A few days ago, I went to MicroCenter to browse for a new game (hopefully Civ 4). At one point I saw a paper CD case marked “Bootleg City of Heroes”; the odd thing is, it had a UPC and listed price – $1. Is it morally wrong to buy a bootleg CD if it’s been passed through the system and okayed?
(Also, is CoH an exclusively online game? I’d like to play it, but I’m not paying for an online account that I’ll rarely get to use.)
It means that the creators of the CD aren’t getting paid for their efforts
It would be just the same as if you had made something and someone took it without giving you anything for it.
It is on par, morally, with receiving stolen property (that you know is stolen) or downloading a pirated copy.
It’s just as bad as any piracy, just the store is getting a cut.
I’m amazed at the balls to actually label it “bootleg” and sell it.
Wait a minute, isn’t the City of Heroes client free anyway? I’m pretty sure that you can download the client for free after paying to create your account online, and that you can’t play the game without paying for that account.
So I think what you saw was somebody who had burned the client onto a CD, so that you could save yourself the download. In which case, I would say it’s probably legally wrong (even though it’s a free client, it’s still copyrighted material and it sounds unlikely that the seller had permission to distribute it), but morally more of a grey area (since the seller probably isn’t doing this to make money at $1, and you’ll compensate the creator when you create your account.)
On balance, I wouldn’t do it. Respect the wishes of the creator, and all that.