Ever used Pirated game properly?

I use to pirate games a lot as a kid, when I couldn't really afford or get the rated games I wanted... It's what got me addicted into trying and paying many games, now I just tend to buy the games all the time to support the developers I liked and enjoy! The Witcher was an amazing example of this, they didn't even bother with bs copy protection, I never heard of it before if it wasn't for pirating, now I've purchased the Enhanced Version, The Witcher 2, and Fable: The Lost Chapters (a similar game), and will continue to support them. Bioshock, Postal, GTA (until GTA 4 Microsoft/Social/Protection forced buggy crap, returned that one) and Max Payne also got me into purchasing the entire series later on, etc.

I pirate to make sure I can run a game before I actually buy it because I would be so let down if I spent my money on a game I can't even run!

It's been a long while since I've pirated a game. Last game I pirated I believe, was Alice Madness Returns, because I couldn't get the legit copy I bought to work.

Here's the real question. Where to people get GOOD pirated games that don't give out viruses? I'm curious.

Yeah, I played pirated version of Heroes of Might and Magic III, and I am so much in love with it that I've bought approximately 10 versions of it to this day. I regret nothing.

I do it more for a benchmark thing than to try the game

i always thought bragging about piracy or discussing it got you a ban. either rules have changed or mods have become pretty relaxed about piracy...

I bought Zeno Clash about 10 minutes after I played an illegitimate copy. Which reminds me, I should pick up Zeno Clash 2.

When it comes to pirating games, I really only pirate REALLY old hard to find games that most sites like amazon/origin/steam do not carry. Occasionally, I will DL a game that looks iffy so I can know if I should spend my money or not.. I'm looking at you Walking Dead Survival Instincts....

But seriously, when I was younger, I bought a game called Mobile Forces, loved the hell out of it. Lost the game since, but luckily someone else on the net had it uploaded. And since the publisher went out of business, the internet is the only place to get it now I believe.

Don't pirate games tho. Unless it is super old or you've purchased it before but need an ISO install because you lost a disc, it hurts the gaming industry.

I haven't pirated in a long while. Last game was Colonial Marines I think and I was clean for more than a year and a half before that.
50€ for that game is robbery and I doubt they can really blame piracy for poor sales when it comes to colonial marines. Whatever, I usually don't justify my piracy reasons since... well fuck it... Ive just downloaded 500GB worth of HD movies in the last week BWAHAHAHA.

Usually forget to be honest.
On rare occasions when I want to try out a game I find myself looking in steam for a demo .. then it dawns on me .. Oh Yea .. Torrents :)

Right now there's about 7 pirated games on computer. 1 of them I also have in my steam inventory, and another in my steam library. (people that judge might want to look at my steam library, its public)

Best recent Example is Strike Suit Zero.
Day 1 I did 'pirate' that one. Tried it out and loved it. It stayed unplayed but installed right up to last month when I bought BOTH SSI and SSZ.
Now if only I had time to play them :)

Did that with Portal, both of them. Downloaded, played through both, fell in love, bought it on the first sale I saw.

Since I started using steam on a daily basis , rarely... Maybe 3-4 games that really interest me , but that's a rarity and it's usually AAA games. If they're decent enough I buy 'em

Well, ever since I managed to buy games on Steam I have avoided pirating games. Last game I pirated was Mass Effect 3 since I wanted to end the story. Bought it in the Amazon Digital Sale since I wanted to have all the collection on my Origin library.

well yeah, a couple of times when the gmae doesn't have a demo, and i bougth a lot of games that i played pirate, (like splinter cell 3, or borderlands)
als when i can't buy the game... call it regional restriction or, no-one is selling the game (rigth now, rise of nations).

since i managed to buy games for cheap from steam i don't play cracked much anymore, excepts some AAA.

I always download torrents for games I'm not sure worth the money, if I like the game, then I get it :-)

Who the heck Gives away games? I can't even imagine buying them.

I usually pirate games before I buy them in order to try them out (demos aren't sufficient in my opinion). Being on a lower-class budget, I can't afford to gamble $30-60 on a brand new game unless I know for sure I'll enjoy it. If I do like a game that I've downloaded, I buy it. If I don't, it gets deleted. I'm a conscientious pirate. laughs

Yup, The Walking Dead, LEGO LOTR, CS 1.6, LIMBO...

Yup, happened to me with Borderlands 2.

I do that with most of the games I buy, except for impulse purchases.

Well, I own and have made quite a few giveaways of games that I had pirated before getting on Steam...
I guess there just comes a moment where you shed the young layer of innocence and learn that the harsh world of video gaming is more than "go to <insert site with cracked copies here>, download it, search around to find out why it doesn't wanna start, play". There is also the part about being old enough to have a credit card on your name, of course. :P

nope. never pirated a game in my life. lol i just buy them. i'll probably end up not playing them anyways.

Yes.