I was following a lot of Abandonware website back in 2003 when I wanted to learn about retro games, so yes. There has been quite a few games I bought to clear my conscience (and a few more I wish they can get the rights.

- Bioforge
- Ultima 1
- Ultima 2
- Ultima 3
- Lands of Lore

Those are the ones I can remember. on the top of my head. I have a much longer list of games that I wish GOG can get to clear my conscience.

Not really? There's been plenty of cases of abandonware with me, but I view it as a sort of gray area where the preservation takes precedence over legality. That being said, once I found GOG, my abandonware days have been pretty far behind me. Granted, I still have D-Fend/Dosbox on my PC, and I get the itch quite often, especially when it comes to more obscure games that may never show up on GOG, or with games that may be financially untenable to re-release, due to legal hell. I haven't given in yet, unless I know the software is not just abandonware, but freeware.

Count me in too. I used to live in a country where you can't buy original games (before the digital age), so only option to play games was either torrent, IIRC, emule... or just buying a pirated copy from stores. So once I moved out, I started buying physical copies of these games and some of them had to wait for GOG as they were no where to be found before GOG:)

Not really. I'm not in the habit of pirating games but some have fallen in my lap and gotten installed before. I pretty much consider them demos. If i didn't enjoy them, they got uninstalled and they didn't cost me a penny. If I enjoyed them, I'd usually end up buying them, even before I finished the pirated copy.

It happened to me with Unreal tournament, which a friend introduced me to it via his pirated copy and I bought it afterwards. i think the only pirated game I actually finished without buying a legal copy was Diablo 2, not only because I couldn't find a legal copy back then but also because it didn't grab me the way Blizzard's strategy games did. Once I finished it, i uninstalled it and never played it again. Guilt hasn't made me change my mind, while all my Starcrafts have been legal, day 1 buys.

I've never pirated new releases in my life. I don't say that with any kind of superior tone, it's just a fact. I have however often downloaded "abandonware," because I feel having access to games not being sold anywhere is important and fine. If a title I downloaded as abandonware later comes to GOG I always buy it as soon as possible.

Console emulation is a bit trickier. I dove into it quite deeply when it first became a thing because I was excited to replay classics from my youth and there was no other realistic option. Now that they are sold on the Wii I find myself morally conflicted. I have no desire to own a Wii, and I do not support Nintendo's DRM system, but I would like to replay console games from when I was a kid. Honestly I've just kind of ignored the whole issue for now.

Wow, it gladdens me to see a lot of good people here. :) For me, definitely many games that I feel like buying them and paying debts at the same time. When we are able to tell what is right from wrong, it's important to do the right thing.