One thing nobody has mentioned is that people often feel ripped off by the people selling the software. I think this is a big factor in stealing music. Who cares if you steal a song from a rich cokehead singer right? So who cares if you steal a $50 game from EA, right? the last $50 game you bought legally was a piece of crap. So I think good customer service and PR would cut down on some piracy.
I have seen some of the stuff they sell in Russia, it is outrageous, and they sell it openly on the street. I saw an entire package of microsoft software selling for a fraction of what it should cost. But I think its different in the US. You actually have to work a little harder to get pirated stuff. I think it makes some people feel cool, They feel that they are hacking into the matrix when really all they are doing is shoplifting. So I think that these people also feel like they are fighting against Microsoft, EA games or whatever big evil company they are stealing software from. So maybe Indie games have some immunity from this, and maybe some good PR will reduce piracy. In a town where I use to live one of the movie theaters use to get constantly trashed by people. The manager started getting up before each movie and asking people politely to not make such a mess and keep their feet off the chairs, and it worked. people got to know him and it is hard to trash something when someone personally asks you not to. So I think someone from a software company needs to try to develop good relations with people who are using the product.
But some people will always steal because they can.