Why are so many American games so up in arms against piracy?

[Fayceless]

DTG said:

Fayceless said:
Your arguments fail.

The rich CEO's etc. are not the only people involved in video game production. They aren't directly hurt by piracy, but some people are. The ones who make a fraction of a penny for each dollar a CEO makes DO get hurt.

If there are financial losses, a company will be more likely to cut the little guy than reduce the executives' salaries.

These companies depend on their income to produce future games. They need income to make good games. Not everyone is EA and has millions of dollars to lose.

Also, consider this: Pirates are generally more likely to pirate games that appeal to them. These are usually hardcore-type games that don't sell as well as casual games. By promoting piracy, you are, in fact, encouraging companies to make games you don't like, because it's more profitable.

 

That would make sense with small scale gamesike Braid struggling to break even. But even with games such as Spore which are guaranteed to sell millions of copies despite piracy and make hundreds of millions of dollars in pure profit many gamers become "overly" offended at the notion that some people may pirate these games. These are games where we are talking a few hundred million PROFIT in a matter of months, so if piracy holds back, say, another 10-15 million is that really a deal breaker for a company already swimming in profits?

 

It doesn't matter.  People who pirate, pirate everything.  They don't just get games by EA or Activision.  When you know how to pirate and are in the habit of doing so, it becomes so much easier to just download something than to pay for it.  All piracy is bad, because it will affect the gaming industry as a whole.  Not just he big guys, but the small developers with big ideas get hurt too.  I can't support piracy of one company's products but not another's.  I can't support people getting in the habit of stealing games.

And, think about what 10 million dollars does for a company?  What do they do with that?  Does it all go to the CEO's and such? No, their salary is safe.  It goes to expand the company.  They can do more, they can take more risks, they can do good things for gaming.  They can publish niche games that may or may not sell well.  I support good games; I never pirate.