[QUOTE="peterw007"]
It's true that there's a correlation between high-quality and video game retention, but that still doesn't solve the underlying dilemmas that developers and publishers face regarding rampant used game sales and piracy.
garrett_daniels
The problem is that they are treating the symptoms rather than the cause--that the game isn't worth paying for. You'll notice that the publishers and developers saying they don't care about piracy are the ones that are making great games--great games are rewarded with great sales. Piracy tends to remain at the same basic level whether a game sells well or poorly, so claiming it as a factor in a game's success is questionable at best.
Attempting to treat the symptoms of piracy with DRM and/or finger-wagging is a futile gesture because of how piracy works. Pirates fall into three basic categories:
1. "Demo" pirates. These players want to make sure that the game is worth it before buying (remember that you can't rent/trade in on the PC). Releasing a proper demo will vastly reduce this number. Adding strong DRM will make them less willing to pay for the game since it always ends up harming legitimate customers far more than actual pirates; some will wait until the game goes on sale (since the DRM has reduced its value to them), but others will shun it altogether.
2. "Limited means" pirates. These players have lower incomes and/or live in countries where video games are very expensive, so they can only afford to buy a few games a year. A game's quality will help determine whether it is one of the few they are able to pay for; DRM will simply make them skip that game.
3. "Pure" pirates. These players want free entertainment for the sake of it being free. DRM will merely make them play something else and/or wait for the DRM to be cracked. Only the most impatient will buy the game when DRM gets in the way.
No amount of DRM or other anti-customer actions will magically turn players in any of these categories into customers.
It's better to have someone playing a game for free rather than not playing it at all. Those playing a great game are going to recommend it to others (whether they themselves paid for it or not), but if there was some DRM or whatever that stopped them doing so their recommendations wouldn't exist.
Valve's Steam has been successful because it rewards customers rather than punishing them. Its DRM is comparatively very weak, but great games using Steam as DRM still see great sales.
Finally someone here with good sense. Bill Gates himself once said he's perfectly ok with rampant Windows+Office piracy in China and other Asian markets. Or do people believe for a second that MS would prefer if the entire Asian market switched to Linux? MS prefers them to use pirated software because that helps to secure a near 100% market share for Windows and Office. And it makes sure Linux or other OSes never get off the ground.
Pirates gonna pirate. What matters is actual sales, not potential sales lost.
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