From 1up:

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3175402

Making Good Games Is A Good Way To Fight Piracy, Valve Says

Doug Lombardi believes high levels of service after release can reduce piracy and trade-ins.

By Kat Bailey, 08/01/2009

As with every other media company, game developers and publishers have had their share of piracy problems. Valve marketing vice president Dough Lombardi has a relatively simply solution though -- make better games.

"We always see these overall numbers, like how much money GameStop's making per year off of used game sales, but we really don't have a breakdown of details for those," Lombardi told Destructoid.

"I don't personally know, after being at Valve since Half-Life, how many copies of our games per year are sold used, and on the PC versus the Xbox 360, so I think there's a certain amount of information that's missing, sort of like piracy."

"I think a lot of folks cry piracy when a game fails to hit their forecast and it may or may not be part of the problem, and it may or may not be all of the problem, but I think to throw any one reason at any problem is probably a mistake, considering the lack of information on both fronts.

Lombardi suggested that "gamers tends to have an affinity for the games that they like," which in turn means that they are more likely to pay money for them.

"If you're doing your job and making a good game, and providing a high level of service for that game at the time of release and post-release, I'm guessing you're probably less of a victim of piracy and trade, because people want to have the full copy, the legal copy, and have all the updates," he said.

"I think there are ways of curbing both piracy and used game sales by providing a higher level of service at the time of launch and post-launch. And I think what we're seeing, as platforms become more and more connected, that this problem will become less and less an issue as the idea of offering a service post-launch becomes more and more en vogue."

Piracy has been a major problem for the PC in particular, as titles like Spore have seen substantial numbers of illegal downloads despite heavy protection. As a result, developers tend to cite piracy as a major incentive to develop for consoles instead.

Blizzard and Valve still seem to be doing fine for themselves though. Who knows, Lombardi may indeed have a point.

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He has a point, my rule is that i download every game and only buy if I play MP for more than a week or actually finish the single-player of the game. I'm not giving away my money for crap.

I swear I read this story a month ago...

He's right. I only buy the best games for instance.

I think used game sales affect the industry more than piracy.

Why? People who buy used games are spending closer to the full price than pirates, therefore they would be more likely to pay the full price.

I honestly don't get it. If they make a better game, isn't it just more likely pirated more often?

I call bullshit. Why would a pirate like you go and pay for a useless retail copy when you already have the game downloaded, installed on the HD, patched and updated and having all the settings tweaked and ready?

You're probably just justifying your habits because you happened to pick a a classic game from the bargain bin once or twice long after release.

In absolute numbers, yes. Relative to total sales, no.

Their point is, if you make a good game lots of people will buy it.

Cause maybe I like the game and would like the company to make more good games? Also the last game I bought was the 2K Game Ollection off of steam. The fact there hasn't been a game tht can hold my attention for more than half a week that has come out recently is not my fault.

Well, props to you then.

I know I ain't doing it. If I go through the hazzle of torrenting, installing, setting everything up I ain't buying the legal version after that. Never done it except in the case of Oblivion which is a game I adore above everything else.

I dind't say I botheed to install the legal copy. I just keep it on the drawer and if I ever need to reninstall I get that. Or if there's some multiplayer content I need.