Comment by ChrisMarshallNY

I wouldn't say that, myself.

In the case of software (a creative product that many, here, have a vested interest in), pirating can actually lead to future sales.

I think one of the most pirated programs out there, used to be Adobe Photoshop.

This resulted in a huge number of folks that became expert Photoshop users, and that drove sales of the app, in their careers.

The same probably cannot be said for games. I suspect a pirated game, is a lost sale.