> - pricing - for some kids some games are just too expensive, and they still want to play, and don't want to be left out;

Sorry, but that’s life. Saying something is too expensive but you still want it doesn’t change anything.

> - platform lock - this is more for emulation, where people don't want to buy a platform to play 1 or 2 IP;

How is this relevant? You can’t play a pirated PS5 game without buying a PS5.

This is just another variant of your argument above that people want things but don’t want to pay for them.

> but you can't assume they would be customers at the moment they get a copy.

You can’t assume that every pirate would not be a customer if they couldn’t pirate.

Which means the sales would be higher without piracy. Which means piracy hurts revenue. The rest is hand waving.

I agree that's life, but piracy is also derived from that's life.

And I'm not saying this to spite you, it comes from the same place, so much so there's a whole sub culture around it.

> You can’t assume that every pirate would not be a customer if they couldn’t pirate.

I never said that every pirate wouldn't be a customer, I'm saying the vast majority wouldn't be in the short term.

Of course I can't prove that in the long term, because what I know are anecdotes - but I'm pretty sure people develop nostalgia bonds with IP they pirated.

It would actually be an interesting study.

"Sorry, but that's life."

I can say the same. Other people don't accept the terms you do. Sorry, that's life.