The real reason for software piracy in China

So this week two things happened. The first is that I received a MOGA Hero Power device to review and the second is that I updated my Galaxy Note 2 to the shiny new Kitkat software after I made sure that they were compatible. I got the two devices working together and then decided to download some MOGA compatible games in order to give it a spin. Simple right?

Wrong.

On to the Play Store I went, where I decided to treat myself to a big dollop of nostalgia by purchasing the classic Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for a whopping $6.99. Well, I thought, if I am going to review a game I should do it in style. Not a bad justification if I do say so myself! Happily I clicked away until I was met with a rather abrupt notification “This app is incompatible with all of your devices.”

Incompatible my arse!

Well that’s bloody strange, I know it’s compatible because I have seen people play it with my own eyeballs. Why do you lie to me, Google Play? So I did a quick wander around the Google Play Store and discovered that all the games I wished to download were now no longer available to me! What sin had I committed against the gods of Google that they would punish me so?

I had done two very stupid things. Firstly I trusted that an update from a company would do more than just fuck me over. Secondly I had the downright cheek to live in China. That’s right, the reason why I can’t download the games I want to play is because once again I live in the wrong part of the world!

I remember when I thought Google wanted to be more than just another company.

So what do I do now?

Well I have several options, all of which involve giving Google the finger, and some which involve giving both Google and the developer the finger.

1) Piracy. Within a few minutes I could quite easily torrent a cracked version of this game and be playing it on my phone, and you know what? It is really difficult to think of good reason why I should not do just that.

2) Root. I can hack my phone and trick Google into thinking that it’s in America. Sure, I void my warranty and sure, it’s a hassle but it means I can pay for and play my games legally. That’s right, I can ruin my warranty and waste my time, all so I can give my money to Google, the assholes who put me in this situation is the first place.

3) I can use a Chinese app to download the app. I’m not sure of the legality of this because the Chinese app is free. Other people do it all the time and it comes through a very legitimate looking app store but am I doing something illegal and more importantly, immoral? Probably.

4) Say fuck it and go watch Breaking Bad. So far this is the leading option.