The pirates are back - Anew study from the European Union’s Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) suggest that online piracy has increased for the first time in years. In fact, piracy rates have bee…::We analyze a new study where the EUIPO suggests online piracy is on the increase within the European Union.

  • pivot_root@lemmy.worldEnglish
    85·
    1 year ago

    I know a lot of people idolize him, and that’s probably not healthy, but he just gets it. Provide value and convenience for consumers, and consumers will stick around. Be an inconvenience while squeezing consumers for money, and we’ll leave with a parrot on our shoulders and a one-finger salute.

    • Renacles@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      28·
      1 year ago

      He’s a weird case, Steam has always been good for pc gaming and Valve releases nothing but polished games without anything predatory.

      He just seems to be interested in maintaining a successful business instead of squeezing more money out of people constantly.

      • wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        12·
        1 year ago

        Ehh… for as great as Steam and Gaben are, TF2 really seems to have been the catalyst for all the ridiculous lootbox microtransaction mess we have nowadays.

        • Buddahriffic@lemmy.worldEnglish
          3·
          1 year ago

          That shit was coming with or without TF2, even if it was the first (which I don’t know if that’s the case). WoW gold farmers proved the concept that people are willing to pay for advantages or conveniences in games (and that was just the first game I played where I saw that, I bet it wasn’t the first), and buying packages with random content was done by MTG and baseball cards before that. It was inevitable that someone would put the two together.

      • Syrc@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        1 year ago

        Valve releases nothing but polished games without anything predatory.

        Counterpoint: Artifact.

        (I mostly agree on everything else though)