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| Dead Trigger for Android free due to high piracy rates |
| By Thom Holwerda on 2012-07-23 12:57:06 |
| Without giving any detailed information, Madfinger Games announced that because the piracy rates of their game Dead Trigger were so high on Android, they made the game available for free. This sucks balls. I'm interested in more detailed statistics, especially where, exactly, the piracy rate is highest, considering you can only get paid Google Play applications in 31 countries, and then, often only with a credit card (which many people outside of the US don't have and/or use). It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if those piracy rates mostly come from places without paid applications support and/or with lousy payment options. In any case, Google needs to get its act together with the Play Store. |
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| RE[6]: What about kids? |
| By 0brad0 on 2012-07-23 21:52:16 |
|
> This is pretty much a U.S. phenomenon. Even in Canada, there is nothing like the "VISA debit" cards you see in the US. Debit cards and credit cards are very different animals. If a merchant only accepts credit, debit card carriers are out-of-luck. Not true. Over the last 2 years VISA debit cards have come to Canada as well. |
 - Score: 3 |
| RE: |
| By kurkosdr on 2012-07-23 22:05:27 |
|
I HATE having to use a credit card to buy from Market/Play Store. Of course, I use a prepaid card, but the problem is that I have to load a minimum of 30Euros in the card. So if I want to by a 3Euro game and my prepaid card is low, I will actually have to give 30Euros. Sure, 27 Euros will remain in the card, but I would prefer to have them in coins and banknotes. Google should implement some kind of a gift card. And yes, I have never, ever pirated an Android app (despite having never having bought a music CD or a movie DVD or PC software). For some reason, when stuff is offered at reasonable prices and when you witness the closed-ness of the iPhone, you don't have the urge to exploit the openess of your device to pirate. Edited 2012-07-23 22:10 UTC |
| - Score: 1 |
| RE[5]: What about kids? |
| By Bobthearch on 2012-07-24 00:32:27 |
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In "the States" you get a debit card every time you open a checking account. My bank uses Visa, but I suppose there are others that use Mastercard instead. Use the debit card just like a credit card, at any place that accepts credit cards, and the purchase is deducted right from the checking account. I can't imagine paying cash for everything. Cash is easily lost, stolen, and destroyed. Take a vacation or make a major shopping trip to town and you'd have to have hundreds, or thousands, of dollars in cash. Who carries that much cash around nowadays? It's especially difficult, or at least inconvenient, to even buy gas (petrol) without a Visa/Mastercard since any modern station has pay-at-the-pump. Many stations ~only~ have pay-at-the-pump, especially late at night. Interesting to learn that other countries' banking habits and customs are so different. I've been to Australia a few times and banking seems very similar to the U.S. system, with credit/debit cards being very common. |
| - Score: 2 |
| RE[4]: What about kids? |
| By JAlexoid on 2012-07-24 01:06:59 |
|
Irony is that in NL it's a total PITA that people don't have a real option for a web payment enabled debit card(like Visa virtual - http://www.visaeurope.com/en/car... ) Or at least, I haven't noticed when I was there. |
| - Score: 2 |
| RE[7]: What about kids? |
| By JAlexoid on 2012-07-24 01:09:14 |
| It depends on the bank. Banks choose to enable internet transactions or not. Too many want the security of a CC, before they allow you to pay online. |
| - Score: 3 |
| RE[7]: What about kids? |
| By JAlexoid on 2012-07-24 01:12:03 |
| Virtuon is backed by the same system that backs Visa's CC online payments. Debit cards usually are managed exclusively by the banks. (That is true in Lithuania as is in most Europe) |
| - Score: 3 |
| RE[6]: What about kids? |
| By Alfman on 2012-07-24 01:35:34 |
|
Bobthearch, "Cash is easily lost, stolen, and destroyed. Take a vacation or make a major shopping trip to town and you'd have to have hundreds, or thousands, of dollars in cash. Who carries that much cash around nowadays?" Ah yes, but who has a credit card and hasn't been denied transactions on the card due to "suspicious activity" while on vacation? I've been seeing more and more of these false positives in recent years. Once I even had my ATM account disabled and I could not withdraw money to pay my rent. This was on a friday and I called my bank to beg them to access my own money and they refused to do anything about it until monday...needless to say, my rent was late and I was extremely upset. But that's the truth, if you don't have cash, your money is at the whim of somebody else. And you can't even blame the companies for eyeing purchases with such suspicion, so called "identify theft" is rampant given the inherent insecurity behind our payment systems in the US. Use the card at a restaurant, it can be trivially copied with a pen, smartphone camera, or even carbon paper. There are even reports of credit card skimmers at gas stations and ATMs where the credit card is copied without ever leaving your hand. This is because US credit cards are stuck in the past, decades behind state of the art cryptography. Who knows when the US will finally adapt secure charge cards? Probably when they finally come around to using metric [/sarcasm]. "It's especially difficult, or at least inconvenient, to even buy gas (petrol) without a Visa/Mastercard since any modern station has pay-at-the-pump. Many stations ~only~ have pay-at-the-pump, especially late at night." Really? I've seen the exact opposite, here in new york state many gas stations are encouraging cash use because high merchant fees on card transactions are skimming away at profit margins. |
| - Score: 3 |
| RE[7]: What about kids? |
| By Bobthearch on 2012-07-24 01:49:27 |
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I don't disagree with any of your comments on credit card security. While I've never had a card shut off in mid-transaction, I've seen it happen. re gas stations: If you're paying cash at many stations you have to go in, wait in line, and pre-pay for fuel. Then after fueling you have to go back in, stand in line again, and wait for change or a receipt. By comparison, using the card at the pump is very fast and easy. Furthermore, it protects the station owners from drive-offs (people pumping fuel and not paying). And, as I mentioned, many stations are unattended at night (some stations don't have clerks at all) and the only way to get fuel is by inserting a Visa/Mastercard at the pump. As a result, you really need a card for traveling. You can't even make a motel reservation, even if paying cash, without giving a credit card number. Pretty sure airline tickets and rental cars are the same situation. |
| - Score: 2 |
| read the reviews |
| By stabbyjones on 2012-07-24 02:02:17 |
| This game was not only crap, but was also double dipping by making it almost impossible to finish without paying more for upgrades. |
| - Score: 3 |
| RE: What about kids? |
| By izomiac on 2012-07-24 02:20:24 |
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I suspect this is the major reason. I'm an American and before I went to college I didn't have a credit card (technically Visa Debit). I did buy games in stores, but was unable to do so online. Perhaps modern children have the option of buying prepaid cards, but if not then piracy may be their best option for acquiring the game. I know I wouldn't want to justify every purchase to my parents and borrow their credit card (or explain when the monthly cell phone bill came in). Of course, does it really matter? If you can't buy the game then you aren't a potential customer. It'll show up in the piracy rate, but popularity will increase and sales will likely increase. OTOH, it's a poor business decision to market toward those who cannot buy your product. You can either provide more payment options or market toward a demographic who can use your preferred payment method. |
| - Score: 1 |
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