Yeah, there will always be pirates. I don't think you can fairly say "massively pirated" because you don't actually have numbers to back that statement, just like I couldn't say that "most people get the game through Steam". However, I would speculate that using Steam as a distribution channel has helped the author more than whatever online pay-then-download mechanism he would ever come up with. I would further speculate that using a common distribution channel like Steam increases the audience and simply by holding piracy constant and increasing paying user numbers, the percent of piracy would decrease. I'm sure "holding piracy constant" is a bit of stretch, but I wouldn't imagine it would increase as massively relative to the number of paying customers. Again, I don't have numbers, so this is just speculation, but I think they are reasonably sound.
If you look at TPB and say "look at all the piracy!" -- well, you won't find much else, it's TPB. I wouldn't assume then that it's pirates all the way down.
The comparison to NewEgg.com is pretty poor. What you're describing is theft of physical property. There is always a real loss of money (not potential money/profit, but honest-to-God money and resources). Software/music/digital art doesn't have this property. There is no loss of real money/resources used to make the copy. This fact actually DOES make all of the difference. If everyone pirated a game, it would not drain the physical assets of the company that produced it for each copy made. Yes, it's still theft, but it is a lot more justifiable (and sustainable, for better or for worse) than robbing a warehouse.
I pirated a copy of Windows XP 64-bit Edition (for Itanium CPUs). You know why? Because Microsoft won't sell it to me, nor will anyone else. I literally had no other choice. In America, we're blessed with being first, but I have it's really annoying to try to get around bans/censorships/date shifts that make something unavailable in your region. When you have no other choice, it's a lot easier to say "eh, screw it, they won't take my money, fine."
I'm sure plenty of people pirate because they hate paying, but I'd be interested in a large-scale survey as to the reasons. I'm sure they vary by income level, technical knowledge, and region. That would be a lot more useful than pidgeon-holing all pirates as cheap bastards when quite frankly, none of us know the results of such a survey.
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Pirates will be pirates, yes, but the goal isn't (and never will be) to eliminate all pirates, it is minimize losses (and therefore, maximize revenue). Right now providing really good service, extra value (steam features), and low pricing is the best way we know to coaxing users to voluntarily part with their money without the flak of "WE HATE DRM" that is common with overly draconian measures. Steam's profit margins attest to its successful model.
If you look at TPB and say "look at all the piracy!" -- well, you won't find much else, it's TPB. I wouldn't assume then that it's pirates all the way down.
The comparison to NewEgg.com is pretty poor. What you're describing is theft of physical property. There is always a real loss of money (not potential money/profit, but honest-to-God money and resources). Software/music/digital art doesn't have this property. There is no loss of real money/resources used to make the copy. This fact actually DOES make all of the difference. If everyone pirated a game, it would not drain the physical assets of the company that produced it for each copy made. Yes, it's still theft, but it is a lot more justifiable (and sustainable, for better or for worse) than robbing a warehouse.
I pirated a copy of Windows XP 64-bit Edition (for Itanium CPUs). You know why? Because Microsoft won't sell it to me, nor will anyone else. I literally had no other choice. In America, we're blessed with being first, but I have it's really annoying to try to get around bans/censorships/date shifts that make something unavailable in your region. When you have no other choice, it's a lot easier to say "eh, screw it, they won't take my money, fine."
I'm sure plenty of people pirate because they hate paying, but I'd be interested in a large-scale survey as to the reasons. I'm sure they vary by income level, technical knowledge, and region. That would be a lot more useful than pidgeon-holing all pirates as cheap bastards when quite frankly, none of us know the results of such a survey.
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Pirates will be pirates, yes, but the goal isn't (and never will be) to eliminate all pirates, it is minimize losses (and therefore, maximize revenue). Right now providing really good service, extra value (steam features), and low pricing is the best way we know to coaxing users to voluntarily part with their money without the flak of "WE HATE DRM" that is common with overly draconian measures. Steam's profit margins attest to its successful model.