History LoopholeAbuse / Videogames

* When the NES launched worldwide, Nintendo of America placed extremely tight restrictions on third parties that wanted to make video games on the console so that history would not repeat the UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983. Said restrictions were not allowing developers to produce more than 6 NES games a year. To get around the rule, companies would split up into smaller companies with different names and all would make video games. Since each company was "different", no rule was being broken (e.g. if the NES titles made by Ultra Games seem extremely similar to Creator/{{Konami}}'s output in that era, it's because they ''were'' Konami). This practice died off once the standards of video game publishing changed over time.

* While more of a [[LoopholeAbuse/RealLifeLaw legal]] matter than an active form of CopyProtection, [[DigitalPiracyIsEvil unlicensed developers]] who developed or bootlegged games for the UsefulNotes/GameBoy [[http://fuji.drillspirits.net/?post=87 exploited a loophole]] on how the handheld implemented its licensing enforcement system. The Game Boy checks for the presence of the "'''Nintendo®'''" logo in the ROM image, but reads it twice - once to display it, and another to check against its own copy. Since including the trademark in an unlicensed game would be grounds for trademark infringement, intrepid developers got around this by loading a custom logo on the first check, while still keeping the Nintendo trademark for authentication purposes. Nintendo may still sue unlicensed developers for releasing games for the handheld, but they can use the custom logos as a form of PlausibleDeniability in that no trademarks are ''visibly'' violated, but that would be moot once the ROM is disassembled and studied.

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}:''

!!General Examples:
* Some online games have cracked down on mods because a lot of players would say "There's no rule that I can't just mod the game so that it plays for me or gives me an advantage."
** On a similar note, games with glitches, exploits, or [[GameBreaker just plain overpowered moves/characters]] that are impossible to counter are heavily abused in online games, while the people who use said exploits shrug their shoulders and wonder why people are making a fuss over something everyone can easily do.
** This mentality leads to a highly ironic double standard in ''Gunz The Duel'', where an exploit existed that let players block, jump, and fire a shotgun in rapid succession -- and continue to do so indefinitely, letting them essentially fly while defending and attacking all at once. The exploit became so widespread it became one of the main ways to play the game. The irony comes in in that players could be called 'Sprayer Noob' if they used a regular weapon to take them out by relying on automatic fire or splash damage to tag the agile sword users. So yes, some people get so deep into the exploit that not only do they not make a fuss over themselves using it, they can take offense to someone playing the game normally and [[CheatersNeverProsper actually defeating the exploit]].
* Some games with voice chat cuts you off when your character dies, ostensibly so you can't alert your teammates that you've bit it to give them a heads up and avoid making the same mistake you made. Nothing says you can't hold your voice chat outside of the game on a platform like Discord tho, which doesn't cut off at all if you die.
* Some {{HGame}}s will bypass Platform/{{Steam}}'s harsh restrictions on Japanese NSFW content by publishing a version on the platform that is technically a complete game (even if clearly missing content), and then making an "NSFW patch" available on their own website that restores the routes, scenes and whatnots.

* The UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and UsefulNotes/XboxOne both have certification requirements specifying that games should be playable while partially installed. However, by "playable", they mean that the software simply has to start; it doesn't prevent games only simply loading up a menu with all actual content inaccessible until the game finishes installing.

* Some {{HGame}}s will bypass Platform/{{Steam}}'s harsh restrictions on Japanese NSFW content by publishing a version on the platform that is technically a complete game (even if clearly missing content), and then making an "NSFW patch" available on their own website that restore the routes, scenes and whatnots.

* Some {{HGame}}s will bypass Platform/{{Steam}}'s harsh restrictions on Japanese NSFW content by publishing a version on the platform that is technically a complete game (even if clearly lacking in content, skipping scenes, and feels unfinished), and then making an "NSFW patch" available on their own website that adds the missing routes, scenes and whatnots.

* When the NES launched worldwide, Nintendo of America placed extremely tight restrictions on third parties that wanted to make video games on the console so that history would not repeat the UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983. Said restrictions were not allowing developers to produce more than 6 NES games a year. To get around the rule, companies would split up into smaller companies with different names and all would make video games. Since each company was "different", no rule was being broken. This practice died off once the standards of video game publishing changed over time.

* Some {{HGame}}s will bypass Platform/{{Steam}}'s harsh restrictions on Japanese NSFW content by publishing a version on the platform that is technically a complete game (even if clearly lacking or skipping scenes and feels unfinished), and then making an "NSFW patch" available on their own website.

* Some {{HGame}}s will bypass Platform/{{Steam}}'s harsh restriction on Japanese NSFW content by publishing a safe version on the platform that is technically a complete game (even if it is clearly lacking in scenes and feels unfinished), and then making an "NSFW patch" available on their own website.

* Some {{HGame}}s will bypass Platform/{{Steam}}'s harsh restriction on Japanese NSFW content by publishing a safe version on the platform that is technically a complete game (even if it is clearly lacking in scenes and feels unfinished), and then making an "NSFW patch" aviable on their own website.

* Some games with voice chat cuts you off when your character dies, ostensibly so you can't alert your teammates that you've bit it to give them a heads up and avoid the mistake you made. Nothing says you can't hold your voice chat outside of the game on a platform like Discord tho, which doesn't cut off at all if you die.

** Some games with voice chat cuts you off when your character dies, ostensibly so you can't alert your teammates that you've bit it to give them a heads up and avoid the mistake you made. Nothing says you can't hold your voice chat outside of the game on a platform like Discord tho, which doesn't cut off at all if you die.

* In ''VideoGame/LuckBeALandlord'', the Landlord can impose fine print that prevents certain items from being destroyed. There's no stopping you from ''removing'' them with the Removal tokens... unless he prevents you from using them, too.