Way I see it, if I get a bootleg, play it, and if I REALLY love the game, I will buy it. Same with music. If I've downloaded a CD, decided that it is really worth $15, I go buy it. Sometimes even twice (as with the new Cure album, I bought it on both CD and vinyl). Problem is, most the time, things aren't worth what they cost. I rarely buy games for more than $20. But if I see a new game for less than $10, even if it is some crap title that I would otherwise not be interested in, I usualy end up buying it. (Like Super Bubble Pop for GCN. Got it for $9.88 new at Wal-Mart.) If I see a good game used for $5 or less, and the disc isn't scratched to hell, I buy it for the same reason. But it all comes down to, after paying all my bills and buying gas, I only have about $70 to play with each month. Do I want to blow that all on one game, or do I want to take my fiancé out to dinner for $30 (or twice even when Irish Exchange has their good specials where we get out for less than $14 after a hefty tip), spend about $15 on books, and blow the rest at Record Exchange or CD/Game Exchange (they used to be the same company until the owners split it up and went their separate ways) on $2.50 and $5 used DVD's and $5 games (and even the occasional $10 used game if it is a title I've been after for a while) or hit Wal-Mart and get some new DVD's out of the $5.50 bin?
Plus, my attention span is so short when it comes to games these days, $50 is a waste. Hell, with how shitty a lot of games have been lately, even $5 is a waste. Even a 25 cent CDR is a waste sometimes.