Filed under: Gaming, Software, Hacks, Apple, Developer, iPhone, App Store
iPhone app claims 95% piracy rate
With all of the success stories coming out of the App Store, it's been pretty easy to forget the problem of piracy for most developers. Not so for Fishlabs, who've posted over on the Touch Arcade forums that their latest game, Rally Master Pro 3D, is experiencing a 95% piracy rate. You read that right: supposedly 95% of the people playing the game on the iPhone haven't paid for it. There's probably a multitude of reasons why that is -- the app is $7 with no trial version, it's not a super-popular app quite yet (so one pirated copy on a popular message board is probably traveling farther than the copies coming off of the official App Store), and there are probably at least a few other factors in the mix that we don't know yet. Still, 95% is obviously pretty darn high for a platform that's supposed to only deliver software through Apple's official store.
Now, fortunately Fishlabs doesn't sound litigious -- they're not pulling the old "piracy = lost sales" fallacy that many companies in this situation would do. They are lowering the price on the app -- they expected it to be worth more, but apparently their consumer base seems to disagree. They tell Mobile Entertainment that they'd entertain the idea of providing content only through Apple's in-app purchasing service (presumably, that would prevent piracy by locking down the extra content), but they also say that's a gamble they've tried and missed on other platforms before.
Of course, it'll take more than one post on one message board to make hay out of the problem of app piracy -- it definitely happens, but on the other hand, there certainly are apps selling well, and there are also apps not selling well that don't have this level of piracy going on. Apple already has lots of authentication and validation processes in place, but if app piracy is this big a problem for everyone, they may need to look at more.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
9600baud said 3:05PM on 10-28-2009
People are not willing to shell out money for a game with an ubiquitous name, from an unknown publisher, in a super saturated environment, and that doesnt look like it brings anything new to the table? Shocking.
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Eli said 3:19PM on 10-28-2009
I think the thing I like most about reading these iPhone piracy articles is the lengths people will go to rationalize piracy. The J2ME version of Rally Master Pro was Pocket Gamer's game of the year for 2008. Don't steal from developers because you're too lazy to type the name of a game in to Google.
CP said 3:14PM on 10-28-2009
No problem! There is an easy solution...
Anticrack http://www.drobnik.com/touch/anticrack makes pirating much harder and every time a hacker finds a way around the prevention mechanisms, the developers are quick to release an updated version (to keep the hackers on their toes)!
More importantly Anticrack allows me to choose what level of prevention I want to implement per app. For example I could implement it such that I allow a pirated copy but with reduced features, or include AdMob advertising so I recoup money back that way. Best of all I can drive sales by providing a link the App Store converting some of the pirated copies into direct sales!
Last and not least its donation ware!!! So whatever you donate you get back several times over!
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JKT said 3:31PM on 10-28-2009
I feel as if I'm missing out on an entire side of the iPhone. Mine is jailbroken but I have zero pirated apps on it. Why? First, I wouldn't know where to get them (though I assume torrents) or how to install them. Second, why bother learning how? Apps cost a buck or two. My time is far more valuable than that. $2 is far less than the amount of change lost in my couch...why bother pirating for that? Even at $5 or $10, it's still not worth my time (or risk) to track down a pirated version and hope it's not malware that will trash my iPhone. And finally, the one $20 app I own, an English/French dictionary, was worth every penny during my trip to France, so I don't begrudge the authors the money.
To my knowledge, nobody I know has any pirated apps either. And I'm in I.T., where we generally tend to have a few of those.
95%? Really? Until I hear more about this story, I'm dubious.
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Farris said 3:47PM on 10-28-2009
There is an app in Cydia that adds a couple of repositories to allow you to install cracked games directly from Cydia. A quick Google search should be enough to find it.
I had it on my phone, but uninstalled it pretty quickly. There's no reason for it unless you want Navigon or TomTom. Everything is pretty fairly priced on the App Store other than those two.
puhsitch said 5:31PM on 10-28-2009
I think it's because most of the pirating is being done by kids who pirate for the sake of pirating - and/or haven't quite gotten to that developmental point yet where they might actually consider uttering the words "my time is too valuable to waste on something like this."
