Video game industry loses $3 billion from piracy annually
Hollenshead laid out that, in no uncertain terms, piracy is a serious problem for the PC industry. Why should we care? ESA estimates that the video game industry loses three billion dollars from piracy annually and that doesn't even reflect piracy over the Internet. Scott Miller of 3D Realms estimates that as much of 50% of PC game sales are lost to piracy. It affects the development cycle too. For example, when the Half Life code was leaked at Valve, and many people were playing the game and passing judgment without paying for it, those sorts of things can really affect team morale.
Current methods of combating piracy outlined by Hollenshead included physical protection, online "guerrilla" warfare (against nefarious groups that run warez sites), the legal system that comes into play with the DMC, infringement lawsuits, the FBI and customs. Education through the ESA and other organizations is key in getting the word out about the problems piracy causes for the industry as well. It's important, because some of the gains from game piracy are even used to fund criminals and terrorist groups, said Hollenshead.
