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kgames

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 18, 2011
120
0
Iam wondering how do developers get around the piracy on android, I posted in another section but just found out this is the proper place to ask. I seen this articule http://androidprirates.blogspot.com/ and it talks a little about piracy and what the problem for developers are. So how do you make money on android platform and defeat piracy.
 

Dr McKay

macrumors 68040
Aug 11, 2010
3,531
261
Kirkland
Either put ads in it, and hope the user doesn't have add block. Or the best method would be to make it freemium. Free to download but offer in-app purchases, if they're things like game currency for items those can't be pirated.
 

hyteckit

Guest
Jul 29, 2007
889
1
That's the problem wth the Android marketplace. Although there are a lot more Android devices than iOS devices worldwide, iOS apps generate 400% more revenue than Android apps.

Apple accounts for 80% of the app store revenue.
Google acconts for 20% of the app store revenue.

iOS users are a lot more likely to buy apps than Android users.

And from my own experience with the Android marketplace, it's a freaking mess because of Android fragmentation.

Lots of Android apps don't even run on my Android devices.
 

hyteckit

Guest
Jul 29, 2007
889
1
Here's an article from Ad Age.

http://adage.com/article/digital/google-s-gains-apple-reigns-app-economy/239021/

"For every dollar a developer makes on iOS, they can expect to make $0.24 on Android for the same title," said Peter Farago, VP-marketing for mobile-analytics firm Flurry. "Just because there are more users on Android, doesn't mean [developers] will make more. They'll make less. … If you and I were making an app tomorrow, I'd say we should build for iOS first."
 

Donvald

macrumors member
Jan 31, 2013
45
0
Piracy has always existed and always will. The best apps still succeed. I compare it to PC gaming. The great games still sell well. The argument that earnings are lost per pirated download is wishful thinking on behalf of PC Devs and I suspect the same is true elsewhere. A pirated app or game does not necessarily mean a lost sale.

We live in a digital age and piracy is a part of that. Make your product attractive enough and people will buy it. If its rubbish it won't even be pirated.
 

cynics

macrumors G4
Jan 8, 2012
11,959
2,156
Same way you stop jail breakers from stealing apps. You don't. There has always been piracy and there always will.

Make a good app and I'll download it on either iOS or Android. Make a crappy version for either OS and don't be surprised when I don't buy it.

Android has a 15 minute app return. So if you see it sucks you can immediately return it. I've used that several time. However iOS doesn't so I've got burned several times and I'll just delete it. It's like buying something then immediately throwing it in the trash, very wasteful. So now I'll read reviews more.

Back to piracy, its my opinion if an app is good enough and fairly priced people will buy it. If you steal it and sideload it you won't get app updates so you have to continually steal it which sucks. You don't get any tech support either. Tightening app security usually only hurts the people that actually buying it then battling with lock codes and such. But I think the most effective is a trial version of that app with an unlock app that you purchase within the app.
 

Dave.UK

macrumors 65816
Sep 24, 2012
1,290
482
Kent, UK
That's the problem wth the Android marketplace. Although there are a lot more Android devices than iOS devices worldwide, iOS apps generate 400% more revenue than Android apps.

Apple accounts for 80% of the app store revenue.
Google acconts for 20% of the app store revenue.

iOS users are a lot more likely to buy apps than Android users.

And from my own experience with the Android marketplace, it's a freaking mess because of Android fragmentation.

Lots of Android apps don't even run on my Android devices.

Got some links to back up those figures?

Also, I cant see how you call the Android Marketplace a mess. Only apps that will run on your version of Android are displayed.

Same old usual FUD you spread.
 

andy9l

macrumors 68000
Aug 31, 2009
1,699
365
England, UK
Piracy only appears to be a serious issue to you, because you're the kinda guy who uses Internet forums - you are aware how easy and relatively safe it is to pirate apps. You're more tech savvy than the majority of users.

The vast majority of consumers will not know how to pirate apps, won't want to risk it (scared by the media), or will be like me and I assume yourself - nice people who pay, instead of thieve.

I've rooted, and flashed my GS3 with a custom ROM, but I still always pay for my apps through the Play Store. Fortunately, I don't use many "paid apps", and almost all of them cost under £1.99 each.
 

nfl46

macrumors G3
Oct 5, 2008
8,538
9,505
Yeah, I was just thinking about that. You can basically google the program .apk and boom, install it...
 

hexonxonx

macrumors 601
Jul 4, 2007
4,610
1
Denver Colorado
I wonder why there is supposedly more piracy on Android. I have paid for every app that I could that allowed me to, to remove ads. Any other apps that cost, I paid for including TomTom.

On the iPhone, I admit I used plenty of apps found on other sites including TomTom. I know of several forums and sites like apptrackr that allow people to download any app for free.
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,370
8,952
a better place
On android...

The ability to install .apk from third party sources too. There are numerous marketplace google play apps that have been modified to allow people to download any application without being charged....
 

