🚀 go-pugleaf

Jim Mann (jmann@vineland.pubs.stratus.com) wrote:
: In article <1992Oct29.124526.1555588@zeus.calpoly.edu> > About a week  
: ago, someone mentioned on comp.sys.ibm.pc.games that
: > software piracy actually causes developers to LOWER their prices
: > rather than raise them. The argument here was that, the increased  
: demand
: > due to the expanded market (if piracy were erradicated) would cause  
: the
: > optimum price ("optimum" meaning that which maximizes gross  
: revenue) to
: > increase.
: 
: Actually, I think you have the effect correct but not the cause.
: I think many companies realize that if they charge $60 for their
: game, they are more likely to have people say "I'm not going
: to pay that, I'm going to go get it from my friend" than
: if they charge $20 for the game.  

there's been an interesting datapoint recently with an amnesty on
illegally obtain fonts where for about 50% of the list price
anyone was allowed to legitimize fonts they'd obtained dubiously
with no questions asked. the idea was that after this amnesty
prices would return to normal and anyone then found with illegal
fonts would risk legal action. an article i read said that several
fon suppliers were so supprised by the number of people prepared
to pay the 50% list price to register fonts that they decided to
keep the price at that level when the scheme ended as it was
clear that it had reduced fonts to a level where people were
prepared to pay for them.


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david shepherd: des@inmos.co.uk or des@inmos.com    tel: 0454-616616 x 625
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                1992: celebrate the quincentenary of columbus getting lost