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The huge success of an AppStore failure

blog.gameized.com

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Re: The huge success of an AppStore failure

#31

Post by flixic »

Jhon_bxl wrote: post #26

I don't get it. What's the real reason people hack a game that doesn't even cost a single dollar ? I often read the lack of income as a motivation, here on HN as well, but come on... If you don't have even a dollar for entertainment, how did you manage to get an iPhone ? I don't think that's the real reason. So, what's the thrill ? Is it just an habit to get as much free stuff as you can ? Or do people just not care…

Neven Mrgan, developer of The Incident game, tried confronting AppTrackr community: http://mrgan.tumblr.com/post/1440586319/the-incident-crack

In the end, pirates really don't care. They crack without guilt, appeal to "it's just one dollar" doesn't matter (1/0 = free version is infinitely cheaper, and in this way doesn't generate any attachment to purchasing decision), and even personal approach from developer is taken as a little joke.

Re: The huge success of an AppStore failure

#32

Post by eropple »

scythe wrote: post #30
Total_Meltdown wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's like assuming that owning a Ferrari means you can afford to eat at a $20 restaurant meal every night. Fixed that for you. iPhones are a luxury item. Cellphones are arguably necessary, but nobody's forcing you to drop $400 on a smartphone when there are perfectly free (subsidized) feature phones on every single carrier. So yeah, I agree with the assumption that iPhone users have a little extra cash to burn. Edi…

...did you just equate an iPhone with a Ferrari, or am I missing some fundamental point of comparison here? iPhones and other Apple products are not very expensive. They're not the cheapest products on the market, but that isn't really the point; Homo economicus ( http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=2095 ) might consider it a luxury item, but that just doesn't describe the purchasing decisions and ethos of the vast majori…

A Ferrari is certainly not a fair comparison, but if you can afford an iPhone, you can afford a $0.99 application if you actually want it.

And if you can't? Do without. Don't pirate it. This is really not a hard concept: give those who create what you enjoy their due, or do without.

Re: The huge success of an AppStore failure

#33

Post by mrcharles »

timeuser wrote: post #20
mrcharles wrote: post #13

The piracy numbers don't surprise me; as a long time game developer, I've come to expect that kind of piracy turnout. What surprises me is that gamecenter allows cracked apps to appear on leaderboards. Maybe I'm missing something, but since gamecenter requires an iTunes account, and iTunes knows what apps you've purchased, why would gamecenter allow data from iTunes accounts it knows don't own the game?

It's really not a one-to-one. You are allowed to purchase an app and install it on multiple devices, say for your family members. There may be several AppleIDs that could legitimately play a game besides the one that purchased it.

Really? I was under the impression that you had to have the owning iTunes account to install an app on a device.

Re: The huge success of an AppStore failure

#34

Post by scythe »

eropple wrote: post #32
scythe wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...did you just equate an iPhone with a Ferrari, or am I missing some fundamental point of comparison here? iPhones and other Apple products are not very expensive. They're not the cheapest products on the market, but that isn't really the point; Homo economicus ( http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=2095 ) might consider it a luxury item, but that just doesn't describe the purchasing decisions and ethos of the vast majori…

A Ferrari is certainly not a fair comparison, but if you can afford an iPhone, you can afford a $0.99 application if you actually want it. And if you can't? Do without. Don't pirate it. This is really not a hard concept: give those who create what you enjoy their due, or do without.

People spend money in different ways when you're looking at a once-every-few-years purchase as opposed to an everyday purchase. Someone's perception of whether they can afford an application vs a phone is not evaluated solely on price.

This isn't about morals, it's about economics. I'm not saying you should pirate things you can't afford, I'm saying that buying an iPhone is not a guarantee of being well-off, even absent the 'gift' factor.

Re: The huge success of an AppStore failure

#35

Post by Total_Meltdown »

scythe wrote: post #34
eropple wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A Ferrari is certainly not a fair comparison, but if you can afford an iPhone, you can afford a $0.99 application if you actually want it. And if you can't? Do without. Don't pirate it. This is really not a hard concept: give those who create what you enjoy their due, or do without.

