>Can anyone legitimately explain how does "pirating doesn't affect anyone's sales, that's a myth" coincide with "I'm going to pirate this game, that's called voting with my wallet and they'll see what a mistake they've made". Doesn't that directly contradict their argument??     It's very close to a contradiction. They could make the claim that, if they were somehow prevented from using piracy, they *still wouldn't buy the game*, therefore it doesn't preclude a potential sale.    The real gem is this: I think there might actually be data suggesting that more piracy leads to more sales. So, by participating in piracy, they would be contributing to the game's popularity which would imply more sales.