA will have a clause about unauthorized duplication and most laws only allow this for personal use.

With DRM there are no consequences. But if the game is DRM free, you are pirating.

It's fine to share game files like I mentioned. I have even seen mods openly state this, in examples such as sharing game files with a friend that also owns the game on his or her account. If the account owns the game, there is no issue. If the account does not own the game, then that user will not be able to run the game from their account anyway.

I would not suggest the latter, in any case, though. But the former is just fine.

EDIT.. I thougth it was known I was talking about Steam games only, though. So if that was not understood, then my mistake perhaps and that is what I meant.

[Dr.Shadowds 🐉]

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย theseraph1:

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย Vinny "The Uncle" Orsini:

Start buying from GOG.com, no DRM.

I'm mainly still on steam until my friends on steam move over.

except that alot of developers don't put their newer games on GoG since they are not comfortable with the lack of DRM

^This, mainly because they know that a few people will abuse the system by throwing it right onto torrent sites.

Gog is praised by people that use olds outdated systems, with old outdateds OS's, because of the DRM free, some just want DRM free games, and able to bring your games to any system you want.

[Paratech2008]

I like GOG as I don't want all my eggs in one basket.

If GOG were to die I'd still be able to play what I backed up. That isn't true of Steam.