It's good that you can finally admit that you had no real argument. However, it was completely pointless that it not only took someone saying the same thing I said numerous times (worded slightly differently), but also that it took as long as it did for you to realize that.
It is THEFT! Btw, the "good" old pirates did not attack the poor fisherman's boat... Nowadays they just do not care whether it's a big company or and indie developer. Here are some thoughts regarding piracy and indie (game) development
I like this point. The "you don't know how many people who pirate an app would have bought anyway" argument is so old, just like the "there was no lite to try so I got the cracked app and if I like it I'll buy the legit copy" argument. It's true that there is no way to measure actual loss of profit from people pirating apps, but that's just one of the negatives that can befall a dev. If they see their app being cracked, and the pirate download rate is in the 90 percentile, they are going to be discouraged from making any other games. They will wonder why they worked so hard on something just to give it away for free, when they didn't intend to. As it was simply put in the quote, more piracy = fewer games. So, while true you can't explicitly say a dev is losing profits by piracy, there's plenty of other negatives that pirating contributes to that are just as bad, which means there is ALWAYS a consequence from pirating software, which means there is no justification for it EVER. Will join the group and add to sig.
Yes I've been repeating the same question, and no it's not idiotic because it is the factor that decides this whole argument. However many times I've said it, never did I say it justifies piracy (Just because I'm playing devils advocate doesn't mean I actually believe piracy is fine), nor do I pirate apps. however my touch is jailbroken. And how would the numbers lean more towards your side? Without any points or facts to back it up I can't agree with you. If you had managed to illustrate your point better, or even provide a better understanding/estimation of the "would they have" variable that we can't define, I would have given way. (Such as spiffy did). And it wasn't worded slightly differently, it was way better said, and explained in a way that would convince anybody. And if you had read my post, you would have noticed I said "my argument is unstable as it is" meaning I already knew it, and like I mentioned, I was playing devils advocate. It all boiled down to the "would they have" variable. I think anything said on this subject will only be the same stuff being repeated, and I can't be bothered to keep checking this thread and typing it up.
I'm way too tired to post the similarities between some of what spiffyone posted and what I posted. Although I will admit that he went into much more detail on the subject than I did, and his post was very well-written. So I agree with you on that. He got the point across much better than I did. However, the basis of your argument - the "would they have" variable - was a question that was never worth asking in the first place, because it cannot be answered. And once again, asking what's basically a trick question does not support your argument or prove your point in any way. As far as the numbers leaning more towards my side, I don't have actual proof of that (the same way you have no proof), but based on the number of iDevice owners that do currently purchase apps, it's more likely that the people who pirate them would join the crowd and buy apps if they could no longer steal them. Either way, i'm done arguing with you. Believe whatever you want man.
I really appreciate the members of this forum who have brought this issue to light and hopefully caused at least a few pirates to consider what they're doing. Its worth saying even if doesn't change things overnight.
That "wouldn't have bought it anyway" is not, and will never be a valid argument. You don't buy a product to own it, you buy a product to discover it. Basic logic : When a pirate downloads a cracked version, it's because he wants to discover it. The only reason why he wouldn't have bought it is that he wouldn't have been interested in it. And if he's not interested in it, he won't invest some time on downloading and playing a cracked version. Simple as that. So every single pirate download is a financial loss. Period. Sidenote : There is this long and interesting topic if you want to debate about piracy
Great idea for a group! Surprised it didn't exist before. I was just having this conversation with a friend this afternoon! How would you like to work hard on an app and have your paycheck taken from you? Anyone remember the mmorpg game "CozyQuest"? by Nils Munch? He had a security thing built in to detect pirated copies and blocked them! He couldn't stop everyone but he stopped quite a few. That was the first time I had heard of a game having this coded in.
If you get every single game via a promo code, how is this any more beneficial to the developer than pirating it?
I don't understand one thing, no of report on piracy does state that they can detect JB device .. if this is the case, why don't they apply some sort of checking to prevent cracked application to be executed .. and why can't network community like plus!, openfeint! be a must to all games out there .. by having this, the minute of cracked application logon to the community, it should be deleted, corrupted then .. I think there should be some measure to give a jailbroken device an disadvantages .. the way I see it now, people saw jailbroken as advantage instead .. hell, you can do a lot of things with JB device .. and to me jailbroken device is the root of piracy in appstore ..
I guess you are aiming that at the tons of TA folks who post in the promo code section. Promo codes are given out BY the developer with their blessing so your response makes no sense. There was a reason why I blocked you and I will put you on my blocked list again. *facepalm*
My guess would be from the reviews that are written and therefore the future sales they garner. Also developers GIVE promo codes away - they are not STOLEN.
I was never interested in pirating iPod games. The developers are giving us a lot of great things, and I feel that buying their games, reviewing their games, and spreading the word is a great way for me to thank them. I am not a cheap person. I never was. I see a lot of kids pirating because they may have no means to pay. I also see a lot of idiots who CAN pay but they refuse to, with a feeling that their one act of piracy won't do much harm. I would call that being nothing but a self-centered cheapskate - and one type of 'person' I Hate is a 'cheap person'. I will always BUY iPod games. I rarely download lite versions. People need to watch out though. The laws are very real and I have seen some locals get busted. One was busted for downloading 1 single song...That's just making an example out of somebody, sending a message that You do NOT have to be a high profile torrent-glutton to get the federal beef injection. (Sorry, I don't do forum-post-signatures - I stand behind developers, but no bumper stickers here)
First of all, with promo codes, dev's have a bit more control over their codes than they do pirates. Second, a promo code is no different than someone getting a review copy of any game for the PC, DS, 360, etc. It would be no different if I were to send out physical or .pdf copies of my books to reviewers. Third, it's all done for-hopefully-good reviews. That is far different than someone d/ling the game without paying for it, simply because they're too cheap to spend a buck or two.
Do you live in another country? If so, then either make a new account with a famous Hollywood address or don't get the game. If it's not in your country then to bad, Americans don't have Health Care and we make it so it should be easy to make it without a 5 dollar game.
"Piracy isn't such a bad thing" Well, that phrase has a different literal meaning actually.. and I'll go a bit off topic. "I pirate because the app is not in my store" does not justify that phrase IMO. In a broader perspective, its probably has its benefits in different situations. For example, (correct me if I'm wrong) due to piracy.. there are more Windows users in the world than there are Mac users. Microsoft seems like at a loss here (a $2-300 windows being used free of cost), but it all sums up like this: More windows users -> More windows developers ->More windows applications, games, etc etc.... and ultimately an average person ends up being "comfortable" with Windows (since it has been used often), so probably his next investment in a computer will be a Windows Notebook or Desktop.. Like I said, just my theory. Correct me if I'm wrong Coming back on topic, I fully support the app store devs (especially indie) who put in there time and effort to give us good apps and games. I'm a dev too, so I know how it feels to get ripped offf. Say no to piracy!
