Before I begin this tale of illegal software, this is my stance on piracy: I would be a hypocrite to say piracy is wrong and that it should never be done under any circumstances.  My point of contention is the Don Quioxtes who view The Pirate Bay as a noble endeavor.  If the tone was “I won’t pay for the game because I’m a jackass”, or “I can’t afford it”, whatever.  Instead, it’s “Starcraft II may not be playable on LAN?  That’s the final straw.  Fuck the greedy corporations.  They won’t get my sale.”  If Blizzard didn’t run the best gaming service on the planet, and you didn’t have to leave your e-friends behind, you wouldn’t pay for the game, anyway.

Credit to Kotaku for a good article.  Gaming’s transition to Hollywood budgets haven’t stopped indie developers from trying, but piracy has proven a threat to their ambitions.

Nearly 24 hours after it went out in mid-April, John Warner checked on the numbers for Raycatcher – a game he and a partner designed and distributed over Steam. The first day, it sold 1,000 copies for $5. But pirates had also made 35,000 copies for free.

…

“I think people are voting – they’re just not interested in paying for games any more,” Warner said. “The DRM is getting cumbersome, and everyone hates it. I think we’re at a point where indies have to consider a new revenue model. Because it takes a long time to make a game.”

Put 35-to-1 in perspective with Cevat Yerli, who was laughed at for suggesting Crysis was pirated 20-to-1.  Remember when Stardock CEO Brad Wardell publicized his commitment to DRM-free games?  When Demigod was released last month, critics slammed its online issues.  Wardell (pictured top-right, attempting to crush piracy) explained the problem was 102,000 assholes thick:

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