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A Portrait of the UK Game Pirate
Next Generation has a report up on a British study that indicates something like 84 percent of 15 to 18 year olds pirate video games in Britain. 72 percent of those folks pirate games because they can't wait for the UK releases. From the article: "This study shows very clearly the drivers behind videogame piracy...Most respondents who have and will continue to illegally download games are young males, between 15 and 19 years old. They feel videogames are too expensive and resent the long wait for many games released in the US or in Asia before the UK. With a high level of computer literacy, it's easy for them to find a game online and download it. Their friends all do it and why shouldn't they?"
Piracy is easy. Kids do it. Game publishers are on streets selling crack to feed their family. Film at 11.
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72 percent of those folks pirate games because they can't wait for the UK releases.
If this was a tangible product, then it would be expressed as "they get it on the black market because it isn't commercially available".
There's really no good reason for a game to be released in the USA, and then wait months before releasing it in the UK. It's marketing gone wrong.
They feel videogames are too expensive and resent the long wait for many games released in the US or in Asia before the UK.
Imagine that - something is overpriced, so they get it from illegitimate channels instead. Is there any market where this isn't true?
The main difference between video games and physical products is that copyright gives the publishers a monopoly. It's not a free market.
I can also believe that the high prices are a factor. ONE factor.
The real reason. The BASE reason is because its free and easy. You could charge $15 for every game. You know what? The people would still pirate. I can buy CDs for $9.99 off of iTunes now. Do I? Well... I'll leave that up to your imagination. The key here is that FREE is always better that having to pay something. I don't care if the release dates are pushed back and the price is sky-high - free is always best.
This is all rather similar to the DVD region-coding tactic. Splitting the world into isolated markets where you can charge more or less for the same product just doesn't work any more. People will just get on the internet and, for example, order their Futurama DVDs from Europe earlier or for less than they can in the US, or they'll just pirate them. Companies know that piracy equals lost sales, so why don't they just release as widely as possible so people can just get what they want?
that that is is that that is not is not
whenever you see people breaking the law with intellectual property, you are looking into the eyes of an untapped market. Apple saw this and created iTunes.
A surprisingly large portion of illegal downloaders download songs, movies, and games because they want to download them, not because they want to steal. So sell it to them electronically.
Problem: Teen blokes in the UK download US games before their native release?
Solution: Release the US version in the UK and the US on the same day. Make it available for download in the UK and take $10 off the price because the words are all spelled wrong and the voice overs have that horrible American accent. Also, you don't need to package the box, press the CDs, and ship it to the UK. Give the online purchaser in the UK the same price you give to the chain stores here in the US.
I think you'd see the percentage of illegal downloads go down.