I used to pirate quite a bit; but as I've matured, I've put those days behind me, in part because it's wrong, and in part because most of the DRM infested games don't interest me that much anyway.
I feel better supporting developers that have given up on DRM, or those whose systems give more than they take (Steam) especially with their proclivity towards indie games (radical stance on DRM, radical games- who'da thunk it) - I guess It's the whole 'underdog' mentality.
To all the developers out there; here's a simple equation for you: good game + (DRM > no DRM) = my money. :)

I used to illegally download quite a bunch of games until several years ago. The "key" for me wasn't any company's action or so, but like v.dog put it in his case, merely my maturing. I think it's unfair to just get a hold of someone else's work without giving anything back and also I'd simply like to stay "clean" concerning the laws and not have to worry about anything illegal I'm keeping or using on my computer. Besides, they are "just" games. I do not have to play everything and if I might not be able to buy a game for once that's fine, I mostly got lots more, anyway.
I do actually think that it's understandable and morally justified for some people to download games illegally, for example when they really can't afford to buy them. In this case no real damage is done, anyway, apart from eventually sharing the files. But I think those people are likely the minority and most who "pirate" games just have rather idiotic views about it. As a buddy put it some time ago: "Why should I pay for the games if instead I can get them for free, anyway?!"
Do you know about [url=http://cgi.ebay.de/JAGGED-ALLIANCE-2-PLUS-5-MORE-PC-GAMES-NEW-SEALED_W0QQitemZ280206741760QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_PC_Video_Games_Video_Games_JS?hash=item280206741760&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1229|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318]this collection of games[/url]? Alongside Gorky 17 it includes Jagged Alliance 2, KnightShift, The I of the Dragon, Septerra Core and Jack Orlando and it is apparently pretty cheap. Maybe that's something for you :)

just to point out that you don't need to be logged on to play games in steam, as long as you've activated the title. Just select the offline mode. I played all of HL2 with no internet connection, and it was fine as long as i'd activated it beforehand.
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Many people will pirate things when they are young and have almost no income... but a large percentage of those people will one day have jobs, and will then usually become paying customers.
I guess the best way to look at it is that most of the downloads aren't lost sales, and at some point they might become future sales.
The problem comes if people become so accustomed to piracy that they never switch back to legal methods that benefit the developers.
When i was at school 90% of my music cassettes were copied from friends or recorded off the radio... but once i had a job i used to spend a fortune on buying lovely new CDs, and wouldn't want to be seen using some cheap copy...

Thanks, ill look into it.
soulgrindr
yes, i know of the offline mode, but, it still require you to run steam in the background, and offlinemode seems to not always work either..

Someone from CD Projekt mentioned in an interview that one of their goals was to make the consumer feel that pirating the games wasn't worth the effort. I haven't pirated games since I was a kid with no money, but I think they've accomplished that goal handily. No hunting through torrents or p2p networks and downloading for days and days at a time (especially for older games like these), no messing with cracks or keygens (no DRM at all!), no surprises finding out that the game you spent a week downloading is in a language you don't understand.
Those are just the problems that you avoid. GOG gives you more still, including extras (I especially like the soundtrack downloads - those are often a pain in the neck to separate from the game), permanent easy access to the game you purchased, and enhanced compatibility.
You don't even get that kind of service for a brand-new retail game. Isn't all that convenience worth five bucks by itself?
Contrast that with, say, EA's recent releases. They charge you $50 and then tell you that you can only install the game three times, ever. A game like that is begging to be pirated.

Nevermind.

Only when playing the game. I've got an older PC and I don't load Steam until I need to.
As for the offline mode, it was flaky at first, but it has gotten a lot better.

Yes, only when runing the game, and its bloody slow to start too. I prefear Impulse over steam for the reason that i only need to run Impulse when I check for updates for the games. ;)
but, im a jackass, and hard to please.. ;)

I download/pirate only the games that I want to buy, just to check and see a) if my PC can run it and b) if I like it enough to spend money on it (one can't really trust the hype). :-) If either or both get a negative answer, then it's a complete delete on the hard-drive for it.
I've learned my lesson with Bioshock; when I installed it, and witnessed the whole activation and stuff, I went to the official forums and found out the cold hard truth. Since then, if it's "infested" with DRM, then I'll buy it only if I really really want it, like Red Alert 3. Otherwise, it's a "Tough break, maybe I'll buy it if it's available on Steam".
GOG.com, Steam, and companies like CD Projekt and Stardock, will hopefully get results in sales/profits enough to change the current policy of most devs and distributors...
Nearly every game I've bought from GOG, I have the original somewhere on a shelf. I'm here and I'm loving this because:
1. No DRM;
2. Compatible with Windows XP & Vista;
3. Free extras (which are very hard to find nowadays, for the old games);
4. Continuous support, for as long as GOG exists (which I sincerely hope it will be so for many decades to come XD);
5. An active community of "old-school, hardcore gamers" gathered;
6. No #$!*%"+&#! DRM! ^_^
So, to answer the OP, I occasionally download a game or two, but just to check if my PC can run it well enough, and if I like it.

I've never pirated a game. I do a lot of research before buying, and have been lucky enough that Ive rarely ever bought a dud. But many of you guys that do DL games have made some really good points. I guess I'm a little out of the regular demographic, being in my mid 40s and having lots of disposable income, so that really influences the way I look at things.
That being said, I've seen a number of games crop up here on GoG that I'd have bought without hesitation had I not already owned them. I've still bought a few off here already and will likely buy a few more pretty soon (PR 2 looks cool). At the price, even if I never get around to playing the games, it's well worth it just to support GoG/CDProjekt. These guys rock and really have a great thing going here.
You may be interested to know that Ubi's latest release (Prince of Persia) has no DRM. I thought that was such a cool move on their part that I think I'll go out and buy the game just to support that move.

Well, I'd been pirating like crazy the past couple years, partly cause I havent had any money since about May of this year...since GOG came along its just too cheap not to buy, plus I love supporting it....so basically I put my money towards the site now and play the games available here instead, and pick up other games at retail when I spot a good deal. It's pretty cathartic after all those years of pirating hehe. :)

You're free to do that, if you can pry the series from EA's cold, dead hands.
And GoG has kept me out of piracy. I never started it, but I was considering it. That and Steam makes it so much more convenient (even if you have to wait a few more hours for the game to "unlock")

Same here.
I have no confidence in the Steam service what so ever. It's a pain for a household of two gamers with separate machines, and apparently it's spyware above and beyond the optional hardware survey stuff.
But between Impulse and GOG I've bought more games the past two months than I did all last year. If all publishers behaved like those two, I'd be a very poor man indeed :D
As for piracy, I used to years ago, but back then it was extremely hard to find shops that sold games, so I can't say I feel too bad about it. Besides, most of them were shareware anyway.

Thanks to GOG I deleted my pirated version of Fallout 1 and 2, and bought it from here. I pirate a lot of stuff, but I follow a "Like it, Buy it" policy. If I liked the game, I will buy it, If I didn't like it, the hell that company are getting my cash. If GOG were to expand to even brand new games I would likely buy from here most of the time. I like steam, but even though it has some great features, It can beat the GOG style of buy it, then download it and you can play it whenever. It still has issues with not being able to get into offline mode sometimes (and since I play at local LAN's with friends, the net is not always available.
If more companies worked like GOG I would be very happy :)