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I checked both this article and the articles referenced in it and could not find a single place where they back that number up with any hard research. Willing to bet there wasn't any.

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Here is an article from a developer that provided information on piracy numbers (and claimed 70 - 90% on a DRM free game): http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2008/11/acrying-shame-world-of...

edit: source of the 90% (or revised 82%): http://2dboy.com/2008/11/13/90/ (sorry bsphil!)

Which is also a completely unsourced number.

It's an estimate with a solid base: http://2dboy.com/2008/11/13/90/

Sorry, wasn't able to find that from the original link. I take back my last comment.

I guess it boils down to how many of those pirates you think were ever potential customers. Assuming piracy was theoretically impossible, how many would've purchased it rather than not play at all?

Not many, I'd make a completely un-verifiable estimate of 5% or less.

From the article, "...a lot of smart people have been questioning the accuracy of our 90% estimate, and with good reason, it’s a very rough estimate and the measurements are flawed."

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