I mean, Gabe is right mostly. But piracy sometimes is just a pricing issue. In a lot of poor countries piracy is more common because they cannot afford games at $59.99 USD.

Gabe couldn't really have predicted games would get where they are today, with publishers trying to normalize $70 and $80 for the basic incomplete versions in a global economy spiraling the drain, so holding his statement to today's standards isn't very fair. He's right, but things have become much more dire than he likely imagined.