chimpzy said:
You do realize that if you buy a $60 game only a small percentage of that will go to the game developer. And that it is in fact the publishers who make off with the greater majority of the profits to cover for the (on average) 18-28 million dollar advance they gave the developer so they could develop the game in the first place (very few developers can afford development costs out of their own pocket). Retailers, manufacturers and distributors also want their share of the profits. And last in line is the developer, who can get whatever is left of the profits after everyone else got their part. Providing the game was actually profitable, which only about 20% of games do.
Do kindly note how the only companies QQing about piracy are the ones who make shit and/or 'meh' games. You'll never see Valve or Bethesda crying about it. Their games are pirated quite heavily, but they don't care, because they sell so well they're in the black.
And are you aware that the people working at game developers aren't exactly living it up? That they work long, hard hours for significantly lower wages than they could get in other sectors, all while their publisher is laying on the pressure for the game to be ready for a holiday release?
They're paid before the games hit the shelves.
There are some exceptions to this rule, like Blizzard or Valve (who can pretty much do whatever they want), but they are just that: exceptions. This is the reality for the greater majority of game developers. And while the effects of piracy may be overstated, I don't think it is unreasonable for game developers to complain about it, since they are the party most likely to be affected by it.
It would be reasonable for them to mention it if it actually hurt them. Like the team behind Audiosurf, for example. Ubisoft? I have no sympathy. They can blame shit games not selling on piracy all the want. I don't care, I can see it for what it is. It's just QQing, they're simply using piracy as a scapegoat so the shareholders don't figure out their games aren't as good as they should be. They can QQ me a river, build a bridge and get over it. Either that, or make some good games and not stiff people with DRM.
