Being a cheap person, essentially, I was browsing eBay for bishoujo game auctions (having very little luck, I might add) when I came across someone who advertised this as his/her/their site.
Looks great, but, thing is, it looks too good to be true, and I have a feeling these are software pirates. If they aren’t, and someone can prove it, I’ll order the whole store, but I highly doubt this is possibly a legitimate operation when they can offer a G-Collections title, for instance, for $5 new.
Alas… I’ll just keep searching eBay for a legitimate used/new copy for a great deal, I guess.
[This message has been edited by Jesse_Dylan (edited 02-21-2004).]
Well, since I’ve now confirmed my suspicions (ha, and I didn’t realize the 100% CG save file is actually ON the CD–sort of spoils the fun, IMO), here is my second question. Isn’t there anything we can do about this? Like, this has to be illegal. If they’re located somewhere without copyright laws, I suppose there’s nothing we can do, but…
The ironic thing is that every sale these people make actually INCREASES the prices for people who value honesty (me) and want to buy the games legitimately.
I have admitted in the past that I use fansubs; all fansubs are technically illegal pirate copies. So I’m not going to get on my high horse; personally I crush b-game pirates wherever I find them, but I can’t claim the moral high ground as much as I would like.
However, I will say this.
Why on earth would someone pay for bootlegs? The purpose of buying legitimate releases is to support the creators; acquring a physical copy of the media is only a nice side effect. Bootlegs lack this, and are of value only in terms of getting a copy of the media. Why would I possibly be interested in paying for something I can download for free off the Internet?
quote:Originally posted by woodelf: It also could be the young adults who are just under 18 years of age.
Hmmm... But wouldn't d/l off the net be much safer in this case? I mean, there's a high chance of the parcels getting checked at customs; not to mention the ever danger of unsuspecting parents opening up the package. Besides I don't think many under 18s own credit cards. [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/frown.gif[/img]
I have many times tried to report people to ebay for selling stolen games on burned CDs, but despite it being blatantly against the rules they generally ignore me and say that only the copyright holder is allowed to complain.
If you report them for selling PORN, though, they listen. Which sucks, because I don’t want to report people for selling porn, I want ebay to allow us non-US people to get our porn, please.
I’m a starving student, and I want them cheap. I’m honest and wouldn’t want to buy pirated goods (I never have on purpose), but I do like things on the cheap side. I am a cheap person. I feel bad enough buying the occasional used game, though, so I certainly wouldn’t pirate anything. Well, definitely not stuff like this anyway. And usually, in the other realms, I feel that if something is worth owning and playing, it is worth buying a legitimate copy of.
Honestly, I don’t think all the people who buy pirated stuff know it’s pirated. Some of the stuff on that site looked pretty darn neat, too, like that beach girl thingie where you could “interact” with polygonal girls. It’s in Japanese. Lots of pirates make up little stories, and when you really want something, a little story can be convincing.
So I don’t think it’s dumb kids. Kids aren’t dumb. And, like someone pointed out, many of them don’t own credit cards.
I guess I don’t really know who buys them either. heh Dishonest people who are otherwise just like us, I’d wager.
Oh, about reporting, what if we report this to, like, Peach Princess, Peter Payne et al? Aren’t they copyright holders? Can they do any good?
quote:Originally posted by papillon: If you report them for selling PORN, though, they listen. Which sucks, because I don't want to report people for selling porn, I want ebay to allow us non-US people to get our porn, please. [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/smile.gif[/img]
Well, considering the erotic nature of most english localized b-games, it still would be an idea to tell ebay that those pirates are also implicitly selling porn there right?
Of course, none of us would like to regard b-games as porn, but if that's the only way to make them listen, you probably have to use that kind of language in order to make them understand... [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/frown.gif[/img]
And anyway, even if bishoujo games ARE porn, which they probably are not (at least not most of them), it’s not as if being described as porn is neccessarily a bad thing. I mean, I like porn, myself, and just like many other things in the world, like ballet, for instance, there is a wide range of porn, from good to bad, just as there is a wide range of ballet, from good to bad.
Ha, I’m hilarious today. Blame Peter Payne. PP quote of the decade:
"Like bowing to a vending machine that has just verbally thanked you for making a purchase, it’s all part of the wackiness of living in Japan."
YES! I’m so glad I’m not the only person who bows to vending machines!
Don’t get me started on some of the habits people have. I always feel so silly when I realize I’m making hand gestures to someone I’m speaking to on the phone…
Well, bishoujo games is actually a larger “classification” of a type of game, of which there are adult and non-adult titles. So while you shouldn’t classify all bishoujo games as porn, if it is an adult title, you probably are alright reporting it as such. You just have to get it set in your head that “bishoujo” itself does not equate to “porn”.
And unfortunately, it is true there’s quite a few people who don’t realize the stuff they are buying are pirated. Also unfortunately, some of them don’t care. (I try to give people the benefit of a doubt when I can but it’s very hard sometimes…) You pretty much need to try and educate people when you can. Also a reason why boards like the one here, are great resources to help figure out what’s legit and not.
