Don't pirate games or apps.. I have no reason to. There are times when I've actually payed for an app twice for each device just to support the dev.. even if its a free app with a donation link, I always donate.
I do think it has an impact on devs... take a look at the entertainment industry, the only way musicians make money these days is by going on tour.. movie makers are also being affected, spend millions of dollars to produce a blockbuster and they're left with people bootlegging copies before its even in theatres.
What can be done? That's a tough one, you have DRM/copy protection but that always fails.. either someone will complain they can't make copies for private use.. or there's always tools out for decrypting.
Tech blogs do have a responsiblility.. Android Central has a zero tolerance policy towards piracy.. the second its spotted.. the account is banned and the post is deleted.
Good comments. I personally think the app/game developer community needs to distance itself from the entertainment industry. Their model for fighting piracy is exactly the opposite approach that I would take. First, the models for distribution in those industries are much different - there are many more people involved in the process and they all want their cut - hence the very low return for the actual artists for album sales (in the music industry).
Second, the RIAA/MPAA approach is to sue their customers for exorbitant amounts - well above the actual value of the music/movie being pirated. These lawsuits impact probably no more than 0.0001% of people who are actually pirating the music and movies - not much of a deterrrant.
On top of that, they pay lobbyists millions of dollars to attempt to influence legislation which directly impacts the freedoms and liberties of legitimate users through laws like SOPA/PIPA/ACTA. Remember that the RIAA and MPAA were both in the PREMIERE position to be the leaders in distribution of the music and movie content. Instead, they have embraced oppressive DRM and further discouraged legitimate purchases by making sure you have to watch 10+ minutes of ads before the movie starts. These sorts of measures are exactly the opposite of what should be done and its why the MPAA and RIAA aren't the leaders in distributing this content (see Apple/Amazon/Google), but instead the leaders in litigation and almost universally disliked. I'd prefer to avoid that, plus the model for games/app distribution is more direct and there are many less parties involved.
DRM does not impact the people who pirate, and in fact encourages people to pirate because its much better to download a movie and just start watching it instead of buying a copy which has layers of DRM/protection which restricts the devices a user can watch/listen to the content and requires them to sit through endless advertisements. Of course people want to pirate stuff when its more convenient than actually purchasing the content legitimately.
Those industries are exactly the opposite of what the software development industry needs to do. I think we will because the people who suffer the most from the problem (the developers) aren't out of touch with the reality of the situation like those heading the RIAA and MPAA. They realize that measures like those don't work and I think you see a lot more developers consciously avoid including DRM because they realize the futility associated with that effort and also recognize that DRM only negatively impacts the legitimate buyers. I think as a community, we need to approach the problem much more intelligently than the RIAA and MPAA are capable of.
I'll admit I used to... never bought a single app I had on Windows Mobile, except for a few chess trainers. When I started out with Android I did the same thing at first out of habit, but after a while, I realized that eventually the stuff I wanted would go on sale, and so I started buying apps I was using when they were .99 - 1.99 typically. Eventually, I developed a distaste for the pirated apps, since I learned to value the apps I purchased, and tended to use only those. Then I started reading about how pirating was hurting app development on Android vs iOS, and that was the last straw... since then, I will never ever use a pirated app on Android. I always wait for sales though... I very rarely pay full price. I would love Tasker and Titanium Backup Pro, but I probably won't pay what they're asking for those apps ($6+). In cases like that, I could possibly by tempted to pirate, but I simply won't use cracks on Android (but they won't get any of my money either). Then there's apps like Llama.. free and fully functional, but also has a donate ability... I'll probably donate multiple times (I have once already), since that app has become such a staple for me. Totally worth it (and more), and I want the dev to keep working on it.
The choice is simple.. you want nice apps on Android? Make the platform attractive to the devs.
I downloaded hundreds of 80's songs from Napster way back in the day. I never would have bought those songs, but it was nice to have them. I look back at that and realize that it was part of an emerging technology and that while I was wrong to do it, I don't particularly feel bad about it. It isn't a lost sale, it didn't cost anyone anything. Now I buy all of my music (sometimes multiple times), and I always buy full albums. Even when albums are offered for free (see Radiohead), I typically pay full price for what I could have purchased the album for. I have no problem doing what I can to support artists and I feel the same way about developers. Supporting the developers means they can justify continuing to work on and improving their games and apps. It also means they are more likely to take chances on new projects.
This is the message the casual users need to start pushing to their friends and family who do pirate stuff. I think alot of people "casually" pirate stuff because its easy to do. They aren't making a moral or ethical judgement call in their mind because they don't see the impact it can have. That's what I think the mobile community as a whole needs to be discussing. How can we positively impact the overall culture regarding piracy so that developers can be successful and continue to create great games and apps that make our devices that much better.
I think too often these day, the discussion about piracy is basically how it unfolded with Madfinger. The headlines are inflammatory, comments back and forth don't add any value, and nothing is gained. Claims of piracy made to generate headlines and create a huge marketing opportunity do nothing but benefit that sole developer and actually minimize the real discussion concerning piracy that needs to take place. That needs to change.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram