In light of this article, I was surprised to see how many people are out there openly and willingly justify piracy. For those who don't know, a device out there allows free and easy downloading and running of illegal copies of Nintendo DS games. (To avoid potential moderation, I'm not going to say its name here but it's covered in GS's article). Naturally, Nintendo and other companies are fighting a possibly hopeless battle to see this device removed from the market. What's crazy though is how many people support the device's usage, finding whatever way they could to justify it.

Some say people pirate games because they're "too expensive" or "overpriced", and used it as an opportunity to bash Nintendo because they think the "Big N" doesn't deserve the success it enjoys through the Wii and DS. But these people would say the games are overpriced if they cost one cent each. Why? Because they think they shouldn't have to pay for anything. That's why people steal in the first place…either they can't pay or refuse to pay for things that they should have to pay for.

One comment I read suggested the companies ask why people buy and use the devices. Like Ra's Al Ghul said in Batman Begins, a criminal is not complicated. It's not because games cost too much. It's not because games these days suck. It's not because Nintendo and Capcom are "evil". People use the device because it allows them to play games that they should have to buy, for free. That's it. If I walked up to a table and a man was there with two DS systems sitting there, and he told me "You have to pay for the one on the left, but you can take the one on the right for free, no questions asked", which one am I going to take? Of course, the free one. Why pay if I don't have to, right? That's the philosophy behind the average game pirate.

Some people try to make it seem all deep and psychological, but it's not. A cheap device you stick into your DS lets you play games you download without having to buy them. I don't know anything about homebrew applications, but I doubt very seriously people buy this device solely to play someone else's fan-made games, listen to MP3s or watch movies. Maybe 1 percent of those who use the device, maybe.

I found it insane that people actually expressed anger at Nintendo and Capcom for wanting to get the device taken off the market. I mean, how dare Nintendo actually want people to buy their products instead, right? The nerve of them to actually expect to sell products that take years worth of man-hours to develop and produce? How dare they think that just because they develop games, masterful amalgams of creativity, technological know-how and graphic design and put them on the market with intent to sell them, why should they actually expect to make money? I mean, it's not like they're a business or anything.

Except they are. And they have every right to want to make money off of their products. That's why they do what they do. And they have every right to do whatever they can to stop others from preventing them from profiting off of their hard work.

I bet most people who support the usage of the device have never designed a game or so much as written a line of code in their life. If they knew what kind of work goes into even the simplest games, they wouldn't dare pirate them. And as an artist studying Game Art and Design myself, I'm disgusted that people take such a casual attitude to this. It's no different from art theft.

Sure, it may be a losing battle for Nintendo and others, but it's still a battle that should be fought, and anyone who really claims to love video games and this industry would do well to support the downfall and destruction of devices that allow people to download and play games illegally, and the people who make and sell such devices.