Perhaps the issue here is that everyone is arguing from a slightly different perspective of piracy. Let’s consider the following:
- Piracy is the act of acquiring a copy of a digital good without legally purchasing it. No money changes hands and the creator is not reimbursed for pirated media.
- Piracy is, in most countries, against the law.
Now here are some of the possibilities of the outcomes of an act of piracy:
- The act of pirating a piece of media neither guarantees nor precludes the possibility of the person pirating the media from later purchasing a legitimate copy of the media.
- It is entirely possible to pirate a piece of media, consume or part-consume that media, and then never purchase a legitimate copy.
- It is also entirely possible to pirate a piece of media, consume or part-consume that media, and then proceed to purchase a legitimate copy, reimbursing the creator in the process.
- It is also possible to pirate a piece of media, consume or part-consume that media, and then proceed to purchase other media created by the creator.
Finally, it is basically impossible to source accurate statistics proving that any of these possibilities are more commonly-occuring than the other.
Now people can use all kind of reasoning to justify piracy – they use it in lieu of a demo, as a try-before-you-buy; they can’t afford to buy it
right now but they will when they can; they want to experience media but don’t want to support the creator/s for ethical reasons; or they’re just plain selfish or ignorant. These are all arguments we’ve seen before at some point or another. I don’t think most of them hold water – they’re excuses to try to justify having your cake and eating it too. The traditional model is that you either pay for the media or you don’t get to experience it, but some want it both ways.
I also think there are legitimate problems with the digital market that needs to be addressed. A complaint I see every now and again is that purchased games can have DRM which damages the experience, which a pirated version will have stripped out, thus making the pirated version
a better experience – this would be frustrating for anyone. You can be sold a buggy or broken game and have to wade through shit to get a refund.
The fact remains that piracy is, technically speaking, illegal, and there are no guarantees that those who pirate will reimburse creators. While people who do that definitely exist the fact is that having a free source of media is awfully tempting for a lot of people. Digital media has made it hella easy for people to get free stuff, and plenty of people will take advantage.
In my eyes, piracy is technically illegal, and for the most part is not easily justifiable. There are some cases where it can be excused or understood, but for the most part I think it’s a result of laziness, greed or not wanting to part with cash unless it’s a “safe bet”. The best solution is for:
- creators and marketplace vendors to reduce the factors that can lead to piracy with affordable prices, simple purchasing/download/install process, frictionless DRM (or none at all), stringent bug-testing (and easier refunds for broken games), offering demos wherever possible, combined with honest reviews and accessible media coverage are all solutions.
- buyers to realize that for media to get made it needs to be funded, and that comes from spending their money smartly on media they want to support at marketplaces that are buyer-friendly. They can figure this out through the vast amounts of professional critics, amateur reviews, Youtube videos/Let’s Plays, social media chatter etc.