3 pirated downloads each time someone purchases an app? that's just ridiculous! how can you calculate such important statistics with such few data? that's way to high, you could just say a number and it will be more accurate then that one.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Cost of App Store Piracy Pegged at $450 Million
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
A 50" TV isn't worth $900 to me, so I can just go take one? That's how it works?
I'm on my way to Best Buy right now! Thanks for the tips guys!
I'm on my way to Best Buy right now! Thanks for the tips guys!
As many apps that are worth the money to a customer, they have sold. Any that are not, they haven't.
We went through this in the music industry a decade ago. If your cd isn't worth paying for to a customer, you are not going to get the sale. You're not selling him that cd, because it's not worth the money to him. Whether he spends his time to make himself a copy, or whether he hears the only track he likes on his friends car stereo, you are not making the sale, not because the car stereo cost you, or the cd burner cost you, but because you didn't offer a product at a price he thought was worth it. Your problem, you fix it. Make better albums, charge people less, let people just buy singles without the filler, let people hear what they're getting before they have to shell out the $ for a whole album.
App developers, you're gonna continue to not make revenue if you offer stupid apps, and apps that cannot be tried or tested before they're purchased. Fix it.
Again, no, I don't pirate apps.
We went through this in the music industry a decade ago. If your cd isn't worth paying for to a customer, you are not going to get the sale. You're not selling him that cd, because it's not worth the money to him. Whether he spends his time to make himself a copy, or whether he hears the only track he likes on his friends car stereo, you are not making the sale, not because the car stereo cost you, or the cd burner cost you, but because you didn't offer a product at a price he thought was worth it. Your problem, you fix it. Make better albums, charge people less, let people just buy singles without the filler, let people hear what they're getting before they have to shell out the $ for a whole album.
App developers, you're gonna continue to not make revenue if you offer stupid apps, and apps that cannot be tried or tested before they're purchased. Fix it.
Again, no, I don't pirate apps.
I totally agree. I'm a techie and have owned my iPhone since Sep. I have never pirated an app or even looked into it. Now, thanks to this article, I am curious about it...but read on to see why it just doesn't make any sense.
Apple and others are trying to tell us that piracy is going on?!...on a device that is clearly aimed at simplicity and ease of use...?!...and a very proprietary operating system/platform that I only have a few options to adjust?!(Meaning, I'm not traversing the system looking for config files to play with, etc) No way. I don't buy this at all. Show me how people are pirating...AND...how they KNOW people ARE pirating and I'll believe it when I see it. Let's see some software titles and vendors/authors names up there.
Besides, most of these apps are like $5 or less...not much reason for ANYONE to go out spending time to research how to pirate just to save $2 or $5. Seriously. Piracy happens to software apps (and has been since the early 80's when I first got into computers with the Apple //e) that cost $40 and up. Not $1.99. Piracy at $1.99 is not just worth the time (nor the penalty if you get caught). Sure, you can reply with "piracy can happen to any software title" but realistically, it's not happening to software titles that cost less than a small sandwhich at a sub shop.
It's also one thing to download or copy a software title and use it on a computer that is not hooked up to the internet versus a handheld device that is always on the internet...allowing Apple or others to snoop and see what you have "installed".
Lastly, all software authors/vendors factor in piracy or "loss" as their pricepoint...just like retailers mark their prices after considering theft/shoplifting. I'm not saying anyone deserves piracy, but it's already factored in to that $1.99 app you bought...just like the $29 sweater I bought last week or the $79 copy of Photoshop Elements.
-Eric
Apple tends to not like copy protection. It would rather sue Paystar (sp), have acceptable losses on sales, etc.
If some developers wanted to institute copy protection or licensing schemes for value added apps, I would think Apple would agree to it in exchange for a fee, perhaps 3% of sales. I would think vertical market software firms would consider copy protection mandatory and a prerequisite to developing for a platform.
Rocketman
If some developers wanted to institute copy protection or licensing schemes for value added apps, I would think Apple would agree to it in exchange for a fee, perhaps 3% of sales. I would think vertical market software firms would consider copy protection mandatory and a prerequisite to developing for a platform.
Rocketman
THis is just amazing to me.
The Apps are tied to your iTunes user account, so it makes no sense to me how they do it.
Furthermore, these Apps are cheap, I buy one whenever I want, and it doesn't hurt my wallet.
The Apps are tied to your iTunes user account, so it makes no sense to me how they do it.
Furthermore, these Apps are cheap, I buy one whenever I want, and it doesn't hurt my wallet.
I could be wrong but I don't think anyone here is advocating the piracy of apps. In this community (MacRumors), I think we feel for developers more than most others. It seems this is just a discussion about the article and how ridiculous it sounds. I've already learned in the past 5 minutes form reading these posts about the piracy of apps and I didn't even put it together that Jailbreaking makes piracy easy.
