im against piracy but i just think people coming on to the forums saying do ure bit and help out and buy an app is getting stupid. People will buy an app but not on the say of someone on here because its gonna stop piracy because it is not gonna stop. also who knows ure not friends with the dev
And here's another thought: don't read any posts that have the word piracy in them. If it so bothers you, don't read 'em. Having said that; I find the numbers dubious at best, and without actual links or sources to back up those numbers, I'm unconvinced. In this day and age, piracy, unfortunately, is as much a part of gaming as the games themselves, however, threads like this start a slippery slope of other less scrupulous developers to drive the "waah-wahh" wagon and scream, "We're being pirated unmercilessly, buy our games!". How are we to know who's being truthful and who's merely pulling a PR stunt? I think it's safe to say, every game is being pirated to one degree or another and we should support the devlopers period, without having a sky is falling thread for every one. so, in theory jaikben, I do agree with you about this thread, but not all piracy threads. And there's also a way of saying something to make your point, without coming across as a d-bag.
@scottC so, in theory jaikben, I do agree with you about this thread, but not all piracy threads. And there's also a way of saying something to make your point, without coming across as a d-bag. You may have a point
If you don't like these threads, so be it, but I just think it's a weak argument to say that developers are "crying wolf" to get people to buy their $.99 games. I honestly think that most of the people who don't like these threads, or the idea of an anti-piracy movement in general are trying to rationalize their stealing. Look in the mirror. If you're a thief, deal with that, and maybe consider changing your behavior.
Generalize much? Is it also safe to say that those who cry out against thieves are simply rationalizing their own guilt? The fact is, developers crying wolf IS a valid point, and not a "weak argument" that you think it is. No one in this thread said anything about being pro-piracy, so I have no idea where you get the idea that simply because valid points are being raised-points you don't like-are advocating piracy. Try and be objective for a moment. The initial post is claiming 20 sales a day, and 4000 pirated d/s a day. All based on hearsay, I might add. There's the addition, "Support this dev, guys! He's being pirated." Well, no s**t Sherlock, so is every dev. doesn't mean a thread has to be started for every game being pirated. In my opinion, doing that only diminishes the problem of piracy, because it WILL turn into a war of stats. "Yeah? Well MY app is being pirated 10,000 times a day, and I only have 50 actual paying customers." You may think I'm being cynical, but stuff like this happens; not just in app developing, but in every other area that has a downloadable aspect, be it games, music, books, or whatever. To focus on just one dev, is self serving when all of them have the problem. That's the point I'm trying to make.
I stand by what I said. I think it's a weak argument that devs are "crying wolf". And I feel that MOST of the people who argue against piracy are pirates. Agree or don't, it doesn't matter. It's my opinion.
I'll quote Harlan Ellison on that. "People aren't entitled to an opinion, they are entitled to an INFORMED opinion." Back up your opinion with facts, and you'd have an easier time getting people to believe you, without that, you're opinion has no weight and comes across as narrow minded.
Scott, its not hearsay, its true. The game was not my game and I did not start this thread but the numbers are true. I used the itunes sales figures vs. the download stats from *one* download site that had the pirated game on it. We had the binary taken down from that site and I have no idea how many other sources you could get the game from. The game was Haunted Mansion, and in one day it had 20 sales and 4500 pirate downloads (no I don't think all of those would be sales either). The original information was in a PM and I did not ask for it to be publicized but hopefully this will stop you and your compadres discounting the numbers. I'm not asking for pity sales and I would not mind if the thread name was changed and my game taken out of it. I already apologized above for the confusion and did not intend this as a publicity stunt.
Scott, its not hearsay, its true. The game was not my game and I did not start this thread but the numbers are true. I used the itunes sales figures vs. the download stats from *one* download site that had the pirated game on it. We had the binary taken down from that site and I have no idea how many other sources you could get the game from. The game was Haunted Mansion, and in one day it had 20 sales and over 4000 pirate downloads (no I don't think all of those would be sales either). The original information was in a PM and I did not ask for it to be publicized but hopefully this will stop you and your compadres discounting the numbers. I'm not asking for pity sales and I would not mind if the thread name was changed and my game taken out of it. I already apologized above for the confusion and did not intend this as a publicity stunt.