People spend money in different ways when you're looking at a once-every-few-years purchase as opposed to an everyday purchase. Someone's perception of whether they can afford an application vs a phone is not evaluated solely on price. This isn't about morals, it's about economics. I'm not saying you should pirate things you can't afford, I'm saying that buying an iPhone is not a guarantee of being well-off, even abs…

But an app isn't an everyday purchase either. An iPhone, with the required data plan, is an everyday purchase. The hardware is more expensive once, and the plan is more expensive every month. Apps are purchased once.

Re: The huge success of an AppStore failure

#36

Post by pilif »

eropple wrote: post #25
pilif wrote: post #12

The OP is complaining about Game Center being usable for pirated games. The problem there is though: How would Apple be able to find out that your installation is pirated? Checking the signature? That can be patched out. Make it so that only accounts who have bought a game can be used in Game Center? That's the obvious solution, but it would really hur people sharing an itunes account in a household. My girlfriend al…

Why not check the Apple account? If it's in your purchase history, you're validated; otherwise, no.

that was my point: At the moment the Game Center account doesn't have to be the account used for purchase. The reason for that is account sharing within the same household.

Re: The huge success of an AppStore failure

#37

Post by scythe »

Total_Meltdown wrote: post #35
scythe wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People spend money in different ways when you're looking at a once-every-few-years purchase as opposed to an everyday purchase. Someone's perception of whether they can afford an application vs a phone is not evaluated solely on price. This isn't about morals, it's about economics. I'm not saying you should pirate things you can't afford, I'm saying that buying an iPhone is not a guarantee of being well-off, even abs…

But an app isn't an everyday purchase either. An iPhone, with the required data plan, is an everyday purchase. The hardware is more expensive once, and the plan is more expensive every month. Apps are purchased once.

>But an app isn't an everyday purchase either.

Not for you, not for me; can you say that for everyone?

Data plans are irrelevant. I could well point out car insurance in the ancestor analogy.

EDIT: Allow me to clarify. A phone is a decision made once. The data plan, the price of the phone, these are all taken into account at the time the purchasing decision is made. Applications are a long chain of decisions which are each approached individually.

Re: The huge success of an AppStore failure

#38

Post by ntkachov »

mrcharles wrote: post #33
timeuser wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's really not a one-to-one. You are allowed to purchase an app and install it on multiple devices, say for your family members. There may be several AppleIDs that could legitimately play a game besides the one that purchased it.

Really? I was under the impression that you had to have the owning iTunes account to install an app on a device.

You do, But as me and my lady do, She uses my iTunes account on her phone to purchase apps, But I think she uses her own account for gamecenter.

Re: The huge success of an AppStore failure

#39

Post by GFischer »

smiley325 wrote: post #15
mattmcknight wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they can't afford a 99c game, how did they afford an iOS device? I think it is more unwillingness- since some software is free, some people resent paying for any software. (They probably don't get HBO on their cable TV either...)

I think the majority of people in the 10-20 year old age group get their iOS devices "for free" from their parents, and don't want to negotiate with said parents every time they want to buy an app.

That's an interesting angle, and a market opportunity I guess :)

99 cents might not sound like much, but I guess they might want to try out hundreds of such games (well, I suppose there are free ones - I don't own an iPhone and they aren't even available by the main carrier in my country).

Re: The huge success of an AppStore failure

#40

Post by evilduck »

eropple wrote: post #25
pilif wrote: post #12

The OP is complaining about Game Center being usable for pirated games. The problem there is though: How would Apple be able to find out that your installation is pirated? Checking the signature? That can be patched out. Make it so that only accounts who have bought a game can be used in Game Center? That's the obvious solution, but it would really hur people sharing an itunes account in a household. My girlfriend al…

Why not check the Apple account? If it's in your purchase history, you're validated; otherwise, no.

Because you can legitimately install apps from multiple AppleIDs on a single device, and thus, are able to play a game purchased from one account while logging into Game Center with another. Apple could obviously stop that, but it would probably anger more legitimate purchasers than it would convert pirates into customers.
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