Stepmania & Piracy

[Flarone]

I don't wish to cause any problems, but I've noticed a certain double-standard offered by the people at DDRFreak. They are against the piracy of DDR MP3s, but yet post links and whathaveyou to stepmania sites. Stepmania in itself isn't a problem, but sites like DDRUK.com have the official songs. If you look in the song folder, there is an MP3 of the song. So, unless the person creating the stepfiles recieved permission from Konami and the license holders to produce the file with the music, then wouldn't have they be illegally redistributing the MP3s, going against the anti-piracy policy represented by this site? This may be just one man's 3:00AM rant, but I am unclear... If somebody, especially a Mod could help clear this up for me, I would appriciate it. Thanks, and once again, I mean no disrespect, I just mean to pose a question.
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[Raligard]

It's an honesty issue. I download songs from DDRUK.com regularly now that I know it is there. I also happen to own all the OSTs from 2nd mix through to DDRMax Extreme. SO pretty much any song that is available on DDRUK I already own the official music for anyhow. All I am really downloading then are the graphics and step files. The fact that the MP3 is included with the proper gap settings (sometimes ) is only an added bonus so I don't have to sit at my machine for 10 minutes and tweak the gap setting to get it to match my MP3 I've already ripped from my own CDs.

I really admire that you're an advocate of intellectual rights protection. It's good to see that out there. If people don't own the OST or the actual DDR Mix of the songs, they shouldn't download them. However I know this is unrealistic. It's just the nature of the internet, and before that it was the nature of the dial up BBS. THere will always by copyright infringement.

Remember, just because everyone else is doing it doesn't mean that you have to do it too.
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[Rage*]

now you see i dont agree with all this completely, but i can see the point.

if i want a song, i'll buy the album, or a compilation with it on.
(never a single, unless its really cheap)
but when its more specialised music like ddr stuff, i dont have any problem with downloading the stepfiles as its all music i could never buy anyway.
( i dont shop on the internet, well not at that price)

so for most people i wouldnt really feel bad about getting the simfiles, as its not like all of us would buy the soundtracks anyway if we couldnt download them.

although if i saw it in a local shop for the price of a regular cd i would.
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[hooded__paladin]

Rage*, I must say that if you like DDR music, it's no trouble getting the soundtracks or games. I've bought 5 playstation 1/2 ddr games, each between $10 and $35 (that includes shipping). Considering that each of these includes about 30 or more songs, until you start repeating songs of course, it's a price comparable to itunes.

Flarone, I agree with you. Far too many people have decided that it's their right to play any DDR song if they simply pay for a DDR pad and a USB adapter. Thing is, like Railgard, some people do own the songs. It's unfortunate that there's no way to make people accountable to own the songs. The most we can do is lock threads that ask about pirated copies of games.

[Flarone]

Umm... what I was trying to question was why DDRFreak is against giving out MP3 links directly, but will give SM step file, which the SM files based off of official DDR songs have their MP3s in it (go into the folder for the song, and sure enough, there's an MP3 inside). Hopefully that will clear up my words.
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[Pop'n Usagi!]

No one cares if it's legal or not.
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[quote:8b1ee61c71="rampage in oct '04"]
I'm sure if it was sold for profit, Konami would clamp down on it (I'm sure it's a matter of time before they clamp down on ITG).[/quote]

[NeverStepLightly]

Flarone, there was a time when you could download packs of DWIs and other stepfiles, and it was up to you to rip your own music, or you had to go to a different, less reputable site for the music. After a while, people stopped caring about getting caught. People just want a working game at home, and don't care if it's legal or not.

It's human nature to bang on the fences of legality and see which ones don't actually seem to hold you in. It sure doesn't make it right.

[kablooie13]

If Konami really cared about it, all those sites that hosted the mp3's for you would not be there. And, well, they are. You would never be prosecuted for just downloading the song anyway (all that crap about people using Kazaa on TV is referring to people that share the music) so let the hosters worry about it and SM to your heart's content until Konami decides to start noticing it.
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SKINYAH

[Soypancho]

If Konami really cared about it, there wouldn't be so many bootlegged machines. It's taboo to post links to MP3s because the forums don't wanna get in trouble. Very few people who know their way around computers don't bootleg music though. Those musicians get plenty of exposure from being on the game, and they must be semi-popular already to have been picked up by Konami. I personally don't use the file sharing things to download 500 mp3s, but I have no problem with the 400+ DDR songs I downloaded. A big part of the reason people steal music anyway is the RIAA charging upwards of $15 for a 12 song CD. Bands shouldn't expect to live off their music. It's a great concept, I'd love to live off the crap that I write, but I like sharing it more. That's why whenever I record something decent, it ends up on PureVolume before it's even finished.
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<img src="http://www.workshirtwonder.com/images/rocket_banner.gif">

apparently I'm doin this all wrong. care to help?