i wouldnt say that piracy is a big factor, while yes games on the new consoles are rippable, the piracy is no where near as bad as the pc game market. just over the past few years square has made A LOT of bad buisness decisions that hurt them immensely. They are finally starting to get their crap together and following suit to other developers like namco, tri-ace, and others and supporting multi-platform releases (PC,XBX, PS3). This will increase their profit margins greatly.
i honestly feel the whole exclusive crap for platforms has got to stop. i could care less if a game was exclusive to one platform or another. Sony was banking on MGS4 boosting the PS3 to number 1 status, well look how well that backfired on them. Kojima actually wanted a multi-platform release for MGS4 to increase profits, but he couldnt due to the contract agreement with Sony. In turn, his next metal gear project is gonna be multi-platform (PC, XBX and PS3). how bout that...