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App Store Developer Speaks Out On Game Piracy

Posted by Soulskill on from the arr-me-hearties dept.

theguythatwrotethisthing sends in a write-up of his experience releasing an iPhone game on the App Store. By using a software flag to distinguish between high scores submitted by pirates and those submitted by users who purchased the game, the piracy rate is estimated at around 80% during the first week after release. Since a common excuse for piracy is "try before you buy," they also looked at the related iPhone DeviceIDs to see how many of the pirates went on to purchase the game. None of them did.

3 of 762 comments (clear)

  1. Re:First pirate! by commodore64_love · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    P.S.

    Corporations like you are just mad because back in Asimov's day, if 99% of what he bought was trash that was just tough shit for Isaac. They didn't give refunds. NOW the balance of power is tipping towards the consumer, where the consumer can weed-out 99% of the junk (via try before you buy) and only buy the top 1% of books/songs/videos he enjoys. This loss of power scares corporations. It means the consumers no longer have to waste their limited dollars.

    One final thought -

    The average American carries about $10,000 in credit card debt. And let's assume piracy no longer exists. How do you, the corporation, propose to suck more dollars from consumer wallets, when they are already empty??? The consumers have already spent all they have.

    --
    "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
  2. Re:Didn't think App Store piracy was that big by tepples · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Of *course* [developing a video codec or anything else patented that all citizens are expected to use is] fucking HARD WORK! That's why people expect to get paid for it!

    So people should just join the Amish because electronic technology is "fucking HARD WORK!" How do I misunderstand you?

    your video game example is retarded. Computers exist... right?

    PCs exist. Gaming PCs exist. Gaming PCs for house guests exist, but only in commercially insignificant numbers. How many video game consoles are connected to a television? How many PCs are connected to a television?

  3. Re:His game: Tap-Fu SUCKS. Thats why it didnt sell by Jackie_Chan_Fan · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Wow I was modded flamebait?

    There was nothing flamebait about it. Hmmm...