Let's say you pirate 20 games on their 360.  At full retail price, that's 20 times $60 or $1200 (plus tax) of merchandise you have illegally obtained.  Who is hurt by this?

1)  The government.  Sales tax equates to government funding so the less you buy the less money the government receives.
2)  The retailer.  Retailers do not have unlimited space and it's generally a battle to see what product lines get XYZ space.  Anyone who has ever watched an electronics department downsize (fewer shelves/display cases) should understand that if products are not selling, they will carry less.
3)  The publisher.  The fewer sales they see, the less risk they're willing to take on new IPs.  When a publisher is doing well, there's plenty of money to go around and are likely much more willing to put forth venture capital and sponsor new IPs.  When a publisher is not doing well... we have that situation today so you might as well look around.
4)  The developer.  Companies are closing doors during this time because of lack of profit.  Games are getting cut from upcoming lists because of lack of funding.  If they can't profit off the games they're making, we won't see them make as many games and franchises may be discontinued.

and finally...

5)  The gamer.  We see fewer games in stores, fewer new IPs coming, fewer games coming entirely, and companies that some of us will miss closing their doors.

And no, piracy is not 100% to blame for anything above.  However, that $1200 (plus tax) you didn't put into the video game market by pirating 20 games on your 360 is contributing to it.

Let's say you pirate 20 games on their 360.  At full retail price, that's 20 times $60 or $1200 (plus tax) of merchandise you have illegally obtained.  Who is hurt by this?

1)  The government.  Sales tax equates to government funding so the less you buy the less money the government receives.
2)  The retailer.  Retailers do not have unlimited space and it's generally a battle to see what product lines get XYZ space.  Anyone who has ever watched an electronics department downsize (fewer shelves/display cases) should understand that if products are not selling, they will carry less.
3)  The publisher.  The fewer sales they see, the less risk they're willing to take on new IPs.  When a publisher is doing well, there's plenty of money to go around and are likely much more willing to put forth venture capital and sponsor new IPs.  When a publisher is not doing well... we have that situation today so you might as well look around.
4)  The developer.  Companies are closing doors during this time because of lack of profit.  Games are getting cut from upcoming lists because of lack of funding.  If they can't profit off the games they're making, we won't see them make as many games and franchises may be discontinued.

and finally...

5)  The gamer.  We see fewer games in stores, fewer new IPs coming, fewer games coming entirely, and companies that some of us will miss closing their doors.

And no, piracy is not 100% to blame for anything above.  However, that $1200 (plus tax) you didn't put into the video game market by pirating 20 games on your 360 is contributing to it.

@bolded : I don't believe that for a second.

(PS:  My list misses a lot of others like general stakeholders of companies but you get the idea.)

Let's say you pirate 20 games on their 360.  At full retail price, that's 20 times $60 or $1200 (plus tax) of merchandise you have illegally obtained.  Who is hurt by this?

1)  The government.  Sales tax equates to government funding so the less you buy the less money the government receives.
2)  The retailer.  Retailers do not have unlimited space and it's generally a battle to see what product lines get XYZ space.  Anyone who has ever watched an electronics department downsize (fewer shelves/display cases) should understand that if products are not selling, they will carry less.
3)  The publisher.  The fewer sales they see, the less risk they're willing to take on new IPs.  When a publisher is doing well, there's plenty of money to go around and are likely much more willing to put forth venture capital and sponsor new IPs.  When a publisher is not doing well... we have that situation today so you might as well look around.
4)  The developer.  Companies are closing doors during this time because of lack of profit.  Games are getting cut from upcoming lists because of lack of funding.  If they can't profit off the games they're making, we won't see them make as many games and franchises may be discontinued.

and finally...

5)  The gamer.  We see fewer games in stores, fewer new IPs coming, fewer games coming entirely, and companies that some of us will miss closing their doors.

And no, piracy is not 100% to blame for anything above.  However, that $1200 (plus tax) you didn't put into the video game market by pirating 20 games on your 360 is contributing to it.

@bolded : I don't believe that for a second.

(PS:  My list misses a lot of others like general stakeholders of companies but you get the idea.)

Right on.

Piracy is thievery. Thieves are parasites.

(1) Your points are valid, if the pirate would purchase the items if they couldnt download them illegally. Which cant be proven/disproven. So that point could go back and forth all day long, because without out some extensive survey to find out the typical behavior of a private its just pure speculation.

(2) And @ bolded, yea I bought all my games. I have a drawer full of receipts to prove it too. Matter of fact, I got 2 racks full of games to prove it too. Will be uploading to profile shortly. I've invested way too much money into gaming to have some1 I dont even know question me about it.

(1)  That's a false dilemma.  If you go to a theatre and watch a movie without buying a ticket, it doesn't matter whether you would have bought a ticket, you have seen the movie and benefited.  Pirates absolutely love defending themselves with "Well I wouldn't have bought it anyway" but in reality it just doesn't matter.  You aren't a thief because you enjoyed the pirated game, you're a thief because you played the pirated game regardless of whether you enjoyed it or would/would not have bought it.

(2)  I don't believe it for a second.  I don't believe that there exists someone who can say "Here is everything I've ever pirated and here are legal copies of every single item" whether we're talking about games, music, software, or whatever.  It's not necessarily you (maybe you are that rare mystical person who defies my belief), but I don't have enough faith in people as a whole to swallow that line.  Nothing personal.

(1)  That's a false dilemma.  If you go to a theatre and watch a movie without buying a ticket, it doesn't matter whether you would have bought a ticket, you have seen the movie and benefited.  Pirates absolutely love defending themselves with "Well I wouldn't have bought it anyway" but in reality it just doesn't matter.  You aren't a thief because you enjoyed the pirated game, you're a thief because you played the pirated game regardless of whether you enjoyed it or would/would not have bought it.

(2)  I don't believe it for a second.  I don't believe that there exists someone who can say "Here is everything I've ever pirated and here are legal copies of every single item" whether we're talking about games, music, software, or whatever.  It's not necessarily you (maybe you are that rare mystical person who defies my belief), but I don't have enough faith in people as a whole to swallow that line.  Nothing personal.