If I download a pirated game it’s because I don’t intend to pay for it. It’s a choice between pirating and not playing it at all. Sometimes I like the game so much that I do end up buying a legit copy too, but that wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t get to play it first.
For Switch in particular it’s because I’m a PC gamer and can’t get used to playing games on console. I do own a Switch, but I find it inconvenient to use vs the PC. I played a lot more on the emulator than I did on the real thing.
So what you’re saying is not only did they not buy a game, they also didn’t buy the system the game was developed for. So it definitely hurt Nintendo’s bottom line.
But that’s on Nintendo. For those people the game doesn’t cost $70, it costs $200+ even if they buy a used Switch lite. Nintendo is deliberately leveraging their games to make people buy their console when those people just want to buy the game.
They want to have their cake and eat it too, and that is most likely one of the biggest reasons people pirated TOTK.
All of Microsoft’s games are also on PC and even Sony has been putting many of their games there a year later. Nintendo’s the only one left that locks all of them to their console forever.
I agree with you, but Nintendo’s sales are definitely hurt meaningfully by piracy. Over a million people downloaded TOTK when it leaked.
If I download a pirated game it’s because I don’t intend to pay for it. It’s a choice between pirating and not playing it at all. Sometimes I like the game so much that I do end up buying a legit copy too, but that wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t get to play it first.
For Switch in particular it’s because I’m a PC gamer and can’t get used to playing games on console. I do own a Switch, but I find it inconvenient to use vs the PC. I played a lot more on the emulator than I did on the real thing.
I was one of them but I also had my physical game pre-ordered so…
I would expect the people that bought a physical copy but pirated it anyway to be the minority, but we’ll never know.
And I guarantee a lot, if not most, of those people didn’t even have Switches. If Nintendo had released a PC version they would have sold a ton more.
So what you’re saying is not only did they not buy a game, they also didn’t buy the system the game was developed for. So it definitely hurt Nintendo’s bottom line.
No, because if they wanted a Switch, they would have bought one.
But that’s on Nintendo. For those people the game doesn’t cost $70, it costs $200+ even if they buy a used Switch lite. Nintendo is deliberately leveraging their games to make people buy their console when those people just want to buy the game.
They want to have their cake and eat it too, and that is most likely one of the biggest reasons people pirated TOTK.
That’s the whole point of exclusive titles and every console vendor does it.
All of Microsoft’s games are also on PC and even Sony has been putting many of their games there a year later. Nintendo’s the only one left that locks all of them to their console forever.
Everybody doing it doesn’t change the fact that it’s a bad thing for customers and a reason for piracy.