Beamer wrote on Apr 10, 2012, 13:12:
As for the 10%, it's my estimate, and I'd guess it's a fairly solid estimate. No one has done solid research on this because it's IMPOSSIBLE to do solid research on this. What, do you think Epic has the capability to find a decent sample size that pirated Bulletstorm and get them to accurately state whether they would have bought it?
This is exactly the problem. There is no way to prove such things yet the developers and publishers spew out these claims as if they are based on some kind of hard evidence. As many have said, it is all a smoke screen for those at fault for a sub-bar product to protect themselves from investors/executives who don't know any better and think these claims have some sort of bearing on reality. Which is why most PC users get upset by these remarks, because they are insulting, switching blame to your customers or potential customers is never good business practice.
Let us pretend for a minute your 'estimate' is something close to an actual representation, 100,000 more sales on these kind of big budget games makes little difference in the long run. So even if their claims about piracy were true, they didn't make or break the game.
Now in the near future when it is established that Star Wars The Old Republic has been a massive failure, you will notice piracy will not be a potential scapegoat. As with all failed MMO's piracy will not be mentioned and some of the real reasons for the failures might actually see the light of day.
I am a member of the camp that piracy does not equal a lost sale, and on the whole probably contributes more sales then removes. Most people rely on word of mouth from people they trust as a motivator to purchase products like movies, video games, songs. Few people if any will say they played/watched/listened illegally, it is irrelevant.