| Lingyis said: how much do authentic copies of games cost in russia? i imagine it can't cost like $40, $50 US... maybe $20? |
Even lower. Gamex, a Russian exhibition company, says Sony succeeded by cutting the price of software dramatically - you could get packs of twenty PS2 games for $5-$10. Basically, Russian game developers got big enough to start demanding an end to rampant piracy, so the government began cracking down. Sony did its part, by slashing software prices, removing the incentive to pirate. A very effective one-two punch.
It's possible for Nintendo to do something similar in China. Don't even bother to try to fight the pirates. Just sell the hardware at a profit, then allow Chinese developers to sell exclusive software on the system at affordable prices. Create long-term biz relationships with the best developers, and help them port the hits to the rest of the world. Eventually, piracy will fade away, like background radiation. Everybody wins.
