| lordmandeep said: well to be honest rampant piracy exists mostly with movies and software. Most people still buy video games, many people have gone back to buying music or using youtube. Movies is the big one. |
I dunno if i buy this. I mean, downloads on torrents are high and all, but how many different people are there, and how many people just downlaod it because?
I mean, we're talking about the USA here where internet connections are slow as hell. My friend has an above average connection and it took him like 8 hours to download DCU Online on steam.
I think a lot of piracy numbers are just the same people downloading over and over again on their highspeed intenret, deleting stuff to make room when they no longer want it/ collecting everything they can on mega harddrive just in case.
Aside from which, based on the letter of this law, youtube would likely be blocked.
Even then, there is the issue of how much piracy actually hurts... and I don't mean in a philosophical "was jesus infringing the Ip of fish sellers"/"nothing was lost" arguement....
But the actual economic arguement that tends to suggest that lost sales from piracy are actually surprisingly small and generally offset by the positive effect of increased brand name and familarity with products among those who wouldn't of paid anyway, raising their estimations of the value of a product and converting them into legal buyers later on in life.
For example, the guy kinda interested in Pokemon because it's like a simple Dragon Warrior style oldschool RPG, but wouldn't buy it because he see's it as kiddy and stupid and something that will only entertain him for a little while.
After downloading it, if the guy becomes hooked, chances are he's going to actually buy Pokemon, since the actual value of the product has risen and his mind, and people are actually conditioned to WANT to pay a fair price for a product.
The average person, even when they KNOW they won't get caught, is more likely to pay a fair price for something then want then steal it.
Piracy for sofware and videogames espiecally is largely due to the fact that games have a fixed cost not accounting for value. I mean, videogames are essentially a world where nearly every game, no matter the budget or general appeal.... costs the same.
