Pirates contribute nothing to the gaming industry: fact. They don't help developers, publishers or retailers.
Used game market does help: Firstly, it gives profit to the retailers. Without the used game market, many retailers would find it extremely hard to turn a profit. The used game market allows them to, keeping them in business, which aids in the sales of new games. Secondly, if as an end user, I worry that my $60 might be poorly spent, I'm far more inclined to buy the game knowing that I can get $40 back if I don't like it. If I wasn't able to get $40 back, I may not buy the game. Seeing as I will get $40 back, I do buy the game new. Therefore, as a result of the used game market, there is an extra new sale of the game. Thirdly, unlike with pirating, used games have to be purchased new before they are sold used. Via piracy, a single copy of the game can spread to millions of people (theoretically). Via the used game market, if only one copy of the game is ever sold, only one copy can be in circulation.

If someone buys a Ferrari, should we all be able to leech it off them (piracy) equalling 1000000s of Ferraris from a single purchase, or should we have to share it around, 1-by-1 (used market), meaning there would only be 1 Ferrari in circulation from a single purchase. The reason that the used game market doesn't destroy the industry is because people all want the game simultaneously, causing massive sales. Piracy, on the other hand, could give everyone the same game from a single purchase. Saying that the used game market is as bad as (or worse than) piracy is just plain false. Vlad321, you must be absolutely delusional.

@d21lewis: Sorry for quoting your post, when it was actually Vlad321 I wanted to address. I agree with your points though, piracy is far, far, far worse than used games could ever be.

I think pirating is wrong. That's all I'm going to say

Man this thread really took off...

I'm afraid to download an emulator and some roms now cause I think Twestern will come over and punch me in the face.

I can't take them seriously, I'm sure they love this song

I was thinking more along the lines of this.

So you're saying that if you could pirate Starcraft II and The Orange Box, you wouldn't?  I really doubt it.

For some odd reason you have this idiotic way of thinking that I guess pirates are somehow justified pirating because some developers aren't good enough?

If those people are such bad developers and their games are so bad, why are you playing their games again?

Don't you have better things to do than play bad games from bad developers?

And if it's so easy to make a good game, why doesn't every developer just make good games?

Oh, that's right, you're just making excuses to justify your habit.  Seriously, people like you make me sick.  You're just so full of yourself and make every excuse in the book because you just don't want to realize that you're hurting the people that have worked years of very hard work so you can play free games. 

Fuck them right?  You have to get your stuff for free even if it means hurting other people.  As long as you can find an excuse to let you sleep at night and you're sticking it to the man it's all good I guess. 

-edit-

It just completely astounds me that people still defend piracy.  I just don't understand it.  Why do you think it's illegal?  Because someon got bored and decided to do it for grins and giggles?  The goverment and games industry are in it together?  It's all a part of some bigger plot that has to do with aliens?

I mean really, if there was some way, any legitimate way, to defend software piracy, why would it be illegal?

You can continue to make excuses why you do it and they will continue be wrong and only make you look foolish, but it doesn't change the fact piracy is flat out wrong and illegal.

-edit #2-

Sometimes I even have to wonder why you're a member of these forums.  I say member, not part, because you're really not part of these forums, you're just a member.  This is a place for gamers and as far as I'm concerned you're not a gamer, you're on an even lower level than these people or these.

Nobody here really respects you or values your opinion and you and the other pirates are pretty much an all around waste of space here.  You're not gamers visiting a gamer forum. It's just mind boggling.  It's even more mind boggling that you're a pirate coming to a sales forum.

That's like me becoming a member of a botany forum even though I've never planted anything in my life.  Why don't you just go to some pirate forum where you can all jack off to each other because you all think you are all so awesome for sticking it to the bad developers.

A lot of name calling, very little point making. I am disappointed... You acted more immaturely than my 10 year old brother. Bravo sir, bravo. I'm sure there's a real life Achievemnt for that.

I will however adress your one single point. If a developer's game sin't as good as Valve or Blizzards why the fuck do they price it at the same price point as those 2 companies? Somehow I doubt I'll be able to find any pinting that costs as much as an original Picasso or an original Dali. Why should games be any different? I don't need to justify my habit, shitty developers just need to go bankrupt. Piracy is literally a "survival of the fittest" force. Your game is shit so it doesn't make money. Make better games that's the solution. If you aren't good enough to make good games, tough luck, go do something else, you don't deserve money. At least not the amount of money that great games sell for.

Also if it wass legal to jump off a bridge would you do it? Don't throw legality in an argument because that just means you are a very simple thinkiner with an extremely closed mind. For instance, there's no illegality to piracy in other countries. Therefore I say it's legal.

Also check yoru anger at the door when you argue. As I mentioned in my first line, you look like a fool (maybe you even are, but who am I to judge?).

Ok, if you want to argue on a morality level:

How do you justify taking a product that somebody made without paying for it. A product that the designer wants you to pay for.

Try to avoid using "I am just demo-ing it" or "Other people do it" or "Other people buy used games which is just as bad" or "It really doesn't hurt the industry". All of these are shallow answers that really doesn't answer the question. Also, try not to give off a sense of entitlement because I don't think anyone is entitled to anything somebody else makes unless they give or sell it to you, no matter how unreasonable the price or conditions of the sale. In other words, if you don't like the price or DRM, then you can go buy something else.

On a morality level, those designers shouldn't charge the amount they charge for. Then all the problem arise. The value of some games is not the same as others, yet they sell for the same exact amount. In a perfect world World of Goo would have been sold at $50 and Modern Warfare 2 at $15. Also I don't think I'm entitled to the game, but at the same time the developer of those mediocre games aren't entitled to the amount of money they ask of people. As Valve noticed, when they drop the price by 80% or so, they made 15% more money than when it was full priced.

As I said earlier, why would anyone pay for any painting as much as I would for a Picasso or a Dali?

P.S. If I haven't bought a game then that means I never finished (due to it sucking so bad) it or didn't play it for more than a week.

How do you justify waking up in the morning? Not everyone thinks making digital copies of data they find on the internet for personal use is immoral. So why would they need to justify it?