Obamacare was blocked because it hurt Republicans. One thing I don’t get about politics is why both sides get into office and try to strong arm everything in without compromise. It would have been smarter to build Obamacare block by block attempting to keep each side mildly in agreement. Instead, it was rammed into…

I won’t elaborate too much because you’ve stated you can’t be convinced. My only argument would be to look at the history of the “loot boxes” concept specifically with mobile gaming. The general public seems perfectly happy using disposable income for a quick bite of enjoyment despite the fact it will be left behind.…

That’s a fair point, but I’d have a follow-up question.  Add up the lost sales of pirates who WOULD have purchased, but simply chose to steal. Then, add up the sales that resulted from a pirate referring a friend etc.

Perhaps I’ve overcomplicated it - let’s reframe it. Is it reasonable to assume that 100% of pirates were never going to buy in the first place? Obviously that’s absurd. That would mean that some of those pirates could have and would have purchased, but opted to steal. For the sake of argument, let’s say one out of one…

Meh, the whole ownership of something tangible is going out the window as everything becomes digitized. How much money do people dump into MMO’s and have something to show? How about a Spotify subscription, but you don’t own a single song. I look at them more like paying for a movie at the theater. You are paying for…

That’s just the problem, there literally is not a credible study. The largest sample size was this “EU” study that had an error margin in the ballpark of 50% which puts it on par with with closing your eyes and pointing. The conclusion that pirates are a good thing is a ruse. If you can buy a game, but opt to steal…

In order to find proof, I’d have to find a person who had disposable income at the time of or after release, pirated the game, and for the sake of assuming they would have paid for it, someone who has spent 20+ hours on the game. If I find ONE single person, then I’d have proof that piracy hurt the Witcher 3's sales.…

I think the word “hurt” is derailing the discussion a bit - sorry if it came from me...

There’s a cream for that

I’m happy to prove it, and I’ll reference the most common argument here today - “if the pirate didn’t have the money to begin with then they never would have bought it”.

I’m enjoying some good debate on other threads, I’m sorry your not open to discussion. Enjoy your day.

That’s a fair point. Consider this, what happens when piracy becomes an alternative to purchasing? If that occurs, and our individual comes across some disposable income, they will not purchase anything. That in turn hurts the industry because their target market consists of gamers who have disposable income. Apply…

To clarify your statement, games are making plenty of money so the fact their games are being stolen is... a non issue?

Seems sound to me! I like the theory that in order to keep players interested they trickle in content via loot boxes. I wonder if it’s a case of a shitty game, or a brilliant retention tactic.

So let’s take a person who played 20 PC games this year; they pirated all 20. Next year comes around and they are unable to pirate games due to some yet-to-be invented tech. Are you suggesting that they would A) Go steal from a store, or B) Play zero games that year?

Agreed 100%. Logic lost on so many...

Sorry to bother you. Enjoy your day.

A myth? Let’s look at it logically, if someone pirates and plays just 10 games a year and you remove their ability to pirate for the following year, how many games will they buy? If your answer is anything greater than one, then you can’t argue that they did not harm the industry.

Look at it logocally, if someone pirates and plays just 10 games a year and you remove their ability to pirate for the following year, how many games will they buy? If your answer is anything greater than one, then you can’t argue that they did not harm the industry.

If 8 of 10 of your games are “piratable”, then wouldn’t sales drop for all 8 games and only (positively) affect the rankings of the other two and all else would remain the same? Of course sales increase each year, but so does the number of customers - the non-gaming generation is getting smaller and smaller. I’d love…