Piracy is almost always a service problem and not a pricing problem. E.g., when Netflix was actually a good value proposition (i.e., high quality and quantity of content for the price), it was incredibly popular and nobody complained about their pricing. Now that barely anything looks like good value (thanks unfettered capitalism!), piracy is a more and more attractive option. That’s why the big corpos are trying as hard as they can to shut down piracy, so their customers have nowhere else to turn while they keep bumping up the prices for a shittier and shittier selection of content.

In a wide-ranging interview, Gabe Newell dishes about Steam, piracy and Half-Life 3.

The CEO and cofounder of Valve is never short on opinions. As the creator of some of the most beloved games titles (Team Fortress 2, Portal, Half-Life) and owner of the most pervasive online gaming portal for the PC platform, Gabe Newell has earned the right to express them. In an interview for the University of Cambridge’s school newspaper, Newell said that the way to end piracy is to provide a service that’s more complete than cracked software, and that restrictive DRM only encourages more piracy.

“We think there is a fundamental misconception about piracy. Piracy is almost always a service problem and not a pricing problem,” he said. “If a pirate offers a product anywhere in the world, 24 x 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 US release, and can only be purchased at a brick and mortar store, then the pirate’s service is more valuable.”

The proof is in the proverbial pudding. “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 [Steam’s] largest market in Europe,” Newell said.

Source: https://www.escapistmagazine.com/Valves-Gabe-Newell-Says-Piracy-Is-a-Service-Problem/