One iPhone App Developers' Experience With iPhone App Pirates: Not Worth Worrying About
from the focus-on-providing-value dept
Tom was the first of a few to send in this account from the developer of the iPhone game iCombat on his experience with "pirated" versions of the app. Basically, he didn't try to block them, but put in a way to track authorized vs. unauthorized uses, and at a certain level pushed the unauthorized users to a splash page, asking them to purchase the game. His conclusion? Piracy really isn't a huge deal, and probably not worth wasting too much time trying to stop:- The goal behind launching an app isn't thwarting pirates, it is getting users and generating sales so leave the "making a point" anti-piracy measures to the big guys. The competition is so fierce to get noticed in the App store that any attention is good attention....
- In most cases there is not a direct cannibalization of your sales by people using cracked copies - unless you have a high priced niche app the cost is negligible and the market is not zero sum....
- There is a ton of anger and energy spent thinking about pirates.... this energy should be put into creating better apps and focusing on the top line potential. In my case there are design issues that I should have focused on rather than trying to spoil the pirate's experience.
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DRM As A Systemic Failure.
The rebuttal post can be found: Here. And is part of: This Thread.
Please take that web of issues and improve it if you like!
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Re: DRM As A Systemic Failure.
But with any system based on "Secrets" such as DRM, the "Secrets" eventually come out, thusly making the business focus more on creating a stronger, more robust DRM.
This is done by diverting budget from product development to DRM overhead costs. And instead of making games, music, content which people *want* to buy, dev dollars are invested in making DRM stronger, instead of the actual product.
It's a viscous self-defeating cycle, and over what? A college student who can't afford a game whose retail cost is $60.00, of which there is $25.00 in game development and another $35.00 in fully loaded DRM costs (systems/people/call center for "unlock" services)? Then what? Sue the college student for all the money they don't have?
Oh vey!
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Standardization
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iPhone is a closed system
A million years ago I used to have unregistered winzip. After trial period the software still worked albeit with a few irritating stuff (waiting + random placement of "okay" button). Nothing new.
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Piracy in the media
Unfortunately, the positions taken are always extreme - the attitudes are that is is always bad (causing people to shoot themselves in the foot) or always okay (causing people to bury their heads in the sand).
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economics...
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