Do You Think That The Robbery Crime Rate Will Go Up Further Once All's Digital?

[oldgamerz]

I sadly think that if and when everything (all media) goes digital. There will be a lot more cases of robberies of physical media as criminals get more desperate to get free money. and I think it will be a disaster, I hope and pray that not all physical media will die because if it does all hell might break loose.

 If most people can't own something than they resort to stealing it from somewhere else. I am not worried about pirating but I am worried about how the most of the world will take to having so vary little to call there own. and how the law might turn in favor of the owners of media.

[seether]

I’m a doctor and I would like to give you a diagnosis of paranoia.

[hoshichiri]

No, I absolutely do not think robbery of physical media will increase if the world goes all digital.

People like to steal things that A) are easy to steal, and B) are worth money when sold. Physical media, by and large, does NOT have resale value. Look at the mountains of DVDs in every thrift store. Look at the mounds of $5 or less games in pawn shops & Gamestop bins. There's some exceptions for the newest and the rarest, but for the most part? Media's not worth much of anything. And that's the case right now, while people still buy & use physical media. If digital takes over, it will be worth less- imagine thinking your grandparents are being targeted by thieves for their collection of no-longer-made VHS tapes. Most people don't even have VCRs anymore, who the heck wants VHS? In a digital world, people won't have use for physical media- they won't have a means to play it.

People who steal media to consume will switch fully to piracy (much as they have now- it's easier.) People who steal for cash will find something else to take. Jewelry, phones, wireless routers... credit card statements, copper wire... paintbrushes, diapers... I don't know, whatever ends up being valuable & easy to get.

[seether]

Physical media is going away because the trends are going towards digital, I.e. the demand is for digital - this means less demand for physical which means less value.

Also scarcity does not equal valuable. No one is smashing into houses for physical copies of PC games.

A lot of your posts come across as the ramblings of an 80 year old with dementia.

[Nickkchilla]

That doesn't even make any sense.

Video games aren't exactly the last hot commodity holding the world's morals together, nor is it the big ticket to getting rich quick. Whenever the "physocalypse" occurs, culture will change and people will find easier things to steal. I'm sure most of those things don't have video games accompanying them on the list.

Piracy is also a thing. There's also reproductions, clone consoles, and all kinds of other independent groups keeping things like that active. As long as there's a demand, someone will pop up to satisfy it. Physical isn't going anywhere for quite awhile.

Relax.

[Cartagia]

No, I absolutely do not think robbery of physical media will increase if the world goes all digital.

People like to steal things that A) are easy to steal, and B) are worth money when sold. Physical media, by and large, does NOT have resale value. Look at the mountains of DVDs in every thrift store. Look at the mounds of $5 or less games in pawn shops & Gamestop bins. There's some exceptions for the newest and the rarest, but for the most part? Media's not worth much of anything. And that's the case right now, while people still buy & use physical media. If digital takes over, it will be worth less- imagine thinking your grandparents are being targeted by thieves for their collection of no-longer-made VHS tapes. Most people don't even have VCRs anymore, who the heck wants VHS? In a digital world, people won't have use for physical media- they won't have a means to play it.

People who steal media to consume will switch fully to piracy (much as they have now- it's easier.) People who steal for cash will find something else to take. Jewelry, phones, wireless routers... credit card statements, copper wire... paintbrushes, diapers... I don't know, whatever ends up being valuable & easy to get.

All of this.

[betelgeuse]

I’m a doctor and I would like to give you a diagnosis of paranoia.

I gotta agree with Dr. Seether on this one.

[tradinggoatgames]

I consider myself a pretty paranoid guy. But honestly the last thing people want is a bunch of games they gotta bring to gamestop to trade in. If they break in they are usually looking for valuables like jewelry, TV's etc. But those people will look for other things to steal. Especially if its all digital not as many people are gonna care about the physical copies anymore. So, no. I don't think physical media thefts are going to increase.

[bikingjahuty]

Larceny is an activity as old as humanity. It will never go away. If it's not your games it's something else thieves want.

[ferraroso]

[dashv]

A lot of your posts come across as the ramblings of an 80 year old with dementia.

Uncalled for. How would you feel if I said:

“Your post comes across as the ramblings of a preteen that snuck onto his parents computer while they were out shopping.” ?

In answer to Ops questions. I see what you are asking. What if say 50 years from now physical games movies etc were ALL considered rare items due to scarcity?

I think we already see this today with things that fell out of fashion:
Vinyl Albums, old consoles, CRT TVs, old games.

I agree with most here that I don’t think mass theft of the scarce items will ensue.

I do think bootlegging, counterfeiting, and limited run remaking will become more prevalent as we already see now with things.

Also, things tend to be trending (in the cities) towards downsizing. So a majority of folks don’t want/need lots of physical stuff cluttering their living space.

So I don’t see a critical mass of physical theft on the horizon simply from the shift to all digital.

Theft of digital is actually a much bigger problem.

