For my Spectrum I didn't really need to. Magazines gave away several free full games every month on the covertape, and most games were like £2.99.

For my Amiga, fuck yeah I pirated everything because the games were £25 a pop and fuck that when you're 14 years old and you have a mate who can copy you anything for 50p a disk.

Since becoming an adult, with a job, I just buy games. I've got much more money than energy and time, so I'm a lot pickier about what I play.