Hmm, since I’m coming in on the tail end of the conversation, I’m don’t know which particular games were talking about. You should probably report it to the company who brought out the game and have them follow it up. Just make sure you get which company that is correct. I once went through a thread where people were complaing about PeaPri handling of a title when it was actually a G-Collections game…
Sadly, many people, myself included, are just very lazy. While we’re all upset about the piracy of these games, will any of us take the time or effort to report to the respective companies? I probably won’t, unforunately.
I believe the site in question (which I deleted and have subsequently forgotten the URL for–oops) had quite a myriad of games, some in Japanese that have never been released here (I wish they would, though–one was like polygonal girls you could undress and interact with, ahem, and it looked fun), many in English from Peach Princess, G-Collections and others. I think they had Sensei 2 for like $5, for instance.
True enough; many bishoujo games don’t include sex, nudity or even implied sex. Konami’s very popular Tokimeki Memorial is a good example of that (although I think that’s more of a “dating sim” than it is a typical bishoujo game, but at the same time, the “bishoujo” genre can encompass them both). Speaking of Tokimeki Memorial, anyone who can read Japanese really owes it to themselves to pick up this great game.
There is a fine line between porn and non-porn, though. The same conservative who-nots who complain about “naughty cartoons” and Janet Jackson’s nipple on TV sometimes watch day-time soap operas. No, they have no nudity or overt sex, but I would say they are no better than porn anyway, possibly worse.
But for those who have played Kana: Little Sister, how many of us would regard it as porn? It almost sounds sacreligious to use the word “porn” in the same utterance as Kana.
But there are goofy, silly games like X-Change as well. I suppose I tend to think they are either all porn or none of them are porn, no matter how great and beautiful they may or may not be. I think people should deal with it. I think it shouldn’t be a big deal. It’s not a big deal in Japan, even in Europe, and I think it’s too bad that it’s a big deal here.
I think I may be preaching to the choir, though.
Wow, sorry–this has gotten off-topic. I’m just rambly today from lack of sleep. Sumimasen, kudosai.
quote:"Like bowing to a vending machine that has just verbally thanked you for making a purchase, it's all part of the wackiness of living in Japan."
LOL! Yeah, I read that in the last J-List email.
quote:Besides I don't think many under 18s own credit cards.
True, but instead, I've used my mom's credit card for some years now to buy stuff online. It's kind of a deal I made with my parents. I use their card to buy something on the Internet, and I pay them back. Piece of cake. [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/wink.gif[/img]
Yeah, I also try to get the original of each game I like. But sometimes it's not possible. [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/frown.gif[/img]
quote:Originally posted by Jesse_Dylan: Wow, sorry--this has gotten off-topic. I'm just rambly today from lack of sleep. Sumimasen, kudosai.
Heh, you havn't been reading enough of our posts. Not like we manage to completely stay on topic all the time. (Oh, and I think you mean "kudasai" which means "please" instead of "kudosai", which I don't think is a word. Isn't romanji fun? [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/tongue.gif[/img] )
I kinda wish I was still in school and could talk to the Japanese students I knew about what their views on "bishoujo" in general and with it coming over to the English world. Would have been interesting. Best I can do now is talk to my friend who did a ESL stint in Japan (can't remember which program though) except when I mentioned I was into "bishoujo", she just gave me that "look". *shrug*
Well, yeah I am a pervert. But the question was, did she react to the term “bishoujo” that way because she knows that specifically I’m a pervert or because she thinks anyone into those games are perverts. I’ll have to ask her one of these days…
Yeah, heh–that’s actually really interesting. I’m sure these sorts of games are not universally accepted in Japan. I’m sure many Japanese regard it as a perversion. Many, I’m also sure, do not. I think many less in Japan would regard it as a perversion than Americans, but I could be totally wrong, as I am not Japanese and only think I know about Japan.
Yes, I did mean “kudasai”. It looks wrong, though. heh… I wonder how long I’ve been writing it incorrectly? Well, thanks for correcting me there. That’s what I get for not looking up the words I learn and checking the phonetics. Biru ippon, onugaishimasu! Spot the mistake (onu instead of oni, or was it one?? argh!).
Benoit–You’re right. I used my mom’s credit card when I was “underage” as well. That’s embarrassing that I forgot that. I have to be honest. People, myself including, lose touch with what it’s like to be a “kid”. I swore to myself over and over that I’d never lose touch, but I know I have. Grr.
Not that I’m trying to imply your lesser or anything. How old are you, by the way? You seem like an interesting person.
Back in the day, it would have been perfectly easy for me to order bishoujo if I’d wanted to with Mom’s card. It’s not as if she inspected the boxes when they came or anything. As long as I paid the bill (and even if I didn’t, sometimes), it wasn’t an issue.
