With the 15th annual E3 (Electron Entertainment Expo) just around the corner, now seems like a good time to delve into a few common—but completely bogus—reasons used by some gamers to justify their digital theft of video games. As most people know, the illegal distribution and/or reproduction of copyrighted products—whether they are movies, music, books, or video games—is a crime known as piracy. And not surprisingly, some PC gamers have engaged in this illicit activity since the early days of the video game industry. In the last decade, however, console gamers have joined their PC brethren with modified boxes that enable circumvention of traditional copyright protection on a massive scale.

In addition to developing the ability to steal software in recent years, a sub-culture has unfortunately developed as well that rationalizes this illegal behavior “because they can.” This theft has a far reaching impact for an industry that generated revenues of roughly $19.66 billion in 2009. Jobs are also at risk. In 2007 the video game industry employed more than 80,000 people in 31 states, and was projected to grow to over 250,000 jobs by 2010. With so much at stake, it’s fascinating to hear the top excuses these pirates make to justify their crimes—and to consider one simple response: if you feel so justified, then why not walk into a real store, take a game off the shelf, and offer the policy your excuse while you’re being handcuffed? 

Excuse #1: “Games are too expensive. I’m protesting by pirating!”

Video games do cost a pretty penny these days. Some can run upwards of $60- $80, and that can add up over time. That said, games also cost a lot of money to make. These days, it is common for a studio to employ over 100 employees to make just one new product. Take Rockstar’s recently released Red Dead Redemption, one of the most popular games on the market right now. It was estimated that the game would have to sell roughly 4 million copies just to break even. Anything less than that, and the company may have to cut costs by laying off workers. You see, the profits from those games aren’t going only to senior executives, but also go to the coders, artists, writers, secretaries, and everyone else involved in the process of making one awesome game. The revenue also gets reinvested back into the company, allowing it to hire more workers or invest in new technology that will hopefully make the company’s next game even better.

Protesting the price of a good by not purchasing it is a valid consumer response; stealing it is not, however. And while most folks who think a game is too expensive might even write to the company and complain, I doubt few would go to the mall, walk into a store, and shoplift a game off the shelf. So why is doing the same seemingly “okay” in the online environment? It’s not! Either way it is breaking the law, and every stolen game means one less sale, which inevitably leads to lost revenues, lost jobs, and less innovation.  

Excuse #2: “It’s not a lost sale if I wasn’t going to buy it anyway.”

This argument is commonly brought up in response to any attempt to calculate sales lost to digital theft…or when the pirates’ other arguments have failed them. The simple truth is, if a consumer did not have enough interest or desire to purchase the game, then why are they stealing a copy in the first place?  But assuming some gamers were indeed not planning on buying the game, illegally acquiring a game is still a form of theft whether or not it is a “lost sale.”

Excuse #3: “I downloaded the game illegally just to try it out.  Once I knew I liked it, I bought it.”

This is my favorite excuse, maybe because the pirates think we are naive enough to believe it.  It’s also an argument that can’t be disproven, except through common sense, and the fact that the number of people playing the game doesn’t match the number of games sold…by the thousands.  

You see, under the logic of this excuse, any theft can be justified: “I stole the car to take it for a test drive”; “I shoplifted the CD player to check out the sound before I bought it”; or, “I took the clothes off the rack to see how I looked first before buying them.”   

But rather than debating these points, how about this: if you want to “try out” a game—which is perfectly okay—then just rent it from a store, play it at a friend’s house, or download a free demo that many companies make available before the game is released. 

So what are we to do? 

To begin, we need to keep knocking down these silly excuses for bad behavior. We need to call the pirates out, and those who defend them, and make sure everyone understands that video game piracy is stealing whether it happens in stores or online.

Next, we need to get the government to pay closer attention to these growing problems, particularly as Internet speeds and access grow. Fortunately, the United States’ first-ever National IP Enforcement Strategy is expected to be delivered to Congress in the coming weeks. This strategy promises to coordinate a government-wide approach to enforce IP laws and protect the creative ideas of not only the video game community, but entrepreneurs, artists, and innovators of all stripes as well. This strategy will play a critical role in creating American jobs and growing our economy. And if this plan meets the expectations of Congress, industry, and rights holders, then we have a much better shot at rolling back this growing tide of piracy that is killing jobs and hurting innovation.