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Sandy Petersen says piracy crippled studios, cites high Doom and AoE piracy rates

A nostalgia post on X asking if people pirated games drew a lengthy reply from designer Sandy Petersen. Petersen said piracy killed companies including Atari, Amiga, Cinemaware and 3D Realms, and claimed 70–90% of Doom players and about 50% of Age of Empires players pirated copies. He rejected the "try before you buy" defence, noting both games offered free content to sample.

• Petersen claims 70–90% of Doom players pirated the game
• Around 50% of Age of Empires copies were allegedly pirated
• Said piracy helped shut down Atari, Amiga, Cinemaware and 3D Realms
• Rejected "try before you buy" and noted Doom/AoE free demo content