Piracy Loss Estimates Complete BS

Ars Technica has an interesting post on the losses due to piracy and the numbers used to game them for the public. Other than the obvious argument that many companies take; that every pirated copy would equal a sale, it goes on to point out that the loss estimates made by the FBI and the CPB were not based on any tangibly corroborative facts or numbers.

Don't delude yourself, piracy is a problem and does in-fact impact the industry. Just not to the extent that companies tout about in press releases. While we wouldn't have DRM if it wasn't a problem, we also would likely be paying $99 a game with no sales - ever. Piracy is an instrument of honest business; if you have no consequences, what's to stop you from stepping over the boundaries?

These claims are made by the U.S Government Accountability Office so we are not talking some random, never-heard-of agency making them. Ironically enough, this investigation was prompted by the PRO-IP act, a bill meant to protect the Intellectual Property of big business from said pirates.

Poetic Justice is the sweetest kind.