How does Valve deal with PC piracy? According to Valve director of business development Jason Holtman, it gives them what they want--and makes a lot of money doing it.

"Pirates are underserved customers," said Holtman today during a speech at the Game Business Law summit, according to GameDaily.

"When you think about it that way, you think, 'Oh my gosh, I can do some interesting things and make some interesting money off of it.'"

Holtman used Valve's success in the Russian market as an example of how piracy can be reduced by simply selling the pirates what they want--when they want it.

Explained Holtman: "Russians are reading magazines and watching television--they say 'Man, I want to play that game so bad,' but the publishers respond, 'You can play that game in six months...maybe.' "

After ensuring that its products launch simultaneously in Russia, Holtman said that Valve's piracy rates in the territory "dropped off significantly."