Valve managing director Gabe Newell asserts that piracy is a “non-issue” for his company’s Steam service. He indicates that piracy is not dictated so much by high prices but lack of proper service.
“For example, if a pirate offers a product anywhere in the world, 24/7, purchasable from the convenience of your personal computer, and the legal provider says the product is region-locked, will come to your country 3 months after the U.S. release, and can only be purchased at a brick and mortar store, then the pirate’s service is more valuable,” said Newell.
“Our goal is to create greater service value than pirates, and this has been successful enough for us that piracy is basically a non-issue for our company,” added Newell. “For example, prior to entering the Russian market, we were told that Russia was a waste of time because everyone would pirate our products. Russia is now about to become our largest market in Europe.”
Source: tcs.cam.ac.uk
