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One of the most visually stunning games in mobile has to be, without a doubt Infinity Blade for iOS devices. The title has already earned the pair of developers over $20 million in revenue and they’re looking to do it again with Infinity Blade 2. If you’re anything like me, you’ve been wondering exactly what’s been taking the developers so long in porting the title (or it’s upcoming sequel) over to Android. We have the power, we have the hardware — so what’s the hold up?
Well, in an interview with the guys over at Mashable, Chair Entertainment talked a little bit about their decision NOT to bring Infinity Blade or its sequel to Android devices anytime soon. According to a number of online reports, Android is a “wild west” of piracy and the developers surveyed in the study feel Google has been relatively lax in their fight against app piracy which is in turn, sending them packing. This same sentiment is echoed by Chair Entertainment who said,
“We’re confident that will be worked out and it will become a viable place for game developers, but that hasn’t happened yet. So it’s not the tech, it’s the business platform.”
There’s no denying it. Piracy is something I’ve noticed plaguing Android since the G1 days with entire sites dedicated to warez titles. While Google does have some anti-piracy tools developers can take advantage of in their apps, apparently they’re nowhere near as secure as Apple’s method. Let’s hope this is something Google will continue to address because it kills me to think I will never be able to play Infinity Blade on my Galaxy Nexus (whenever I get my hands on one).
What do you guys think? Is Android piracy as bad some of these developers make it out to be? I seem to recall some friends of mine with jailbroken iPhone’s that give them access to a little app store called Cydia, where you can find many paid apps for free. Just remember kids — the next time you’re off cruising around the interwebs late at night and download an illegal copy of Shadowgun, not only does a fairy die… but a developer packs up his apps and takes them on over to the Appstore. How’s that for guilt?
[Via Mashable]
No one mentions on a jail broken iphone. That they have a market that dedicated to pirated iphone apps.
It is totally an issue for game devs on iOS! I’ve heard tell from confidential inside sources that at least one iOS strategy game was (off-the-cuff) estimated to have almost 2x as many installs as legitimate sales based on leaderboards a year ago. Not sure where it stands now.
Nobody is claiming it’s not an issue. THey are claiming it’s less of an issue.
Likely due to the fact that iOS accounts for fewer smartphones. I bet % wise, jail breakers and rooters are similar numbers on each platform.
I dot disagree but I don’t see your point. My point was that to pirate on ios a jailbreak is necessary. A root is in no way necessary to pirate on android. Toss the .apk onto your sd card and install.
Good point.
It’s about numbers. Piracy on Android is open to EVERYONE.
Whereas jailbroken iPhones/iPad/iPods are a small percentage..
Chris they don’t care they are driven by hatred for apple. Don’t try and reason with them or use facts. How many articles have there been where top developers have come out saying they make more money on apps for IOS?
How many times have we seen statistics showing apple users spend more on apps?
About the same amount of times you post moronic rants.
Thanks for following me!!
Dude, do you EVER have an intelligent response when someone makes a good point? EVER???
Why yes I do, sadly neither of you ever make good points. Thanks for asking, though.
Never have I seen such utter ignorance…..geez
its kinda simple really. Iphone = 700$ android = 50 – 700$ (off contract)… so obviously the average iphone users spends more money on a phone than android (because there is only 1 price for iphone). If you compare the people who buy only top flagship android devices I am sure the numbers would be the same.
> apple users spend more on apps
on APPS, not phone
But not everyone pirates. Android phones are becoming increasingly more used by “regular” people. I don’t think they will bother to search for the right apk online. They just need a convenient way to buy them, and so far that has lacked from Android, too. But I hear Android 4.0 is asking you for a credit card from day one, so maybe that will improve things regarding users buying paid apps.
You are absolutely right. But let’s take my situation for example. I have a 4S that I use (alongside my GS2 of course!) that I currently have no way to run a pirated app on even if I wanted to. With Android, there is nothing holding me back, and ther enever was.
That’s actually not true. AT&T didn’t native 3rd party support until earlier this year on their phones. Most had that feature removed and disabled and you had to use a work-around.
Please be realistic. How many android devices are there? How many of those were I. AT&T before this recent change? I don’t have numbers but I would be willing to say this was the minority.