Radiating

macrumors 65816
Dec 29, 2011
1,018
7
Iam wondering how do developers get around the piracy on android, I posted in another section but just found out this is the proper place to ask. I seen this articule http://androidprirates.blogspot.com/ and it talks a little about piracy and what the problem for developers are. So how do you make money on android platform and defeat piracy.

Piracy doesn't reduce app sales. In fact most studies show piracy increases sales. If someone has enough resistance to paying a few bucks for an ap to go to the trouble of pirating it there is little chance they would pay for it if they couldn't pirate it. They just won't download it at all.

However if you let your app get pirated some people may come back and actually buy it and it may become more popular.

In fact developers have actually studied the sale of apps after they uploaded their own pirated copies to torrent sites and they made MORE money not less.

The only time anyone has ever shown that piracy reduces developer profit is when an app requires cloud computing, and the pirated copies take up too many resources form the developer.
 
Last edited:

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,370
8,952
a better place
Piracy doesn't reduce app sales. In fact most studies show piracy increases sales. If someone has enough resistance to paying a few bucks for an ap to go to the trouble of pirating it there is little chance they would pay for it if they couldn't pirate it. They just won't download it at all.

However if you let your app get pirated some people may come back and actually buy it and it may become more popular.

In fact developers have actually studied the sale of apps after they uploaded their own pirated copies to torrent sites and they made MORE money not less.

The only time anyone has ever shown that piracy reduces developer profit is when an app requires cloud computing, and the pirated copies take up too many resources form the developer.


Many pirates use this argument of fictitious surveys that point to them 'doing a favour' to the industry to justify piracy....
 

adnbek

macrumors 68000
Oct 22, 2011
1,584
551
Montreal, Quebec
Piracy doesn't reduce app sales. In fact most studies show piracy increases sales. If someone has enough resistance to paying a few bucks for an ap to go to the trouble of pirating it there is little chance they would pay for it if they couldn't pirate it. They just won't download it at all.

However if you let your app get pirated some people may come back and actually buy it and it may become more popular.

In fact developers have actually studied the sale of apps after they uploaded their own pirated copies to torrent sites and they made MORE money not less.

The only time anyone has ever shown that piracy reduces developer profit is when an app requires cloud computing, and the pirated copies take up too many resources form the developer.

Sounds like hogwash aimed at justifying piracy. I think the Pirate Bay likes to use that argument as well.

It is a FACT that piracy hurts sales. To say otherwise it just blatant lying.
 

Radiating

macrumors 65816
Dec 29, 2011
1,018
7
Sounds like hogwash aimed at justifying piracy. I think the Pirate Bay likes to use that argument as well.

It is a FACT that piracy hurts sales. To say otherwise it just blatant lying.

Yes it's a FACT. If by "FACT" you something that research shows is the exact opposite of the truth. I'm sure government organizations, respected news sources, and research institutes are LYING too, because, huh?

Study finds piracy increases sales:

http://www.digitaltrends.com/music/bittorrent-piracy-increases-sales-of-leaked-albums-study/

Piracy increases sales by 3 fold for obscure products:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2012/03/15/is-pirating-the-new-advertising/

Japanese government report that piracy of Anime increases, not decreases DVD sales:

http://www.osnews.com/story/24376/Piracy_Increases_Anime_DVD_Sales_Study_Concludes

This took all of two seconds to put together, there are thousands of other examples.
 

thewitt

macrumors 68020
Sep 13, 2011
2,102
1,523
Software piracy does NOT increase sales. This is the biggest lie told by pirates - followed closely by "I will pirate it to try it then I'll pay if I like it."
 

Radiating

macrumors 65816
Dec 29, 2011
1,018
7
Software piracy does NOT increase sales. This is the biggest lie told by pirates - followed closely by "I will pirate it to try it then I'll pay if I like it."

Swiss government disagrees with you:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkai...tudy-finds-internet-downloads-increase-sales/

"a report commissioned by the Swiss government finds that people who download things online without paying for them actually end up spending more money than people who don’t. This applies to consumers of music, television, and video games."

Have you considered the possibility that when you charichtarize well studied demonstrable facts as lies you come off as extremely intelligent?


European Commission’s Joint Research Centre's study:

http://www.ibtimes.com/online-pirac...-music-sales-may-actually-help-music-industry


"researchers note, “All of these results suggest that the vast majority of the music that is consumed illegally by the individuals in our sample would not have been legally purchased if illegal downloading websites were not available to them.”"

However illegal downloads improved exposure and increased sales.


North Carolina State University study:

http://www.electronista.com/articles/12/05/18/leaked.album.piracy.raised.sales.by.60.on.average/

“The findings suggest that file sharing of an album benefits its sales. I don't find any evidence of a negative effect in any specification using any instrument.”


In fact studies show that when a pirated copy of content is removed from a file sharing site you can actually show that it directly reduces sales, especially with small to medium popularity content.
 
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