Game/ROM hacking sinfulness?

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jesusalright4me

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Hello hello! An interesting topic I am wanting to post here…

Is, put simply, the hacking of copyrighted video games wrong? Let us suppose that the game has been backed up on from a legally obtained cartridge, meaning that it has not been downloaded from the internet (and thus constituting stealing). The hack will not be sold for a profit, or even shared online.

Now, this obviously would break most game company’s EULA, but then the question of the purpose of EULAs come up (aren’t they intended to prevent illicit sale/profit off of piracy and hacking, which in this case is not happening?).

So yes, in short, my question is the following: is game hacking in the privacy of one’s own home on a game that they legally own sinful, and if so, how sinful? I am conflicted, as I can see both sides. What are your thoughts?
 
If I’m understanding you correctly, you’re not stealing anything, you’re just putting something you already own on a new medium. I don’t see a moral issue.
 
That is true, but here is the problem, with EULAs and intellectual property, you truly do not ever “own” a piece of software, at least in the eyes of those who developed it. That is why you click “Agree” to End User License Agreements; you are acknowledging that the software is only licensed to you and that you do not have the right to do whatever you want with it.

Now, an EULA is not necessarily law, but is it just terms? A part of me says yes, a part of me says no. Plus, if you say you agree, are you not lying if you intend to not follow it?
 
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What is your intention in doing this hack? And what are the ramifications to the owner/seller of the software? Answering those two questions should give your your answer.
 
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If it bothers you, don’t do it.

But for the reasons LG&A elaborated on, I evaluate the hypothetical as not sinful
 
jesusalright4me said:
you truly do not ever “own” a piece of software, at least in the eyes of those who developed it.
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As much as there is a copyright associated with a book. You are agreeing to pay for the work of a person recognizing that the fruits of that work were bought for a limited use by the buyer.

Here’s where things get especially touchy with media. Current copyright methods tie the buyer into ecosystems, media, or devices. Personally I disagree with that. Just like you should be able to read a book anywhere you choose, you should be able to consume your media where you’d like. Copying things like video tapes to digital not only makes things more convenient, it can preserve what is on them.

We personally remove the DRM from our online video purchases, but that is to open up our ability to play them in various places. The thing I struggle with is the concept that you need to purchase yet another media format, certainly at full price, just because technology has moved on. There’s something inherently difficult about that concept. Books you can read for years before they become trashed and by then are mostly not even close to relevant any more. The point though is the media did not change.
 
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It sounds to me like one of those areas where case law is a little fuzzy. Not all copyright infringement suits win, as the end users are allowed fair usage, and that is not exactly defined. My own take is I never pay for the same game twice, if I can help it. There are a handful I have purchased in two formats, but that was for consoles.
 
GI struggled with this issue for a bit as well. I know what the EULA’s say and I support the idea that the creators must be paid. We are talking about content that I want to use and move to my various devices. I have no intention of selling or profiting in any way the content that I bought.

While companies could possibly get nit picky over this issue, they really don’t have a problem with a consumer making a legitimate copy and often the EULA states that they may make a backup copy so I am comfortable that I am complying with the intent of the law.

I rip my videos so I can view them on my media. I make multiple copies of my music so I can enjoy them on all my devices. I am completely comfortable that I am behaving in a morally responsible way.
 
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This all sounds very early 2000s… I thought everyone streamed content to all their devices now by default 😉
 
Well, yes NOW I stream but I’m an old geek that has a ton of movies on disk AND VCR tapes. The thought of those tapes becoming unusable soon motivated me to buy some equipment and get busy! 😂. I still have issues with movies I own on various services…iTunes, Amazon, etc. I can’t watch one on another’s service but it’s still nice to have been able to put all that media in storage! Plus, I like to rummage through the discount bins for old obscure shows that I can buy for a couple of bucks,sometimes they are in Blu-ray format! Score!
 
Once you have your content copied over, you could upload to a cloud service and then stream across all devices without having to worry about multiple copies.
 
I don’t want to depend on cloud services…I use a NAS so I’m my own cloud! Plus, I can bequeath my NAS to my son…he’s a videophile and gamer like me!

I do use a cloud service as a secondary backup for peace of mind but I lived through too many companies disappearing back in the day. Yeah, Apple and Amazons AWS isn’t likely to go under but I prefer to be my own primary backup. The secondary is fire insurance!
 
jesusalright4me said:
So yes, in short, my question is the following: is game hacking in the privacy of one’s own home on a game that they legally own sinful, and if so, how sinful? I am conflicted, as I can see both sides. What are your thoughts?
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It doesn’t sound like something sinful to me. If you were hacking with the purpose of distributing copyrighted materials online, or even for cheating in online multiplayer games, then it would be a different story.
 
What is your definition of hacking and why wrong? I think we’re defining the word differently? Thanks…
 
jesusalright4me said:
Now, this obviously would break most game company’s EULA,
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I would not worry about it.
You bought it, it is yours.

I am sure the EULA requires a consent to install, but that is a contract made under duress.
Consider, you bought and paid for it.
THEN they force a EULA on you.
If you disagree, the game is unusable.
But you cannot return it and get your money back.
 
In my eyes, the current method of subverting individual ownership by claiming a person is only purchasing a license is itself immoral. It’s trading money for something that can be rendered useless by forces beyond the purchaser’s control. I have a number of games in my catalog that have had major components of them stripped away because the “owner” decided they didn’t want to support them anymore. I paid for a service that was stolen from me by a company’s bottom line. This has happened multiple times.

So, no, I would not say it’s immoral to hack something you purchased. You paid your money for it, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s yours to do with as you will. Just so long as you’re not profiting from it, I wouldn’t even call it morally-gray. You’re good.

Remember, legality does not necessarily coincide with morality. Just because corporate lawyers have finagled their way into this “license” mentality of distribution doesn’t actually give them a moral claim to prevent your use and modification of your purchase.
 
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