Common sense tell me that casuals who bought PS2+EyeToy to wash virtual windows on their telly are less likely to seek someone who install mod chip and pirate their games.
I had term pirate associated with core teenagers who play lots of games, but maybe it is just me.
Of course we don't have any numbers to back up our claims, but again it was not me who brought sales numbers into debate.
Your "common sense" is based on your personal assumption
In my areas having a chipped PS2 and PS1 console was a standard procedure. The XBOX? You dont wanna see how much that got pirated. People who were never core gamers had their XBOXs chipped, had their HDD's replaced and filled with games. They didnt do it themselves. The shops showed them and did it for them. It was an awesome offer for parents and their kids. Games coming by the backetloads. Awesome deal for them even if they never finished or played most of them
Shops offered that service even selling chipped consoles out of the box. They didnt do it because they want to extend their gaming experience. They did it because they play anything they find and want to do it at low cost
Parents and kids who arent willing to pay 50 euros/dollars for games see piracy as a godsent
There are even countries where piracy is as normal as buying water from a supermarket. In Saudi Arabia for example, it was hard to find people who did not own pirated consoles. PS3 must have been a game breaker for them considering how hard it is to pirate on it
My father used to work there. I was 13 years old when he bought me a PS1 from SA. My parent wasnt willing to pay a backetload of money for videogames. He got my console chipped at a shop. I immediately had a huge game library.
But to top it off, my father who was never a gamer begun playing some videogames. Thanks to what? Tomb Raider which was his favorite. Not only that, but another friend of his who was never into videogames, also bought a PS1 when my father showed him the console and Tomb Raider, he had it chipped from day 1 and became a gamer. We are talking about people above their fourties.
All my friends had the PS1's chipped. We were kids and most of us played any game. Crap game? Good game? You name it. We werent core gamers at the time. But kids were crazy for chipped PS1 consoles (ok truth be told I was more selective. My friends were buying pirated games if they looked good on the cover though)
Piracy attracts casual gamers and parents as it lowers cost of entry a lot.
The guy who is willing to pay FP for games is more likely to be the core gamer who takes his games more seriously
Remember: Piracy is not some secret complex procedure done manually by geeks and gamer nerds. Its an openly seeked "feature" from many consumers who view videogames as simple toys and just want to have fun
