EA: "Pirates are a marketplace"

EA CEO John Riccitiello has commented that he thinks of game pirates as nothing but a currently untapped section of the market, rather than as a real opponent to sales.

What's more, EA is currently searching for ways to exploit that market and generate profit from it, rather than fighting back at it through DRM and copy protection systems.

The key, Riccitiello claims, may be using downloadable content packs (both free and premium) to generate more profit and help drive customers towards legitimate purchases rather than illegal copies.

"They can steal the disc, but they can't steal the DLC," he said in an interview with Kotaku.

"The consumer seems to really like this idea that there is extra stuff...The consumer wants more, and when you give them more or sell them more it seems to be extremely well received," he added.

"I don't think anybody should pirate anything," he said. "I believe in the artistry of the people who build [the games industry.] I profoundly believe that. And when you steal from us, you steal from them. Having said that, there's a lot of people who do."

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