” Android 4.0 is asking you for a credit card from day one, so maybe that will improve things regarding users buying paid apps”. I haven’t heard that yet, but if it is true, it’s one of the worst ideas I’ve ever heard. If you need a credit card just to use the Android Market to get free apps, they’re going to lose a lot of customers. I know a lot of people personally (myself included in many instances) who refuse to get something that is supposed to be “free” – if you just give them your credit card information so they can be sure to charge you in case you “decide to continue to enjoy our services” or some similar nonsense. I always buy apps that I like to support the devs who make them, but if I am REQUIRED to have a credit card just to get into the Android Market, they can kiss my ass, and I’ll install nothing BUT stolen apps, and they get nothing. I can see this turning into a “try-it-free-just-give-us-your-credit-card-info-first” situation, then trying a free or trial app, forgetting about it, then having your credit/debit card charged a few days or weeks down the road for something you didn’t want. I just went through this with Netflix; after changing their streaming/mail options. I told Netflix both on the phone and in email that I only wanted streaming as I’ve never had a mailed DVD. They charged my account three times for the streaming/mail plan and when I initially contacted them via email, I received a canned response stating that it was to “maximize my Netflix experience”. I finally got on the phone with a supervisor and explained to him that I have confirmation emails from Netflix indicating that I did not want to spend extra money on something I didn’t want, and that if the money wasn’t back in my account by the next day, they were going to get the full “getting sued and bad publicity experience” from my lawyers. The issue was resolved, but it was aggravating.
This is a slippery slope they’re on if this is true. I hope it isn’t.
I have got Galaxy Nexus (ICS) and has not been asked for my credit card, so that must be just a rumor
Same here. I have not received a request for a credit card and I’ve had my Nexus since Friday.
Has a study been done to determine the ratio of pirates to legit users on each platform? I imagine the numbers would be pretty small for each platform. Of course Android would be higher, but it would have to be much much higher to put Android at any significant disadvantage to devs. I’d love a cite if you have one.
Madfinger games posted an outrageous piracy stat a while back – something like less than 1% of users in Asia had paid for the app!! I can’t remember the exact stat, I’m sure.you could dig it out of their twitter. But the fact that people can easily repost gameloft games to the market as their own is.pretty shitty
90% percent of all statistics are made up!
1% of users in Asia have paid for an app because you can’t actually access paid apps from the android market in much asia. You can only access the free apps.
i pirate 95% of my games on Android. But i live in CHina and the paid app option is blocked. But i Buy 100% OF MY APPLE APPS, BECAUSE I CAN BUY THEM LEGALLY IN CHINA. GOOGLE MARKET NEEDS TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES.
from what I remember, the number of jailbroken iOS devices is about 5%, really close to ZERO
And you’re pulling this stat from where?
Seriously, this isn’t 1990s, people aren’t idiots anymore. Everyone has Internet, and people at least know what their device can or can’t do without jailbreak because of the wide media reach.
As soon as you type in ‘iOS’ in Google/Bing, lots of jailbreak links show up in the suggestion box
I came to know about the advantage of jailbreaking on day one since I got myself an iPod Touch, after searching the Internet how to get more from your iOS device and improve the functionality.
Jailbreak is literally one click away and app piracy is damn easy with Installous and such. I speak as not a pirate but an informed and experienced user who’s aware of what’s possible on iOS and what’s not.
There are way more jailbroken phones – and most do it just to have the “free” pirated Apps.
It’s pathetic to see so many people pirating apps which cost less than a cup of coffee :/ Would like to see how they would react when they don’t get their pay check at the end of the month…But the iOS/Android difference isn’t that big. The numbers of people who pirate on iOS are pretty high too and since Android got the licensing system it has some really effective copy protection. Only downtime is that it might happen that the App won’t start without data connection then :/I think the problem why some developer failed in Android Market is because they try to sell stuff which is less good than free apps. Good example was the official geocaching.com app last year. When they put it in Android Market for way more than 10US$ it was horrible. It was like a 1:1 clone of the iOS app without using the advantages of Android and it had way less features than free or cheaper apps. Crap doesn’t sell and just having a nice sweet candy UI doesn’t help on Android. The Android Market has many good free or ad supported Apps. Some doesn’t look so well..don’t have such a polished UI but they do their job fantastic and thats what most care about. If there comes an App which combines both it will sell for sure.
Look for example at Pocket Legends. They made 50% more profit on Android Market than on iOS – and that at a time before InApp purchases were possible on Android so now it should be even more.
