Post by GactimusIt's not our fault that we don't wanna pay 50 bucks for a copy of a game
that only costs Maxis like 5 cents per copy. Why pay when you can get it
for free?
It doesn't cost them only 5 cents a copy. Did you ever take into
account the thousands of hours of programming, at usually $80-$100 an
hour per person with usually donzens of programmers per game, the
marketing costs for advertising, the packaging costs, the CD replication
costs (usually at least 30 cents up to a dollar each, depending on the
packaging and quantity that they order. Then there's the cost for
technical support staff, sales staff, etc.... and believe me, when you
go and buy a copy for $50 from Gamestop or Software Boutique, the
company who produced the game doesn't get anywhere near that amount for
it. They usually take at least a 40% hit off of the suggested retail
price. In some places the manufacturer has to buy shelf space. This
can run $30k to $50k per retail chain. And that's whether they sell any
copies or not. Then there's the distributor, who also takes a cut.
That's usually 12 to 18%, depending on what kind of track record you
have with them.
I used to own a software company so I know what I'm talking about here.
I didn't really produce or sell that many games and what we did were
niche products, but I can tell you from first hand experience that the
costs involved to produce, market, and sell this stuff is outrageous.
Everyone and his brother want their grubby hands in the pie that you
produce. So on top of all this, you have people who, just because they
bought a computer, think that everyone who produces software, owes them
a free copy. You get enough of them stealing your product and you can
be out millions of dollars.