What happened to downloading games from The Pirate Bay?

This post is on piracy. Piracy of software, games, movies, music and other virtual goods.

Before I continue writing this post let me confess to you that I used to use pirated software. I played games downloaded from the internet. And movies I watches ‘on demand’ by downloading them when I wanted to. There were times when there were no legally purchased songs on my iPod.

After reinstalling my Mac a few weeks ago I noticed something remarkable. There is not a single piece of pirated software on my Mac. Everything has been paid for or is free / open-source. The same goes for my gaming rig, all games are legally purchased.

This is in shrill contrast to a few years ago. What the fuck happened?

Then I saw Diablo 3 was released. I’m not a huge fan of the franchise, but wanted to play Diablo 3 anyway. So, what to do.

Checking with local and online retailers I can get a fair price of €49 euro - but the game is either sold out or will not be delivered in the next few days. I want to play Diablo 3 ** RIGHT THE FUCK NOW**.

Okay, let’s check with Blizzard then, the Battle.net store. They have the digital download version of Diablo 3, but for €59. It is instantly available, though.

Clickety-Click, Diablo 3 purchased. Download ready in 16 minutes. Playing 5 minutes later.

It’s been said many times before, and it will be said many times again: buying digital goods should be easy, fast and secure.

I’ve amazed myself by forking out an additional €10 to get easy access to Diablo 3. But I’m a happy customer and I bet Blizzard is also happy to have sold another Diablo 3 copy.

Hopefully the entertainment industry will get this message soon. Because movies are the only thing that are still available to me when I want them through The Pirate Bay.