There a good chances to make money in Android Market – the product must just be good.
never met someone with an iphone that wasnt jailbroken.. I think apple just hides the numbers so devs FEEL safer
Don’t you think that since you know this developers might ?
If they care about protecting their apps they would. Why don’t we see outcries about piracy on IOS if it’s as widespread as the fanboys say it is?
never met someone with an iphone that was jailbroken…
You should get out more often then ;-)
Statistically, only about 10% of all iDevice users jailbreak. You can say whatever you like, but 10% is a very small number, all things considered.
Whether you meet people who are jailbroken is going to depend largely on the groups of people you spend time with. It will have little to nothing to do with how often you get out.
Hmmm sometimes I wonder about your thought process Chris. Jailbreaking is open to EVERYONE using an iDevice as well. It’s about KNOWHOW. First on Android you have to go into settings and check the checkbox to allow loading from any source. Anyone on BOTH platforms interested in pirated apps will be privy to the KNOWHOW by doing a little research on the web. Also Jailbreaking an iCrap device is now easier than ever.
What happened to the days when piracy was a try before you buy thing? Im begining to wonder if they were ever there to begin with…
Here is the problem. Let’s say 2000 copies of said app are pirated today. THat same day, 1,500 are purchased. In many cases, companies are saying that is a potential loss of 1,500 copies. Problem is, what if 600 (or pick any number you like) of those originally pirated copies were then purchased?
I think plenty of people go with the “try before you buy” mentality. I know I do. Especially now that there is a 15 minute return window on Android (and there has never been one on iOS). Too many companies make crap gmes that will appease you for 20 minutes and charge 99 cents in hopes that you won’t be able to return the damn thing anyway. Ratings are also a joke. Everyone either gives 5 stars or none. Reviews are even worse. So what’s a consumer to do. You only have the patience to be burned so many times on a purchase before you starting losing your trust in everyone.
Nice point, but lets say 50,000 apps were bought and 1 million people tried them. Of those 950,000 people half would have never bothered to try the program if they couldn’t get it for free. Of the rest some made a purchase and the others didn’t see the value of the product. So where does the blame game begin?
Why is it a developer can bitch about losing millions when they are already making millions. What is money? its a value we give it. Which means it really worth nothing. They should be happy they are getting something rather than nothing.
I always enjoy how a developer or artist insists on how they deserved those sales. They make games. Hell. I’d love to make games and bring in 40-50k a year. Same way sports players complain about making 20 million vs 25. Ridiculous.
I can’t tell you how many times when i was younger i bought a cd and it was horrible. What can i do? hope the store will take it back? or sell it used. I bitched about losing 12 bucks. Where is the balance there? So when people say they would rather have it for free. It kind of makes sense. They never wanted to pay for products now or when they had to in the past. AKA Items that would have never been a purchase anyway still result in 0 sales.
the term “pirated” has never been used to denote a legitimate activity. There are try-before-you-buy models (or lite versions), but these are not to be confused with being pirated.
v. pi·rat·ed,
v.tr.1. To attack and rob (a ship at sea).
2. To take (something) by piracy.
3. To make use of or reproduce (another’s work) without authorization.
v.intr. To act as a pirate; practice piracy.
Now, if you’re thinking of the whole idea of trying a product before you buy it, like downloading a music album to see if you’ll like before you buy it, that’s still pirating and is illegal.
IMO, this might be one of the reason why some preferred ios. Thats why i have an ipad as well beside my sgs2.
You traitor!!
What are you talking about ios gets pirated like wow every one i know who has ios products pirates the apps!
They just dont want to bother with developing for android! Ios hores i say!
Even if android gets pirated they can make way more money on android vs ios! I thing its because of frgmentation of android and less so pirating!
Theoretically they could make more on Android. I’m sure the game wouldn’t work on more than 50% of devices given the hardware requirement..
Don’t even get me started on the 1 star reviews with people upset the game wont work on their device.
Even further reason to not bring it to Android. I guess Chris you get a pass by the fanboys to criticize google. Per usual the fanboys are going nuts and it’s NEVER GOOGLE gasp because google can do no wrong.
Do you have to be an asshole all the time?
That’s messed up I think Chris is a good guy. I think you owe him an apology.
I rest my case.
You should rest your case. Your behavior has been shocking to say the least.
And they have the nerve to call iPhone users “sheep”…..
Baaaaaaaa….
