Now here is something really interesting. EU Commission’s report on the effect of piracy on the legitimate sales of video-games has found that piracy can actually benefit publishers. According to the report, piracy increases video-games sales by 24%.
This positive effect of illegal downloads and streams on the sales of games may be explained – as the report reads – by the industry being successful in converting illegal users to paying users.
“For games, the estimated effect of illegal online transactions on sales is positive – implying that illegal consumption leads to increased legal consumption. This positive effect of illegal downloads and streams on the sales of games may be explained by the industry being successful in converting illegal users to paying users. Tactics used by the industry include, for example, offering gameplay with extra bonuses or extra levels if consumers pay.”
Personal take: We don't know the exact methodology used here but basic logic already dictates that piracy doesn't decrease sales in a significant margin. I think this is probably mostly true for the more expensive games and maybe less for cheaper Indie games.
While this is not advocating piracy it shows that there are ways for developers to make people pay even without oppressive DRM. And it also shows that piracy decreases with increasing attractive offers. Basically if you make a good game that's fun on its own and give people an easy way to pay for additional content they actually want, people will pay. Even pirates.
The results also show that games are an entirely different beast from movies and music. Though I am pretty sure that illegal movie and music downloads lead to significantly increased merchandise sales which might not have been respected in their calculation.
If you demand respect or gratitude for your volunteer work, you're doing volunteering wrong.
