“Most of My Friends Do It”
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 by Patrick Ross
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There is no larger global market than China. If you are one in a million in that country there are more than 1,300 of you. Naturally, as the U.S. looks to promote jobs here in this country, we want to export our creativity abroad. It does little good if our creative works are phenomenally popular abroad but no one is paying. This has long been true for physical piracy — discs, etc. — but it occurs in the Interwebs as well.
Juliet Ye in today’s Wall Street Journal notes a challenge facing video game developers in China. Software such as World of Warcraft — which is financed in large part by players purchasing virtual goods to enhance their gaming experience — are under siege from 400,000 to 500,000 Chinese private servers allowing about 1.5 million Chinese players to obtain these doodads without paying.
When viewed on that scale, it’s easy to see how one player’s shortcut could help jeopardize the very development of follow-up games. But a 26-year-old player named Aaron Sun defends his actions:
“After the initial excitement, I began seeking faster ways to upgrade,” said Mr. Sun, who added, “most of my friends do it.”
Never heard that one before.
