When I had a PS1 and a PS2 I used to play mainly 'backup' games. I would spend ages in various newsgroups downloading BIN files, applying various cracks to them, burning them to DVD's as some painfully low speed to only find that games like Final Fantasy X would get to a certain point in the game and start streaming off the DVD, making it pretty much unplayable. It was only when I had a PS3, and the fact that Firmware checks were done over the internet, that I stopped pirating games. I know you can jailbreak a PS3 but you're limited to a certain FW version and these days I just can't be arsed. I managed to jailbreak both my PSP and Vita's but that was more to see what all the fuss was about.
These days I've got a digital only PS5 and I really have no intention of attempting to jailbreak that.
Getting a threatening letter from FAST (Federation Against Software Theft) back in 2000 probably helped in me seeing the error of my ways
What I used to find is that if I was playing a 'backup' game and I couldn't get passed a certain part I'd just stop and play something else. What I find these days is that I think
'Well I've spent £70 on this and I'm going to get my monies worth' unless it's something truly dire. I've completed more games on my PS4 & PS5 than I ever did on the Speccy, PS1 or PS2.
It's the same with VIdeos/DVD's. BITD our house was filled with copied VHS tapes and DVD, but with the advent of streaming services it's very much a case of 'can't be arsed with the faff'.