Here's my take. The thread's on this subject always become much too tense. I have a jailbroken phone, have always had it jailbroken, but I do not participate in piracy. Believe me or don't, it doesn't matter. I am against piracy and I joined the TAAP group, and if there is something I can do to help I'm all for it. With that said, piracy is not anything new and while I don't think it hurts to raise general awareness I don't think much will be done to actually thwart it. I agree with the others who say there should not be a thread on every game that gets pirated because EVERY game gets pirated, even the FREE ones... I opened this thread because I'm interested in the subject, and I have no problem with people reporting cases like this in which the piracy rate is almost unprecedented. What I did not like seeing in the first post was this, "If you are able to, show a little support for this small independent Dev and download his App. It's only .99. " This is where it gets out of hand. Every dev gets pirated.. We can't support every dev, period. Piracy is a fact of life, is nothing new, and dev's are well aware of the fact and should understand the risks they face entering the market. And I also agree with ScottColbert that "crying wolf" may become a legitimate concern if threads like this perpetuate. Raise awareness fine. But don't try to guilt-trip people into spending money. I don't care if it's .99$ or 99$- to me it is principle. We support the Tap-Fu dev, the Edge dev, the Stoneloops dev! We might as well all be wearing capes... Who supports me when my wallet gets stolen? If anything is going to be the demise of the Appstore it's the $.99 market, not piracy. With everything said, I'm not going to appreciate if someone accuses me of piracy or claims that I'm an advocate. I'm not and I don't. I agree in principle with spreading awareness but I don't like someone virtually going around with a donation bin crying 'help'.
Well said, Outkast, and for the record, I am not advocating that we try to "champion" every independent dev, or that we start a thread for every pirated game because as you said it would basically double the thread count. All I'm saying is that many people treat piracy too flippantly. These are real people who are being stolen from, not just faceless corporations. As a forum, I think we should take a stand against this theft from the people who come here looking for our feedback, and who excitedly tell us about the creations that they are so proud of.
I wish to apologize for the stir this has caused. It was a misunderstanding on my part and i've apologized to the proper person. All i was trying to do was raise more awareness on this subject, not promote a game. Altho the game stated was not the actual one pirated, i stand behind the intention of the original post. If you dont like it, you dont have to click, read, or respond to it. Again, apologies to those that will accept it.
Going to put this in another light - probably no one knows this but in my "real" life I am a nature writer/photographer and sports photographer. There was a time that my work was on the internet a LOT. During that time I had to do weekly searches for my stuff being used without permission. I found it posted in a lot of places without proper credit etc. I had to contact the people using it to take it down, etc. Took up WAY too much of my work week. That's not why I wanted to be a photographer. GregH already stated his friend - or the two of them - had to search the net for the sites and contact them to take down the files. Or whatever they had to do. That is time AWAY from producing new stuff! And who wants THAT to be part of their job description??? I know I don't and that is why most of my stuff is not on the net anymore. I have stated in other threads (and too many of the same types of threads will merely have people repeating themselves) that a game is intellectual property and pirating it is theft just as surely as downloading illegal music, photos, plagiarizing, etc. As for Super Juicy, I was lucky enough to be sent a promo and I can say that it is a wonderful game. I have not played it enough to give a total review but on the face of it, with major updates announced etc, it is the real deal. You should download it if you like a good puzzler. I wish I could have the answer to stop piracy, but I don't, I can only help educate so that GregH and other devs can go and spend all of their time developing more games and more updates rather than on patrol. And for those that think that people who "stick up for devs" and speak out against piracy are doing so out of a guilty conscious (as I was accused of on another thread because I said someone ELSE sounded guilty), now you can see that in some way we are all affected by this personally. I happen to be a writer and photographer but maybe someone else is a musician or someone else a movie maker. We are passionate because its happened to us in a different way. Finally, I do believe there are those that speak out because of a terrifically pure heart. So before we start mud-slinging realize that not only do the devs have a face that you are stealing from, but everyone on this forum has a face as well. All too often its easy to sling accusations at a faceless internet stranger.
one writing about piracy should consider that many of those people are just kids, who can not afford to buy anything you are talking about anyway... or some other people consider it "a demo" (which they will not buy if "a demo" won't be available, because they are not interested in it anyway) the same applies to the music - those x downloads are not x CD's lost, but x CD's that will not be bought anyway... ... I am against piracy - it is a problem, however I am against making piracy in pair to homicide too
I agree that this is probably true but that doesn't make it acceptable. Kids, more than anyone else, need to be taught proper values and morals early on. I'm sure many of these kids will grow up and understand that it's wrong to pirate. I use to download a $hitload of free music from Napster back in the day. Then I wised up, and now I don't steal anything period- virtual or otherwise. We shouldn't dismiss the issue just because they're kids. If these same kids, who have no money, go into Safeway and steal something, they wouldn't automatically dismiss it just because they're kids, they would call the police.
And if those kids plagiarized in school they would fail. If they have the means for a iphone/itouch then they should realize there are "upkeep" costs so to speak. They should wait then until they have a birthday or get an allowance to get a gift card. End of argument there. Homeless people get arrested all the time for stealing food etc. Not being able to afford things is not an excuse for stealing. If they get an XBox do they steal THOSE games? If you get a car but can't afford the gas what does one do? This argument of "because they are kids" just screams out entitlement. Earn your games. Adults teach your children it is wrong to steal in any way.
