Piracy certainly isn't the only thing that hurts the PC industry, but it does have a tangible effect. I can't buy a single argument for piracy.

Sorry, my last statement there didn't come accross corectly. I don't mean to say piracy makes it harder to market or to sell, it makes it harder to convince execs that the PC is a viable platform. It's another reason along with the difficulty to market and sell. As for our research method it is based on percentages, and not overall totals.

Some of you may think that Todd is spewing BS, but I can give you some inside insight. While you may think that piracy is not having an effect on which platforms publishers and developers are choosing, I am seeing it on a daily basis. I LOVE PC GAMING!! I have worked on tons of games, and none have I enjoyed more that the PC products. As a little history to where I am coming from, I started my games industry career as the producer of Sin. Yes, I worked for the publisher that screwed the pooch on that one (a long story, best saved for another day). Most recently I was the Creative Director (on the publishing side...significantly less glamorous and involved than a developers Creative Director) for Dawn of War, Company of Heroes, and Supreme Commander. I was a huge proponent of remove the silly SecuROM protection from all THQ PC products, as it didn't really work, and was a nuisance for legit users. Unfortunately Company of Heroes turned out to be the most pirated game in THQ history (based on some odd research methods we used for this). I see on a daily basis the disdain that executives have for PC product because it's not as easy as the consoles. It's not as easy to predict, it's not as easy to market, it's not as easy to sell. We struggle every day to make sure that the PC is well represented at THQ, and it's getting harder and harder every day, and piracy is a big reason why.

Piracy is stealing. There are no 2 ways about it. If I came to your house and borrowed your car without your permission for a couple days just to see if I liked it, you would call the police. Not everyone in this industry is making millions. There are hundreds of people that work on each game that are effected by piracy. Testers, artists, programmers, producers, sound designers, etc. These aren't millionaires, they are normal working Joes. The people that specialize in PC products are finding themselves worried about whether the publishers care about their platform any more, and many are redirecting their efforts towards consoles for the safety of their careers. I've been in gaming a long time, and have heard the PC is dead BS more times than I can remember, but it truly is different now. Consoles are looking better, HDTV's are helping them along that way, they are becoming viable online gaming platforms (although you won't catch me playing an FPS on a console!).

When publishing execs start looking at the numbers, they aren't doing it with a gamers passion. We know the PC is the best gaming platform on the planet, but they really don't care. They are tasked with making a public company viable in a very competitive market. My task is to make PC gaming look viable to them, and it's a fight I fight every day. It also gets harder and harder every day that the attitude of the pirate exists.

I used to be a pirate. I used to think it was OK. It's not.