Negative Sentiment Towards Piracy?

   Ever since the story of the Playstation 3 Jailbreak broke last week on Kotaku, the news of the PS3 exploit has been making its way around the world and eliciting lots of comments from readers. Although the commentary is anecdotal, it would appear that readers are mostly against the advent of Playstation 3 piracy. Of course, some readers support piracy for obvious reasons but the majority (publicly at least) seem to be showing bias against the pirates. However, let's look at some of the reasons that pirates use to support their activities:

(1) I'm making backups for archival purposes
   Fair enough but if Sony shows up at your door tomorrow, are you going to have every single game that's in your hard drive tucked away safely in your closet?

(2) Games are too expensive
   So is a Porsche 911. Try stealing that from the dealership. Houses are expensive too. Go steal one and see how that works for you.

(3) Sony makes too much money
   Sony's Playstation division lost nearly a 1/2 billion dollars last year and they reported a $43 million dollar loss for 1Q 2010.

(4) Game companies make too much money
   Electronic Arts is the largest game publisher in the world. They've been losing money for years and their share price reflects the losses.

(5) Who makes money then?
   The video game business is in a slump but when economies around the world begin to recover, Sony and publishers should start making money again. However, their revival of fortunes shouldn't give you a license to steal.

(6) If I don't pirate, someone else will
   This is true. Everyone wants something for nothing and perhaps it is inevitable that piracy will eventually take over the PS3 business. However, consider that game developers and publishers toil and sweat to make sure their products reach market. That takes money and resources. If everyone pirated software and got a free ride, what is the incentive for developers and publishers to create the best possible product for their customers?

   In closing, the next few days will be a turning point for the Playstation 3. The PS3 Jailbreak is out in the wild and once it is cloned and hacked by imitators, its usage and availability will grow as suppliers get it into the public domain. As long as there is the potential for profit, the Jailbreak will find its way to consumers despite laws that govern the use of security circumvention devices.