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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: Lots of denial here |
| By Alfman on 2012-07-24 13:46:20 |
|
ze_jerkface, "Tracking piracy isn't hard, just have the app hit a website post install with a unique id and then compare to sales." I thought of this too, but such a trivial approach will flag some false positives especially with fair use rights like loaning the software, which really isn't copyright infringement at all. One could could categorically add it to "piracy" statistics, but it wouldn't be entirely accurate. I don't know how many people loan out software on tablets, but on computers loaning out games is incredibly popular and if not accounted for might account for a significant portion of additional hits for bugged-software. Does anyone have numbers, or know whether the publishers do? I hope they don't gloss over these details, but I have a feeling they might. |
 - Score: 1 |
| RE[2]: Lots of denial here |
| By ze_jerkface on 2012-07-24 14:33:25 |
|
How many people actually loan out $1 Android games? You can also do further tracking with updates and even if you wrote off 5% as false positives you would still have a majority not paying for the games. Android and pc gaming are rife with piracy, is that just a reality that is too harsh for some of you? It's so pathetic that people here are making excuses for pirating $1 games, especially when data plans are a premium. As I said before Android piracy statistics are similar to pc gaming. Japan consistently has low piracy rates while there are countries like South Korea where they are outrageously high. It's a moral problem, too many Westerners will pay $5 for coffee but think they are entitled to free games/music/movies. |
| - Score: 2 |
| RE: Piracy Rates |
| By ze_jerkface on 2012-07-24 14:35:57 |
|
You can also look at completed torrents. PC gaming tops the piracy charts which mirrors what developers report in their tracking. Oh and you can track uninstalls. |
| - Score: 2 |
| RE[2]: Clarification |
| By ze_jerkface on 2012-07-24 14:39:05 |
|
Yes I bet all the Americans with $80 cell bills would never have bought a $1 game. Just as all the pc gaming pirates with $2000 gaming pcs never would have bought a $60 game. They all would have given up gaming and volunteered at a local hospital. People pirate because they want free stuff. That's all there is to it. |
| - Score: 2 |
| RE[3]: Lots of denial here |
| By Alfman on 2012-07-24 14:51:49 |
|
ze_jerkface, "How many people actually loan out $1 Android games? You can also do further tracking with updates and even if you wrote off 5% as false positives you would still have a majority not paying for the games. Android and pc gaming are rife with piracy, is that just a reality that is too harsh for some of you?" Perhaps they are, however if your not taking fair use, then you may be over estimating it. In fact, publishers may be over estimating it without even being aware about it. I really don't know what the numbers are, but your posts indicate that you don't either. You have to admit that you are making assumptions. I'm not saying copyright infringement isn't a problem, I'm just questioning the statistics. "It's so pathetic that people here are making excuses for pirating $1 games, especially when data plans are a premium." I can find no reason for you to respond in this manor to my post. |
| - Score: 2 |
| RE[2]: Piracy Rates |
| By Alfman on 2012-07-24 15:15:11 |
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ze_jerkface, "PC gaming tops the piracy charts which mirrors what developers report in their tracking." That may be the case, however if they haven't factored in fair use or even reinstalls, then you have to concede that the simple tracking you've proposed will catch non-infringing uses. Now maybe they do account for this, or maybe they do not, but it sounds like you don't know. It is not a big deal, just don't rush to brush the whole issue under the rug. |
| - Score: 2 |
| RE[3]: The rumour is true - automated file sharing of apps sux |
| By WorknMan on 2012-07-24 16:24:41 |
|
> So piracy would go away if Americans were more honest? Piracy is never going away. |
| - Score: 2 |
| RE[8]: What about kids? |
| By zima on 2012-07-27 09:36:02 |
|
> 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. [...] And, as I mentioned, many stations are unattended at night There is no 1st step around here. Besides, I bet that fuel stations want you to come to the cashier - because you can be drawn to buy some food or drink or snacks along the way ...I think that's even more profitable for them. Especially during the night, when they are one of the very few shops open, basically no other choices. Not like paying with debit card for that isn't common. Now, some ~unmanned fuel stations of course accept cards at the pump ...and cash (insert banknote, the pump gives you its amount of fuel in return); usually at supermarkets. |
| - Score: 2 |
| RE[6]: What about kids? |
| By zima on 2012-07-27 09:59:29 |
|
> 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. Better tend to not think about the US as typical-anything, as a rule of thumb (go through lists of various societal stats and such, Wiki has plenty of them) WRT to the example of banking systems... what's with the insistence on checks, like there's no wire transfers? Still, virtually any shop around here (central Europe) has debit card reader, also fuel stations. > It's especially difficult, or at least inconvenient, to even buy gas (petrol) without a Visa/Mastercard So... you can't even buy diesel or LPG at a random fuel station? :P |
| - Score: 2 |
| RE[8]: What about kids? |
| By Laurence on 2012-07-28 22:53:40 |
|
> 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. I'm telling you now that nearly all UK debit cards work online. And its been like this since as long as I can remember. Even my old Solo account worked on most sites that only officially supported Mastercard, and that was nearly 15 years ago. Edited 2012-07-28 22:54 UTC |
| - Score: 2 |
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