Obviously you haven’t seen the wrath of Google Fans. Remember Buzz? The Google Fans spared no obscenities berating Google for that fiasco. It’s Apple that get’s the pass. They could release a piece of glass with an Apple logo etched in it and Apple Fans would praise it as the greatest innovation of all time.
I always get a kick out of this:
http://www.theonion.com/video/apple-introduces-revolutionary-new-laptop-with-no,14299/
iGlass…. Brilliant!
Also, just wanted to point out that everything that I’ve thought was a good, entertaining or useful app I bought. Former IOS user turned Android user shortly before the GX2 Courtroom Fiasco.
Does Infinity Blade work on iPhone 3G and 3GS? I think that quite a large portion of iPhone users have those phones.
In the interview, they mentioned that for the sequel, it scales down for the the 3GS and iPad. Pretty neat.
The one star reviews seem to be limited to apps that allow install on all, or most phones. I don’t see that problem with apps that only allow installation on phones they have been tested on. More devs should extensively test their app on multiple devices and take advantage of the Market’s feature to discriminate based on specific devices. If they fail to do so I feel they deserve the one star.
The only solution to piracy in any platform is to implement draconian DRM which is unacceptable when a consumer pays for a product. I say devs who refuse to understand that fact don’t deserve our money anyway. Personally, I can live without Infinity Blade.
I couldn’t agree more. Chris is basically begging developers to demand stricter DRM from Google. When Android will surpass iOS in user base, too, they will come or their competition will be there before them. They’ll have no choice. Netflix said they won’t come to Android unless there is hardware level DRM, and just a few months later they came anyway. I say we wait it out, rather than beg them for stronger DRM. DRM is never, ever a good thing. I know content companies don’t understand that, but users at least should know better.
Netflix doesn’t care, the content producers do. I doubt Netflix would include any DRM if they could get away with it.
The tough problem is to figure out a way to punish pirates without substantially inconveniencing paid customers. It’s a tough problem for PC games as well. Steam is good example of doing this right, while Games for Windows Live is a good example of doing this very wrong.
This is not true… simple validation tools can be implemented to avoid piracy (i.e. an app, in order to fire up on a given phone, transmits validation codes and/or verifies the user’s (or phone’s) ID)…
Umm… That’s exactly the type of unacceptable DRM I’m talking about. Your solution would lock every user into the dev’s validation server. That would effectively kill the game for PAYING consumers say if the company busts and can no longer maintain their server. Similarly it would ruin the game for any user that decided to forego a data connection such as when traveling or just to save money. Then there are privacy concerns whenever a phone implements a phone-home type system. Like I said before it’s draconian for a paid app. ANY DRM is unacceptable when paying for an app
I already have this problem with one of my favorite games. It’s free(ad-supported), but it will not start without a data connection. It doesn’t crash. It just refuses to start and re-directs you to the Android Market (which of course, doesn’t work since I don’t have a data connection).
It’s REALLY annoying since there are areas inside my workplace where my cellphone cannot get a signal. And the developer doesn’t have a paid version that removes that dependence on the data connection. I would gladly pay for the game!
Why not let google’s servers for android market take care of the validations. You don’t have to validate very time. Just when you install from the market. The purchase is good for all your android devices anyways, as long as they have legitimate access to android market.
Agree. Good example are Spectral Souls of Hyperdevbox or iForest and many more. Compared to the free piracy on iOS (on jailbroken devices..so not the 4s so far) Android has some good and effective ways to protect the apps.
Check This out ! https://market.android.com/det…
Check out a game called Blood & Glory in the Android Market Place
Oh lord. It’s truly disturbing how those that don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it.
This is a bogus excuse.
This is a bunch of BS.
The iOS users have installous, which is a lot easier than downloading paid apps for Android from the internet.
Last year, their excuse was that Android was too fragmented, and now they’re claiming privacy. Plus, last year, they were able to show a demo of their game during the Apple event for the iPhone 4.
So, considering that their claims are BS and that made a special deal with Apple to show a demo of their game during an Apple event, it’s extremely likely that Apple is giving them a special deal to keep them from releasing their game for Android.
Liar. Installous requires users to jailbreak (only available via a tethered jb at the moment), then add a new source, then install the app. Android requires no modification – just download an apk and run it.
Google also provides methods that can be developed into the app to check if it was legitimately purchased or not. Can it be beaten? Probably, but not by the average phone owner, or even the same group that uses jeailbreak apps to JB their iPhone.
what about ios , jailbreak > cydia > installous ….. Liars
Yeah, but with Android it’s open to EVERYONE vs iOS, in which your’e talking about a small percentage of people who jailbreak.
