Credit where credit's due, and what this blog's about

The name of this blog comes from some insightful comments by Jason Holtman of Valve Software, in which he described people who pirate videogames as "underserved customers." Rather than focusing on pirates as enemies, they consider strategies to increase value to these customers, driving increased sales.

Unfortunately, far too many developers and publishers use piracy as a way to avoid taking responsibility for their failure to perform to market expectations. In no industry other than digital entertainment can a manufacturer blame prospective customers for not purchasing their product, rather than thinking critically about how they can enhance the value of their product to make it worth buying. I hope that by exploring some of the ways that developers and publishers are falling short of customer needs, and frustrating demand, we can find ways to both improve game experiences while at the same time increasing sales.