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Title is extremely misleading: > The report found that illegal downloads and streams can actually boost legal sales of games, according to the report. > The o

Title is extremely misleading: > The report found that illegal downloads and streams can actually boost legal sales of games, according to the report. > The only negative link the report found was with major blockbuster films: “The results show a displacement rate of 40 percent which means that for every ten recent top films watched illegally, four fewer films are consumed legally.”

bee_rider 3y ago
It is not extremely misleading. Most movies are not major blockbuster films, and no games are.
- Garlef 3y ago
  But the plain amount of movies is not a very good metric of size here: I guess major blockbuster films have a big share of the total market size?
  - bee_rider 3y ago
    Sure, it depends on what you care about. Just think of it as a friction term, to slow down these runaway franchises.
- tqi 3y ago
  Of course it is - the title says "Piracy Doesn’t Harm Sales", and most sales aka revenue comes from blockbusters. Global box office in 2019 was $42B[1], and the top 10 highest grossing movies alone accounted for $13B[2]. [1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/271856/global-box-office-revenue/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/271856/global-box-office... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_in_film https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_in_film
  - mandmandam 3y ago
    If losing some small portion of their tens of billions to piracy actually helps hundreds of smaller producers to somewhat level the grossly inequitable playing field, then I think the title is fair. If hundreds or thousands of smaller businesses are allowed to flourish or even survive, thanks to the higher sales due to piracy leveling the playing field a bit, then it would be kinda wild to suggest that "piracy harms sales", as if only Disney matters. Btw, 10 out of those top 10 films you cite for 2019 were sequels or remakes. All of them came from huge established megacorps - 7 Disney, 2 Sony, 1 WB. My sympathy for them could dance on the head of a pin.
    - tqi 3y ago
      While I also DGAF about disney/sony/wb bottom line, my point is that "Piracy Doesn’t Harm Sales except for companies I don't care about" is not the same as "Piracy Doesn’t Harm Sales."
      - mandmandam 3y ago
        How about "Piracy Doesn't Harm Sales Overall, But It Does Level the Playing Field and Make Disney Slightly Less Ridiculously Wealthy and Powerful." A bit wordy, I think.
      - dmbche 3y ago
        After reading the article, isn't it simply that there is no statistically relevent evidence that piracy harms sale in this study?
- AlecSchueler 3y ago
  Somewhat misleading then?
  - bee_rider 3y ago
    Seems so. I also wonder to what degree the study was actually suppressed. I mean, it sounds pretty scandalous to say it was suppressed, but also a non-result is not super interesting. Maybe they just didn’t trumped it.
ABeeSea 3y ago
They also used unit sales instead of revenue. Pirating a $60 new release and buying a $5 steam game we’re both counted as 1 unit.

bee_rider 3y ago

It is not extremely misleading. Most movies are not major blockbuster films, and no games are.

Garlef 3y ago
But the plain amount of movies is not a very good metric of size here: I guess major blockbuster films have a big share of the total market size?
- bee_rider 3y ago
  Sure, it depends on what you care about. Just think of it as a friction term, to slow down these runaway franchises.
tqi 3y ago
Of course it is - the title says "Piracy Doesn’t Harm Sales", and most sales aka revenue comes from blockbusters. Global box office in 2019 was $42B[1], and the top 10 highest grossing movies alone accounted for $13B[2]. [1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/271856/global-box-office-revenue/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/271856/global-box-office... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_in_film https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_in_film
- mandmandam 3y ago
  If losing some small portion of their tens of billions to piracy actually helps hundreds of smaller producers to somewhat level the grossly inequitable playing field, then I think the title is fair. If hundreds or thousands of smaller businesses are allowed to flourish or even survive, thanks to the higher sales due to piracy leveling the playing field a bit, then it would be kinda wild to suggest that "piracy harms sales", as if only Disney matters. Btw, 10 out of those top 10 films you cite for 2019 were sequels or remakes. All of them came from huge established megacorps - 7 Disney, 2 Sony, 1 WB. My sympathy for them could dance on the head of a pin.
  - tqi 3y ago
    While I also DGAF about disney/sony/wb bottom line, my point is that "Piracy Doesn’t Harm Sales except for companies I don't care about" is not the same as "Piracy Doesn’t Harm Sales."
    - mandmandam 3y ago
      How about "Piracy Doesn't Harm Sales Overall, But It Does Level the Playing Field and Make Disney Slightly Less Ridiculously Wealthy and Powerful." A bit wordy, I think.
    - dmbche 3y ago
      After reading the article, isn't it simply that there is no statistically relevent evidence that piracy harms sale in this study?
AlecSchueler 3y ago
Somewhat misleading then?
- bee_rider 3y ago
  Seems so. I also wonder to what degree the study was actually suppressed. I mean, it sounds pretty scandalous to say it was suppressed, but also a non-result is not super interesting. Maybe they just didn’t trumped it.

ABeeSea 3y ago

They also used unit sales instead of revenue. Pirating a $60 new release and buying a $5 steam game we’re both counted as 1 unit.