This idea of false scarcity in the software industry is sad. We should be flying our rocket cars, and teleporting to a beach whenever we want. But we have standardized innovation to expand the pocketbook over the long term instead of leaping to a new technological breakthrough. Moore’s Law for instance.
The Wii having the ability to cause riots, same as the PS3 provoking a shoot out involving people standing in line for the release, or perhaps the days long line waiting for the initial release of the iPhone. All of this is false scarcity. Production lines based on initial sell-through can be re-engaged, if in fact they were ever disengaged. But software, of all things. It can never, ever, run short. There is instant fulfillment. Some software can even be created on-the-fly so as to encrypt a code into the source to prevent unauthorized distribution.
It is certainly another reason for me to pass on Microsoft products. Not to mention the fact they don’t allow cross-grade transfers from PC to MAC for Office. Of course, Adobe told me they don’t do that either, which I know they do. They are telling me to buy the upgrade version of CS4, from CS3. I don’t want CS4, I want the Mac version of CS3 and a cross-grade license. They told me they don’t have any “in stock” anymore because they are on version 4. What kind of software development company has no virtual copies, stored on a server, downloadable… wait; did you say downloadable? Oh, yes, like the Trial Editions of every bit of software developed by Adobe. Oh, but suddenly a black hole of digital proportions opens up and sucks old copies into it, never to be seen again.
Scarcity. False.