• ToxicWaste@lemmy.cafe
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    13
    ·
    2 days ago

    age verification is just a BS strawman. do you remember when we where young? we would access stuff and find ways to buy stuff. but whenever there was a reasonable but fair gap, it would be much harder to get whatever we wanted: buying weed was so much easier, than buying alcohol (without the appropriate age).

    pirating is easy (even i figured it out before having enough money to buy movies & games). so the kids will just pirate that stuff and get their way anyway. age verification at the store makes so much more sense. sure, there are ways to circumvent those. but it is a reasonable stop block.

    • Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      edit-2
      9 hours ago

      When I couldnt buy digital stuff because of age restrictions (e.g. game shops) I at one point figured out that Steam doesnt do that and you could get Paysafecards to buy them this way.
      No need for paypal (which needs an online banking enabled SEPA account or credit card) or a credit card.

      • ToxicWaste@lemmy.cafe
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        11 hours ago

        exactly what i am talking about. age restriction at the physical store kept you away for a while, while not forcing an alternative/underground market. however, if you knew the only way to get it is on an alternative store - you would immediately have looked there.

    • Auli@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      2 days ago

      Don’t see how pirating well overcome the online age check.

        • Matriks404@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          edit-2
          2 days ago

          But Rockstar Games acquired FiveM back in 2023, so I don’t see how is that relevant to piracy. In fact even if it wasn’t, there was nothing illegal about it as far as I am aware.

          • ToxicWaste@lemmy.cafe
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            3
            ·
            1 day ago

            if you can run a private server, you can get rid of all ‘phone home’ requirements.

            so you just need a cracked copy of the game itself. luckily it is completely legal to remove digital locks on anything you bought in many countries (not the usa though).