Its open to everyone who knows about it which is like iOs. So you don’t have to root to do it but you can still do it is the point. Its open to everyone on iOs if you know how its the samething no way is it different just because you have an extra loop to go through. Are you aware of how many jailbroken iPhones and iPods there are? any iPhone that runs on t-mos networked is jailbroke. There are at least 1 million iPhone owners on t-mobile alone. I currently know more people with jail broken iPhones than people with pirated android apps actually to be exact i don’t know any one person with pirated android apps.
Only around 10% of users jailbreak. Even fewer install installous. Android requires no special knowledge to allow piracy – you just download the apk. Idiot.
Proof please i’d love to see this. Android requires that for one you know how to install apks out of the market itself, it also requires you to know where to get is. You say it like there are just big a$$ signs pointing how and where to download apks. To pirate one must know how to pirate of which is considered special knowledge as if you ask most people they wouldn’t even know that you can download anywhere else but the android market.
So instead of porting their product over to android (which will cost waaaayy less than the initial development costs, givin them a larger return) they decide they don’t want what’s essentially free money? Smart strategy
I’ll wait until GameLoft comes out with “Infinite Slashes 1” and 2 to laugh at their faces
Apple is giving them a special deal to keep them from releasing their games for Android.
Really? Mind sharing your proof?
I don’t have proof, but when you consider that these reasons are total BS and that they were able to show a demo of their game at a very important Apple event, it’s very likely that Apple is giving them a special deal to keep them from developing for Android.
Are you aware that your reasoning lacks any rational thought?
Your reasoning is flawed to say the least.
Do you have proof they are lying?
You made a wild accusation now back it up.
Apple isnt’t even pushing this game and never have. They would have been far smart to push about a handful of other best sellers to be iOS exclusive and it didn’t happen. I doubt Apple would want to waste their time on this silly game. Have you ever heard anyone say they bought iPhone over an Android device because of Infinity Blade?
Just throwing this out there as food for thought but Apple is indeed pushing this game. During the 4S event, Infinity Blade 2 was the only game shown off. The Infinity Blade series is a massive draw for iOS and Apple would be retarded to not take advantage of this and I guarantee there is more to it than just simple piracy issues stopping them from bringing it to Android.
Maybe it’s the $20 million that they’ve made from iOS that keeps them with Apple. Based upon rampant piracy and fandroids being allergic to paid apps, it’s a no brainer….
That’s a stereotypical douche bag comment, the average user doesn’t side load apps, and tons of people buy apps on the Android platform.
If you’re going to run down people for posting outrageous opinions, don’t do it yourself.
@Aeires:
The App Store has generated $4.9 Billion in revenue and has paid $3.5 Billion to developers. The Android Market has generated $330 Million and paid $239 Million to developers:
http://www.eweekeurope.co.uk/news/apple-beats-android-on-developer-revenues-47266
Not a stereotype bro…..FACT. Deal with it….
I’m not sure your article is a good source of information on real android app purchasing behaviors. It is using androlib in some fashion as a tool for data on android app purchasing data.
Ya it dosent really make much sense. Average life of a phone is 2 years and people only have one. By not providing for android they are not gaining any money in iOS… not like anyone is going to go buy a iphone just to play their game…
whatever. the screenshot looks cool yes but i gives no fucks. release it in the android market or stfu. i care not about a game if the devs wont even let us attempt to buy the shit. WAAH PIRACY. eat a dick. every form of media is plagued by it. get over it. we were not the 1st ones to get pirated and we wont be the last. i BUY all my apps. i know the time and effort it takes to create something and its only RIGHT that you deserve to get paid for it. but if your gonna be a bitch about it than honestly FUCK your creation.
I think you read into this too deeply. Who is bitching? They were asked why they don’t develop for Android and the answer was piracy. I don’t see where anyone was bitching.
Piracy in the G1 days???? Oh shut up! For 80% of the G1’s life there werent even paid apps.
Are you forgetting Blapk Market?
Total BS…yes, there’s piracy, but the vast majority of users don’t use pirated software.
You think they are denying themselves an extra source of revenue stream out of spite?
I don’t have an answer to this. Very many developers find developing for Android profitable, and very much so, for that matter. Obviously there is more to this than you or I know. I can tell you it’s not a cut and dry “we can;t make money here so we won’t do it”.
