Update: The result of the whole thing, which is very fascinating, can be found here!

The piracy thing is tricky. After doing even more research today, this is the contention I've come to: it's tricky. As "Gamer Girl" commented on a recent GameSetWatch article:

"Pirates come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some honestly do try-before-they-buy and pay for the games they approve of. Some don't care about the games at all and crack just for the thrill and the status."

The same applies to developers, publishers, and even those in other industries with similar situations. Some say piracy is to blame for everything, or at least for a lot. Some say we need more protection, some say less, or none. In short, virtually every opinion possible is represented. How are we going to come to a consensus and have at least most people happy with the progress and/or results to follow?

Well, I think Cliff Harris, of Positech Games is on the right track, even if he doesn't care. In a blog post, he straight out says, "I want to know why people pirate my games. I honestly do." Now, you may be anticipating some noble step for gamers and developers everywhere, but Harris shoots that down quick:

"This is not some silly attempt to start a flamewar, it’s not at attempt to change anyones mind about anything. I don’t want to argue my side of it, and there is zero ulterior motive. I’m not looking to ‘catch’ anyone, or prove any points.

I know what I don’t know. And what I don’t know is WHY people pirate MY games. I might be able to get a general idea as to why people pirate stuff *in general* from reading warez forums, and every other story on digg, but I’m not interested in the general case. I want to improve my business, and ensure I stay afloat, and to do that, it would be mad to sit in the corner and ignore the opinions of that section of the public who pirate my games."

But like anything, everyone is free to take from it what they will. And what I'm taking from it is this: Harris is starting on some serious progress.

On a fundamental level anyway, the piracy thing is this: developers want money for their games, and pirates want more freedom from all sides (of course, this is how I see it and maybe some would say that's not how they see it at all, but I think that's a pretty good summation). These two sides often clash and rarely find themselves in this kind of (figurative) forum (Sony did a similar thing awhile ago, quite notably), where we're sitting down and explaining our views.

The thing is, usually whenever this kind of stuff happens, we all find out we have a lot of common ground. I mean, I don't think pirates actually want to hurt developers. Most don't anyway; the ones that do are the same people who get thrills from say, shoplifting, and well, that's always going to happen, that's just a natural response to economy, albeit an uncommon one. So this seems to be the feeling of many studios in the industry: they're pissed off at pirates and see them as the enemy. Sure, to some extent they may hurt your profits, but how is attacking them going to solve anything, really? Pirates then, often just get pissed off right back at the studios, typically because (and they may not say it this way) they don't feel understood. I realize this may seem like a ludicrous concept, but I believe it to be true. I'd go so far as to say all criminals do what they do simply from a lack of understanding from some source or another. Their view conflicts with society's rules, and they manifest that. This is natural, if not uncommon. So, establishing such a forum I believe will lead us on a path to understanding and therefore a better situation for all.

I'm not going to get into the meat of the piracy thing and the arguments for or against, as I suppose that's been done to death (nevertheless, there are some great reader comments from both sources listed below if you care to check them out). I just think the important point here is if we are ever going to reach any kind of an end on this, a willingness to understand the other side is crucial.