Image from Sims 3 game

There’s more disturbing news today for those who respect property rights and understand the importance of providers receiving economic returns for their goods: piracy of the Electronic Arts Inc. game The Sims 3 reached 180,000 illegal downloads in just four days, May 18-21, prior to its scheduled sale date today, Bloomberg News reports.

Fully 41 percent of all PC software installed last year was pirated, the Bloomberg story reports.

As with any good or service, video games, software, and other cultural items won’t get made and distributed if people cannot make a living from them. Hence piracy on this level poses a serious danger to the culture and the economy.

–S. T. Karnick