《毀滅戰士》《雷神之錘》《帝國時代》等經典遊戲的締造者桑迪·彼得森近日猛烈抨擊盜版玩家，直言正是這些人"葬送"了多家知名工作室。不過，這位傳奇設計師的這番言論未能獲得廣大網友的積極反應，反而被全球玩家上了一堂歷史課。
1988年至2012年間從業的彼得森在帖文中毫不留情。他聲稱，盜版行為導致工作室資金枯竭，最終令雅達利、Amiga、Cinemaware和3D Realms等公司走向毀滅。據他透露，70%到90%的玩家通過非法途徑下載《毀滅戰士》，而至少50%的《帝國時代》拷貝均為盜版。並直言道：「盜版者見鬼去吧！」
F*ck pirates, as a man who designed video games from 1988 through 2012. 70-90% of Doom's players pirated it. If not for that we would literally have had so much more for our workspace and upcoming projects - Quake may not have gutted id Software. At least 50% of Age of Empires was pirated which helped lead to our MicroSoft buyout and eventual demise. And your excuses of "we have to try before we buy" are complete bullsh*t. Doom let you play a full 9 levels free. Age of Empires let you play a battle free to see how it worked. We bent over backwards to ensure you'd know what you were getting into. Damn pirates are the guys who killed game companies. like Atari, Amiga, Cinemaware, 3D Realms (Duke Nukem!) And if you're NOT a pirate, I salute you. You are a gentleman and if you ever see me at a convention, walk up and say, "Hey Sandy, I never pirated a game." and I'll buy you a drink.
然而，留言區提出有力的觀點反駁這一言論，在90年代，全球絕大多數國家根本無法通過合法途徑購買遊戲。來自前蘇聯、東歐和亞洲的用戶指出那個時代的兩大核心困境：發行渠道缺失，價格遙不可及。其他粉絲則提醒彼得森，恰恰是得益於大規模的盜版傳播，《毀滅戰士》才成為了文化現象。這款遊戲存在於每台電腦之上，營造出不可思議的熱潮，最終在人們有能力付費時，反而帶動了銷量的增長。
