GABE SAYS: "You know, if you look for examples in the PC audience, these people are spending two, three, four thousand dollars on their computers, five or six or seven hundred dollars a year on Internet connectivity.  These are people perfectly willing to spend money."
REALITY: Even the worst pirates will pay for the things that they can't steal. It's hard to stuff a PC down your pants and walk out of a store, especially if it is online. We shouldn't pretend that if people actually could easily download a killer gaming rig via the internet that the rate of PC theft wouldn't be astronomical (and still the thieves would be using the meaningless excuse that it's only because they can't get a decent product for a fair price). Ease of committing the crime is the issue here. Yes, many people who can afford to spend $5K for hardware will steal a $60 title because of weak DRM.

GABE SAYS: "Anecdotal evidence appears to suggest that DRM is increasing and not decreasing piracy."
REALITY: Toss out the contrived anecdotal evidence, we have genuine empirical evidence on the subject that demonstrates that software DRM does reduce piracy. A broad-based survey of software developers who implemented software DRM revealed an average increase in revenue of 19%. During the same sample period, combined industry growth was 6%. That yields a 13% gain from stopping piracy with proper software protection.

GABE SAYS: "DRM is perceived as a technology issue as to how do we keep customers from stealing our products. It has the opposite effect of intended."
REALITY: Maybe for really poor implementations of software DRM, but this is also true for poor implementations of any element that impacts the end user experience in any application. Developers need to address all aspects. Good DRM is proven to reduce piracy and does not impede sales.