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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

#41

Post by evilduck »

AlexBlom wrote: post #29

This amazes me. What I find more amazing is that there is 1) Not a way to detect and brick these installations and that 2) Apple allows users in the Game Center without associating with a purchased e-mail address (or an alias, for multi person households). The motivation of pirates interests me. I can't see anybody with an iOS device and plan optimizing a 99c expense - surely the motivation would be deeper, and would…

The current iPod Touch can be had for under $200 refurbed, well within the means of a teenager, where a few dozen apps increases the total cost by a significant percentage. An iPhone with a data plan is 10x more expensive.

Re: The huge success of an AppStore failure

#42

Post by roc »

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.

Nope. Take a peek at Home Sharing.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3819

Re: The huge success of an AppStore failure

#43

Post by eropple »

evilduck wrote: post #40
eropple wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Huh, had no idea you could load multiple Apple IDs onto a single device. Learn something new every day.

Re: The huge success of an AppStore failure

#45

Post by robtoo »

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.

An iPhone, with the required data plan, is an everyday purchase.

You need to rethink and reword this.

Re: The huge success of an AppStore failure

#46

Post by mechanical_fish »

lubos76 wrote: post #27
mechanical_fish wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

whining won't get you sales Are you sure? It drives page views. I mean, I had never heard of this game until this HN post, and I never would have heard of it otherwise. There are many, many thousands of alternatives in the App Store, and I don't play a lot of games. So why stop complaining, necessarily? It doesn't cost much, and it helps your paying customers feel righteous, which provides additional value for the do…

You're talking like it was planned by the authors of the game. What you're describing might happen but doesn't have to necessarily. I'm sure the authors would be happier if there is 80% of paying customers not 7% and they wouldn't have to blog about that.

The number of freeloaders may not be planned, but the blogging is most definitely planned. Nobody is being forced to write a blog post.

The authors have the option to ignore the freeloaders. Most software publishers do, or there would be little room in industry publications for anything else. This genre of complaint goes all the way back to Bill Gates in 1976:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Letter_to_Hobbyists

Perhaps it's better to focus on something else (as Bill Gates eventually did) rather than tilting at a thirty-five-year-old windmill. Unless, of course, windmill-tilting looks like a useful news hook.

Re: The huge success of an AppStore failure

#47

Post by mrcharles »

roc wrote: post #42
mrcharles wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Nope. Take a peek at Home Sharing. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3819

Interesting. Well, be that as it may, I'm still surprised that Apple doesn't track the owning iTunes account, and validate it. I'm cool with shared games, I think that functionality is great, but I should, as a dev, still be able to expect GameCenter to refuse data from pirated apps.

Seems like it would be trivial to log both the owning itunes account and the user itunes account for those systems.

Re: The huge success of an AppStore failure

#48

Post by funkah »

Unfortunately, the reality is that we’ve collected less than $800 in sales for FingerKicks, and Apple’s policies (or lack thereof) are the primary reason for the huge losses.

Wow, I really have to disagree -- piracy is the primary reason for the losses. Even if the Game Center app worked the way the author wished, I don't see how that leads to more sales of their game.

It would have given the developer a more realistic idea of how many people bought the game, and that's certainly useful. But does that really put more money in their pocket?

Re: The huge success of an AppStore failure

#49

Post by Total_Meltdown »

robtoo wrote: post #45
Total_Meltdown wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

An iPhone, with the required data plan, is an everyday purchase. You need to rethink and reword this.

I said what I meant. When you buy an iPhone, not only are you paying for the hardware, you're committing to a monthly fee. A $0.99 app is not even a day of cell service, let alone a 2 year phone contract.

Re: The huge success of an AppStore failure

#50

Post by sedev »

seanalltogether wrote: post #14
programminggeek wrote: post #7

I don't think developers understand that pirates aren't customers, they are thieves. It is a crime of opportunity. If they can just take something for free they will, because they are probably 10-20 years old and they don't have enough disposable income to make buying a game easier than pirating one. So, they trade their extra time for their lack of money and go the pirated route even though it's a PITA. Yes, there i…

While I agree, I think this boils down to a broken windows argument. Is it better to spend some money dealing with piracy, or not worry about it at all.

That one, I think, has a consensus: spend some money on anti-piracy features. Spend more than zero, but as little as you can get away with. Don't make an app that's trivial to pirate - but don't spend more than trivial amounts of time trying to deal with the people who do pirate your app. Work on the next actual project. As gratifying as it may sometimes be, punishing pirates is not building revenue, skills, or adoption. Focus on those three things, and spend as little time on anti-piracy measures as you can.
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