>Rent-seeking implies extraction of uncompensated value from others without making any contribution to productivity. The classic example of rent-seeking, according to Robert Shiller, is that of a feudal lord who installs a chain across a river that flows through his land and then hires a collector to charge passing boats a fee (or rent of the section of the river for a few minutes) to lower the chain.
The company is the feudal lord and the chain is their claim on their IP. They made a base game for people to buy, they arranged bits in a very precise order. They sold those bits to consumers. They are not arranging the bits for mods, and yet they get the revenue for it (charging boats as they pass). It's easier to sympathize with game companies because people are indeed doing things free of charge because they like the game.
If you charge money for a mod of a game, you will get a letter from that company's lawyers.
>Rent-seeking implies extraction of uncompensated value from others without making any contribution to productivity. The classic example of rent-seeking, according to Robert Shiller, is that of a feudal lord who installs a chain across a river that flows through his land and then hires a collector to charge passing boats a fee (or rent of the section of the river for a few minutes) to lower the chain.
The company is the feudal lord and the chain is their claim on their IP. They made a base game for people to buy, they arranged bits in a very precise order. They sold those bits to consumers. They are not arranging the bits for mods, and yet they get the revenue for it (charging boats as they pass). It's easier to sympathize with game companies because people are indeed doing things free of charge because they like the game.
If you charge money for a mod of a game, you will get a letter from that company's lawyers.