Video game piracy is an issue with no clear solution in sight. Restrictive controls over games like DRM are quickly overcome and end up working against honest customers. There is some evidence that piracy increases sales. No one knows what to do, so why not admit the problem and have fun with it? One indie studio did just that, deciding to factor piracy into their business model with the Annoying Cockroach Edition of their new title, Under the Ocean. Gamasutra has the story.
Most piracy is just people collecting content to trade. They aren’t going to play the game, and probably don’t even know what they grabbed. That said, many pirates do play, and once your game is in their hands, that’s an opportunity to transform them into paying customers.
Games which have good ways to bring the pirates into the paying fold will probably do well for it.