1. Have you ever pirated a game? If so, why?
2. How did you feel about it?
3. Do you have any moral hang ups about renting games or buying used?
I never pirate games on current platforms. I know I can, but I want to support new games when I'm able to. The reality is some slip through the cracks, and I have no choice but to buy used. My approach on PS4, for example, has been digital and under $20 only (sometimes under $10). It adds up, sure. For the most part, I didn't mind spending that money.
On retro platforms, the original developers/publishers aren't making money on those anymore. The money goes directly to the second-hand seller. For the rarer games, I try not to contribute to scalper behavior. I bought a lot of used GB/GBC/GBA games. Outside of maybe five games, I didn't think twice about spending that money.
My understanding is that retailers buy X amount of copies of a game that it expects to sell. Some publishers have policies in place so that unsold stock can be sent back or exchanged for "credit" on new games. Correct me if I'm wrong as I didn't dig that far since this isn't the main point of the thread. Outside of evergreen titles, publishers make their bread in the first few months from release. Publishers don't make any money on used games, and they only make money on a rental once upon the original purchase.
In most instances, I bought the games I wanted and I rarely rented, even when I worked at Hollywood Video. I'll resort to downloading ROMs under specific circumstances: never released in North America, no longer available, or if I already own a game. I don't feel even a little bad at all. With most games these days requiring patches, I won't feel any better about dumping a game myself and finding someone hosting the official patches than I would just finding the game with patches online.
Generally speaking, it's considered morally wrong to take something that isn't yours. Like most things when it comes to morality, there are different perspectives, gray areas etc. I'm not here to judge anyone as I'm merely curious what everyone thinks. For my specific use cases, I don't feel bad, and I don't know what that says about me.