You seem very offensive against piracy, which is good, but I think you might be on the brink of lashing out at members here, and I urge you not to do so. This, for the most part, is a very friendly forum with some great discussions, let's try to keep it that way please. It's why I return here day after day, for the knowledge and discussions, not the arguments.
heres what apple needs to do apple needs to develop a demo system for EVERY Paid app if Apple did that I think you would have alot less Piracy. People complain theres to much crap in the store wich they got a case if people downloaded the demo then decided they dont like it I think it would be alot beter people wont have to pirate etc.
I wonder how many more iPhones and iPod Touches Apple sold because of the availability of these pirated apps?
This actually helps sell PCs. Many people with little income (say in China) would never buy a PC if they had to pay for the software. So it is the existence of the "free" software that creates the demand for the hardware.
But with iPhones the apps are cheap so I doubt this effect is strong.
This actually helps sell PCs. Many people with little income (say in China) would never buy a PC if they had to pay for the software. So it is the existence of the "free" software that creates the demand for the hardware.
But with iPhones the apps are cheap so I doubt this effect is strong.
The usual stupid nonsense.
"and the proportion of pirated app users who would have paid for the applications had pirated versions not been available."
HOW exactly is that number calculated?? It's nothing but speculation and non-educated guessing. These purported "losses" do not exist!
No, I am not for piracy and hacked iPhones etc. But I believe that the problem is grossly exaggerated.
"and the proportion of pirated app users who would have paid for the applications had pirated versions not been available."
HOW exactly is that number calculated?? It's nothing but speculation and non-educated guessing. These purported "losses" do not exist!
No, I am not for piracy and hacked iPhones etc. But I believe that the problem is grossly exaggerated.
Bogus bogus
+1
The numbers sound completely bogus anyway. What percentage of phones are jailbroken so that 3/4 of "paid" app downloads are stolen? Jailbreakers must be downloading hundreds of apps each. I doubt anything like 10% of those pirates would have paid were the apps weren't free. One percent, maybe. 0.1% more likely. If so, there's no significant loss of revenue here to anybody.
+1
Is it even possible without jailbreaking? I'd never heard of this before.
The numbers sound completely bogus anyway. What percentage of phones are jailbroken so that 3/4 of "paid" app downloads are stolen? Jailbreakers must be downloading hundreds of apps each. I doubt anything like 10% of those pirates would have paid were the apps weren't free. One percent, maybe. 0.1% more likely. If so, there's no significant loss of revenue here to anybody.
The worst is all the money that pirates directly TAKE from developers. Not just fail to pay (try before you buy then forget to buy) but actually take out of developers pockets:
* Server load for online content, high score lists and support forums
* Developers time giving tech support when pirates email them for help (happens all the time)
* Developers lost sales when pirates give bad reviews (as anyone who gets a free game is liable to doit means they didnt have really want it before they got it)
None of the above are free. And most pirates are not some kind of noble consumer advocates. They just want what they want and dont care. Maybe they invent reasons to sort of justify it to themselves, or maybe they dont.
* Server load for online content, high score lists and support forums
* Developers time giving tech support when pirates email them for help (happens all the time)
* Developers lost sales when pirates give bad reviews (as anyone who gets a free game is liable to doit means they didnt have really want it before they got it)
None of the above are free. And most pirates are not some kind of noble consumer advocates. They just want what they want and dont care. Maybe they invent reasons to sort of justify it to themselves, or maybe they dont.
I have analytics in my app and I can confirm that I am getting 2.8 pirated versions to each 1 sold on the App Store.
Have you ever taken 5th Grade English or Grammar? What about 4th Grade Spelling?
Please show us what you've learned if you have passed such courses.
So, you're a "techie", and yet you've never heard of jailbreaking or pirated apps?
Nor google, apparently.
I agree. Give devs the ability to specify a trial period and would-be pirates will try the app and just let it expire if they don't intend to pirate/purchase it.
I'm so against the piracy because I am myself a developer.
Although I've always been against the piracy. Urging friends to buy their music etc. etc.
I just don't buy the argument of "I can't afford it" or "It's not worth it to me" because I feel the same way about literally billions of things. And instead of just stealing them I just don't use/obtain them.
I won't lash out at anyone, I just don't get how stealing became so generally accepted over such a short amount of time.
The report did in fact assume that only 10% of the pirated downloads would have been sales if the pirated copies weren't available. You are simply (correctly) arguing that the other 90% do not represent losses to the game developer, but the report doesn't count those 90% as losses to the developer either. You can certainly argue with the 10% estimate, but, given that estimate, the language ("cost" or "stole") is appropriate.
But how many people are actually USING the pirated version of your app? Versus just launching it to try it out...
I bet that people who buy it use it far more than the pirates.