In the United States, when we think of software piracy on such a broad level that it might actually destroy an industry, usually our focus shifts to countries in Asia. We think of countries such as: Japan, China, India, etc. — we hardly ever consider South America. Mostly, this is simply due to our own ignorance and the limited amount of media exposure we get in this country to other areas of the world, but now, in the age of the Internet, that’s hardly an excuse not to see what’s going on.

Video games are an expensive hobby — for PC gamers, it’s even more so. When you adjust for inflation, it’s plain to see that the price of consoles have come down quite a bit. In 1977, an Atari 2600 cost $199 — that kind of scratch would almost net you a Wii, these days. For a few dollars more, you could own a new Xbox 360 Arcade at only $279. In the PC gaming world, however, this kind of cash would just about cover the cost of a decent video card — and that’s just one component. You still need some RAM, a case with good air flow, a capable motherboard, and a CPU — none of this is cheap. If you already have most of the components you’ll need to build a new system, you can usually save yourself a few hundred bucks, but for the modern-PC gamer who’s just starting out, you’re looking to spend over $1000, easily. Oh, and don’t forget the monitor!