Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!unmvax!ncar!boulder!tramp!walkerb From: walkerb@tramp.Colorado.EDU (Brian Walker) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: Re: Is this right? Message-ID: <8415@boulder.Colorado.EDU> Date: 27 Apr 89 02:23:33 GMT References: <8904241544.AA21773@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> Sender: news@boulder.Colorado.EDU Reply-To: walkerb@tramp.Colorado.EDU (Brian Walker) Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder Lines: 71 In article <8904241544.AA21773@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> 01659@AECLCR.BITNET (Greg Csullog) writes: >The latest issue of Current Notes has an article by G. Louie of Sphere Inc. >berating the ST market for piracy. He says that the same title of a code in] >the PC market sells 40 - 100,000 copies a year but the ST only 15,000. Is he >looking only at the US market where there are millions of PCs as opposed to >a couple of hundred thousand STs? What are sales as a % of the market he is >selling in. > Obviously not. Talking in terms of number of copies sold (just about) never takes into account the number of machines available. When we start to compare IBM and ST markets, we must consider 1) number of machines sold and 2) The people who use the computers. As for number of machines sold, we can consider that one type of computer is marketed by Big Blue. Plus, IBM is not alone since lots of companies sell clones (the list is extensive). Now, if there are 4 times as many MS DOS machines as there are STs (a conservative figure), 15,000 vs. 40,000 is not bad at all. But if there are 10 times as many MS DOS machines as STs (Somebody mentioned 12 million for the MS DOS misfit market) 15,000 vs. 100,000 is an amazing statistic. For the home market, the MS DOS misfits probably range between 4 and 10 times the ST market. Now, how about the people who use these computers? Well, I figure that many are sold to companies. Many of those are used by people that deal with THE MACHINE because their boss said "Here, use this computer." Many of those probably also went into a mild panic at that momment.:-) Now, of the the people who use computers at work, many use the same computer at home because that is what they are accustomed to. And in a not so far-fetched manner, we could conclude that those people have the money to buy the computer in the first place and continue to have the money to buy software. But, in the ST market, I see a slightly different view. Atari isn't common in the work place so the motivations were different. Primary motivators would include MIDI and the fact that an ST does more than an MS DOS misfit but costs less. Gee, could it be that many people who own STs don't really have the money to buy software or at least tend to be picky on their selection of software because of monetary constraints? I know I am. I haven't purchased software in a while. But, I also haven't pirated any software either. (Got any suggestions about dealing with a pirate BBS?) Plus, consider this important fact. In a smaller market, people are more sensitized to piracy. After all, each owner of an ST constitutes a much larger percentage of the ST market than one IBM owner in the mega MS DOS misfit market. Frankly, I think that piracy probably occurs in a much larger percentage of the MS DOS market. It's just that the companies really don't care about piracy if they still get their profit from those who buy a copy. It's all relative and we don't need no ignorants [name withheld to protect the guilty] telling us that people who own STs pirate more than IBMers. Now consider this. Since the ST market is sensitized to the issue of pirating than the MS DOS market and because ST software is more resonably priced, there is likely to be LESS pirating. Why? Most piracy is a crime of ignorance. People often pirate because they don't associate bits of data with the concept of property. The disk is property, the data is not. Also, many find the concept of lost sales to be difficult to grasp. Some simply do not care if the publisher gets his money, especially when the publisher wants $500 for a program. I think the ST community has been given a motive against pirating that's easier to understand: "If you guys pirate this software, we won't make any more for you." See, now that's understandable. People can realate to the possibility of no more new toys to play with. Now try that with people who own MS DOS misfits. Got the idea? But maybe there's a better, less logical reason. Maybe, just maybe, some of these people who are complaining about piracy in the ST market do so because their products just are selling well. It's easier to blame piracy than admit failure. [Other valid comments deleted for space considerations] Brian Walker One of these programs is not like the others, walkerb@tramp.colorado.edu One of these programs will really teach yer, ..!ncar!boulder!tramp!walkerb One of these programs is not like the others, University of Colorado, Boulder Yes, that's not a bug, that's a feature.