As you may or may not know, I am an avid Simmer.  I’ve played The Sims and The Sims 2 since the beginning of time.  It’s got to be the biggest, most fun waste of time that there is; I highly recommend it.  It’s basically a game where you build houses for little pixelated people, get them jobs, tell them when to eat, sleep, shit, and shower, make them study skills for job promotions, make friends, throw parties, etc.  You’re basically playing God whilst sitting in the comfort of your own home.

Anyway, a war is being forged by the Sims 2 community.  TS2 is a game that allows for the creation of custom content.  Custom walls, floors, stairs, windows, clothes, Sim genetics, makeup, hair, furniture, decorations, plants–I think you get the idea.

Well, according to EA Games’ EULA, “You may include materials created with the Tools & Materials on your personal noncommercial website for the noncommercial benefit of the fan community for EA’s products.”

Why is this a big deal?  Because TS2 has a game specific file format called a .package.  The minute you turn something into a .package file, you are using EA’s Tools & Materials.  There are sites out there creating custom content for TS2 and CHARGING FOR IT.  How is paying for something noncommercial?  Who knows what that money is going for.  Bandwidth, a new computer, child support–some creators have even validated the claim that they live off of the money they get for paid downloads.  

EA is a pussy of a company, and doesn’t want to piss anyone off, so while they have REPEATEDLY affirmed that paysites are illegal, they’re not doing much to stop it.  So what do we do about it?

We go to http://paysites.mustbedestroyed.org.  This site has a community of 3,000 users who register on paysites, download content, and upload it to the PMBD server to share with the community FOR FREE.

Is this illegal?

Every piece of content on PMBD has been paid for.  Granted, it’s only been paid for once and thousands of people can now download it for free, but it’s been legally obtained.

Are we stealing artwork and taking credit for it?

Nope.  Every single piece of “booty”, as it’s so affectionately called, is listed by site/creator, so credit is given where credit is due.

How is this different than burning a CD and giving it to your friends?

Wow.  Where do I begin?  How about we use a VALID analogy, m’kay?  What if a musician (EA) created a CD (Tools & Materials) and gave it away for free, and then people who obtained it SOLD the copies (Custom Content) even though the original musician (EA) said they may not use the CD (Tools & Materials) for any commercial gain?  Making more sense now?  Besides, the minute paysites sell content, they’ve violated the EULA they agreed to abide by, so their argument holds no water.

So far, we’ve managed to shut down or convert 6 reputable Sims 2 paysites, and as more Simmers find out about PMBD, the number is growing.

So, there ya go.  My two cents on that whole issue.