THJ said 5:38PM on 10-28-2009
A teen with an iPod Touch and no credit card or job is a prime example of someone who would pirate apps.
Jed said 3:32PM on 10-28-2009
The solution is quite simple; let power iPhone users do what they want with their device without having to jailbreak it. Allow for uncensored apps on the App Store, and let apps run in the background, both on a user-preference basis (IMHO, the two main reasons why I jail-broke, and probably many others like me). Without legitimate purpose the jailbreakers will dry up, and piracy will drop as no one will be able to hack their devices.
That is, in my ideal world, where people were willing to spend $1.99 on hours of entertainment while drinking their $3.99 coffee, and where Apple cared enough about 3rd party developers to do something useful.
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KP said 4:09PM on 10-28-2009
I have always been jailbroken and never bothered to find out how to pirate apps. I am very sad to see jailbreaking being used to steal content which is readily available for sale, because a) it's morally wrong and b) increases the pressure on Apple to prevent jailbreaking in the future.
Jailbreaking serves an important purpose -- to get the features Apple refuses to give us. But to steal something that is readily available in the App Store just because you don't want to pay for it is just wrong and discredits the honest efforts of the dev team to give us the freedom to control our own phones.
THJ said 5:45PM on 10-28-2009
Along the same lines, I think there should be a lane on all interstates for the professional drivers - no speed limits, signs, or noobs allowed. Of course, it will be left to the drivers to determine how pro they are.
Brian said 3:34PM on 10-28-2009
Rubbish, either a really bad app that only 1 person bought or the figures are just wrong. Proof ?
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Daryl said 4:04PM on 10-28-2009
Mike you have been punked. Congratulations.
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Jack Chance said 4:09PM on 10-28-2009
what % of iPhones are jailbroken?
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Rob W said 4:45PM on 10-28-2009
Firstly, I haven't pirated this app and my iPod touch isn't jailbroken, but this app is not available in the New Zealand iTunes Store. Maybe the pirated copies are from potential customers unable to purchase a legal copy?
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markjaquith said 5:37PM on 10-28-2009
I call BS on their methodology. There can be up to 5 legitimate UUIDs using an app for every given sale, due to the app sharing that is possible in iTunes. My wife has an iPod Touch and I legally share my apps with her device, since both devices are tied to the same account.
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Joe said 5:47AM on 10-29-2009
@15: I see where you're trying to go but how many households have more than 2 iphones? Most poeple are aware they can license 5 computers but I doubt they are giving their friends and colleagues the same level of access like family would have.
ljocampo said 7:32PM on 10-28-2009
For Mac users the compromise is a simple no brainer. Use the status bar to move browser windows around the desktop and the title bar for tabs. All Cocoa application windows can be moved from the bottom.
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BeyondtheTech said 7:36PM on 10-28-2009
Unfortunately, it's just too easy to find pirates iPhone games on the net. A simple Google search with a common word such as "rapidshare," "megaupload," or "torrent" puts you in touch with a lot of sites and forums you don't even need to register to see. It's so rampant and obvious that the only recourse is to use anti-piracy methods such as AntiCrack or use In-App Purchases.
With all hot, new titles, I've stuck it in the BargainBin app and wait for it to drop at least $1 before I purchase it. Maybe it's just my nature, but I always feel better when I can get it at a discount, even if I have to wait a while to get it. This game is on my list, but with a piracy rate like that, I don't forsee getting a Push Notification anytime soon. :(
Apple really needs to step up their game and make FairPlay 3.0 a lot harder to deal with, or (gulp) clamp down on jailbreaking once and for all.
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ljocampo said 7:44PM on 10-28-2009
Sorry about that irrelevant comment above. I don't how that happened. It must be a Halloween ghost of an old post.
Anyway: 95% of nothing is still nothing. How are we to judge the severity of the piracy with nothing to base the percentage on?
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Bugnote said 7:55PM on 10-28-2009
Jailbroken but never pirated? Yeah, okay, and I've got a cock and never masturbated.
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