I have to physically break into a house that has the item I want. Then I have to find a buyer without giving myself away.

I can rip a digital item of its copy protection and GIVE IT AWAY. Multiple times. For pay or for free.

Why steal your Xbox and library of games if I can get a jailbroken Xbox loaded with games for a reasonable price?

It’s one of the reasons the promise of digital has never been fully realized. Prices were supposed to go way down due to cheaper cost to market. but in some cases they haven’t and have even gone up more because so much is being spent on copy protection schemes and lost revenues when those schemes fail.

[Warmsignal]

A lot of your posts come across as the ramblings of an 80 year old with dementia.

Uncalled for. How would you feel if I said:

“Your post comes across as the ramblings of a preteen that snuck onto his parents computer while they were out shopping.” ?

But... he got banned for no reason at all!! No reason, I tell ya.

@oldgamerz

I don't think digital is the reason anyone steals a game collection. As long as it's worth insane amounts of money, and the criminal is savvy, then there's always potential for it. I would just be mindful about who you show off your game collection to.

[marvelvscapcom2]

Do you mean once physical games go away,  the ones that exist will become extremely valuable making robbers want to steal them?


I guess that's possible.  I really hope you are right.  If physical games go up enough to buy a house or something so valuable that thieves intend on stealing it like gold.  I'm going to buy a big house


I would like to add that Hosrichi's example of VHS isn't quite the same because it was replaced by another form of physical media,  and then DVDs were replaced yet again by another form of physical media (4K Blu Ray).   It's a little different than a type of media going fully digital up in the cloud.   It might create some waves in value for the physical lovers getting nostalgic of what they've lost and especially for companies like LRG who I assume will make physical content in extremely limited production for those who can't let go like us.  Which will probably be thousands.   Once something isnt available anymore.  People start surging for it for whatever reason.   Like almost all Toys R Us stuff took a 300 percent climb at times in value. 


I don't see it happening to the extent of robbery statistics going up, but I do think if Nintendo goes full digital,  it will hike up the switch games a bit and maybe the older games too.   Guess we never know

[marvelvscapcom2]

Physical media is going away because the trends are going towards digital, I.e. the demand is for digital - this means less demand for physical which means less value.

Also scarcity does not equal valuable. No one is smashing into houses for physical copies of PC games.

A lot of your posts come across as the ramblings of an 80 year old with dementia.

[hoshichiri]

Do you mean once physical games go away,  the ones that exist will become extremely valuable making robbers want to steal them?

I guess that's possible.  I really hope you are right.  If physical games go up enough to buy a house or something so valuable that thieves intend on stealing it like gold.  I'm going to buy a big house

I would like to add that Hosrichi's example of VHS isn't quite the same because it was replaced by another form of physical media,  and then DVDs were replaced yet again by another form of physical media (4K Blu Ray).   It's a little different than a type of media going fully digital up in the cloud.   It might create some waves in value for the physical lovers getting nostalgic of what they've lost and especially for companies like LRG who I assume will make physical content in extremely limited production for those who can't let go like us.  Which will probably be thousands.   Once something isnt available anymore.  People start surging for it for whatever reason.   Like almost all Toys R Us stuff took a 300 percent climb at times in value. 

A market surge does not make for a robbery prospect inherently, especially given that such surges do not last (it's not like people are clamoring for Blockbuster merch these days.) Plus, Toys R Us as a brand had a cultural aspect to it, which changes how people relate to it. It's different than a format. People do not rush to keep dot matrix printer paper, or old newpapers, or phone books just becuase they're largely unavailable now.

I also think it's important to understand the distinction of home robbery vs. business robbery. If we go all digital, then home robbery is the only option to get media. That means the robber must: know the homeowner has media worth money, where in the home it's kept, when the owner will be away, has a means to access the home, AND has a way to sell the media without getting caught. Very few robbers go into such detail- normally they just find a home that seems unoccupied and easy to break into, grab whatever looks valuable and easy to sell, and zips off. Obsolete tech is not easy to sell- you can't just pop into a shady pawn shop & dump a pile of TI-88 games as easily as a few sets of earrings. Basically, if old stuff was easy to flip, antique stores would get robbed a lot more often.

Business robbery is a whole different thing: Most items are out & unsecured to make it easier for paying customers. And every chain store has some way of getting store credit for no receipt items. The convince is built in! Grab small but pricey items at one location, return at another (or the same of a few days later if you're ballsy), sell the credit for cash- heck, there's dedicated websites for that now. That's the real reason DVDs get stolen at stores- they're kind of expensive, easy to pocket, and can be pawned or returned. And since most games are the same size as movies but even more expensive- it makes an attractive target. Why do you think most stores have separate media return policies?

Remember earlier when I brought up paintbrushes as a potential theft item? That wasn't me being cute- I work in a craft store, those genuinely get stolen! And it's not surprising, either- high end brushes are $30-50 apiece. And they're even smaller than media cases. The main reason they don't get taken more often, I think, is becuase you can't pawn them so your options to flip are limited.