>By the way, I also find it really interesting that video games are software, a special kind of software that we assign a very particular type of value to that's not really monetary.
Video games may be software, but they're consumed in a way that's much more similar to music or video. Video games aren't a mean to an end like other kinds of software, but instead is an experience to be enjoyed simply through the consumption of it.
We treat the copyright on print material in the same way. The laws are the same for a technical reference for an exotic piece of hardware as they are for the latest Dan Brown novel. In reality they aren't related at all except for the fact that they are a collection of words put together. They may not even be on the same media (one may be a PDF and the other a chunk of dead tree with ink stains).
Video games may be software, but they're consumed in a way that's much more similar to music or video. Video games aren't a mean to an end like other kinds of software, but instead is an experience to be enjoyed simply through the consumption of it.