Some people pay $200 or more to chip their XBox so they can play stolen games. Then they email me to ask how to fix the many problems it causes them.

Isn't that like a guy dumping rancid meat into a public swimming pool, and then going around to the people who are sitting there in their swimming outfits, sad and hot, to ask those people where the restrooms are so he can wash the stench off his hands???

Software theft isn't a victimless crime. We are all in one gigantic "swimming pool" here - the world of software engineering. Anyone who has worked as a developer (and yes, I am a software developer) can tell you that you work LONG HOURS - often around the clock - to meet your deadlines. You pour your heart and soul into your projects. Sometimes they work out and your COMPANY gets a lot of money, which MAYBE means you get rewarded for your efforts. Sometimes your games do NOT work out and the company struggles to try again. There are always ups and downs, successes and failures. It all has to do with how well the market enjoys what you created.

Now along come the thieves. They figure "it exists so I must be able to steal it". Would these people go into clothing stores and steal clothes off the shelves because they "exist"? Would they go into a jewelry store and steal a ring because it "exists"? If they did, they would rightfully go to jail. Because these are products that someone CREATED with hard work and effort. The creator deserves to be recompensed for their efforts. If you think the price they ask is too high - then GET A JOB or don't buy it!! But there is NO WAY to justify stealing someone else's labor because YOU are personally incapable of paying what it is worth. Period, the end.

Because those thieves steal the works, and encourage others to do the same, the company now does not get what they should have for their efforts. MANY companies have folded and gone out of business as a result!! MANY MANY games that were part-way in develoment were completely abandoned as a result. Some of these were games that I REALLY wanted to play. And even though *I* pay cash for the games I play, the fact that other selfish people out there were STEALING games has damaged the enjoyment that I and millions of other responsible gamers can have.

There are always ways to make money, even if you're 6 or 7. It just takes time and energy. If you don't want to SPEND $5 TO RENT IT FROM BLOCKBUSTER, then to be honest, you don't deserve the results of the INCREDIBLE time and effort that the gaming developers put into creating that game. You could earn that money in a SINGLE WEEK of just an hour a day at a measley $1/hr task. The developers worked around the clock, worked for months or even years, worked weekends, drove themselves hard to make the best game they possibly could. If you want to enjoy that game, the least you could do is give them your fair share of reimbursement.