Right now, I can't afford to buy a classic '60s gibson guitar. That doesn't give me the license to go out and steal one, -because I want one-.
If modern AAA games are too much at $80, then don't buy them. There are significantly cheaper alternatives on PC, as well as the possibility of waiting for deals or buying used. High prices don't justify pirating.
Regardless, merely desiring something is not a justification to pirate things.
People also use sci-hub do avoid paying to publishers. Where do you draw a line?
Pirating software you can afford is a different equation (still not as bad as the theft of a physical item) but not what is being discussed.
Steam has it mostly figured out, though. Look at SteamDB at international prices and you'll discover that prices in Brazil or Russia are often a fraction of the US/EU price. Turns out selling the game for dirt cheap makes more money than not selling it.
I would say it's still unethical and wrong, regardless if we can't point to a specific entity being hurt. It is entitlement to want something for free when one can't afford it. There are -so- many games nowadays, and many of them are not even close to $60. And as mentioned, steam is generally aware of regional currency discrepancies.
And I would argue accepting or condoning pro-piracy attitudes is harmful in the long run versus accepting that one can't just take things that one wants, and paying for things when able.
Top AAA makers also get incredibly high profits while underpaying their employees. And the prices on their games go up simply because they can.