Any developer taking money from apple to keep away from android is a dumb developer i say, the amount of money apple will pay them is far less than amount of money they can make.
and one day they will find out hope its not to late
JB iphone got all their apps for free… what???
So by not going to bring their app to android… They make 0 dollars outside of apple. Even if 10% of games are pirated apps on android, they’re missing a huge stream of revenue. Just dumb.
Maybe they feel their reputation and user experience is worth more.
Crazy I know.
Wait, what does reputation and user experience have to do with piracy?
I’m pretty sure they’ve looked into it. FFS sake do you think they would ignore a massive revenue stream if they thought it could make them millions?
Tit.
Maybe it’s because the Android market has generated $330 MILLION in app sales, while the App Store has generated $4.9 BILLION:
http://m.cnet.com/Article.rbml?nid=57328804&cid=null&bcid=&bid=-248
Simple math bro. Developers go where the money is
However, considering most apps are free with ad support, how much revenue is created through ads?? Where is that in the article?
I agree the apple app store is currently getting more revenue from purchased apps, but ads are the mainstay of how android developers are making their $$. Pull your head out and look at the big picture. Until we have ALL the numbers everyones arguments are pointless.
Agreed.
There are quite a few games, like Words With Friends and Angry Birds, that only has a free version with ad support on Android. On iOS players can buy an ad-free version for $1.
That’s only one side of the story. A lot of apps are generating money on add revenue, which isn’t shown in this chart. Rovio made a bundle on Angry Birds by giving it away free on Android, compared to having it paid for on iOS.
The simple truth is there is a lot of money to be made in both markets, which is why many developers port iOS versions to Android.
Lame excuse… meanwhile other devs are laughing all the way to the bank, like Rovio with their very simple, but popular game.
These guys made 20 million bucks. I really don’t think they are hurting either.
You are wrong about Cydia and you should issue a correction. Cydia is the alternative app store platform that is usually installed after jailbreaking. It lets users install tweaks, mods and apps that have been rejected by Apple. Many are free but some are paid for. It is not a way to install pirated apps. To do that you need to add an additional repository, which Cydia warns you not to and then install an app called Installous.
Installous is completely separate to Cydia and is solely for installing pirated apps.
Most Androids allow you to install pirated apks out of the box – no modifications are required. iOS piracy requires you to jailbreak your device, then add a new source, ignore warnings about piracy, and then install another dedicated app. On Android, you just download the apk file and run it.
Since we are in the clarification spirit, pirated apps do not require Installous for installation. One can pretty easily download the file, point iTunes to it, and Sync it with their jailbroken device. Either way, it’s (almost) as easy to install a irated game on iOS as it is on Android. I would bet the difference is that far more Android users have the know-how than do iOS users.
Maybe – my point was that the aticle is wrong in claiming that Cyidia is the app for installing pirated apps. The developers of Cydia are against piracy and are considering blocking the Appulous source completely – at the moment it warns you and advices against it.
I see this as a matter of semantics. Cydia would be where you get started, so in a way it’s accurate. (Let’s be realistic, they won’t go step by step into how, specifically, you pirate something on iOS) And the owners can block all they want. A new repo will pop up. Just a huge waste of time.
Mike. With all due respect. What the hell are you talking about? Only 10% of apple users jb? Cydia is against this and that? Are you mixing up your fiction with fact?
Why is it every IOS user i encounter knows what jailbreaking is? Just because
android can play apks out of the box doesn’t mean the average user a) knows
this or b) will do this. I know more android users who say, really? you
can do that? than i do hey help me jb my iphone.
If i read everything and believed it…I could look at a million places and see silly wording to “cover” ones asses. All files are not hosted on this site, just linked to. We provide the application/service but are not responsible for what users may illegally do with it. Pimpmywii – clearly a tool to softmod with a disclaimer of how piracy is illegal…need i go on?
No, the difference is that Android users suffer from freetardation…..
On Android, yes you can pirate games, but I don’t think that is the problem. I think the problem is that on Android, you have to enter a credit card, and no one does that resulting in loss revenue from kids and cheapskates. On the App Store, there are gift cards, so kids and people unwilling to put on their credit card can purchase apps, too. So I think the problem is not as much piracy, but instead that there are less Android users actually willing to pay for apps.
In iOS, you must enter a credit card to even look at the App Store. Method of payment has nothing to do with this issue…
Completely wrong, you don’t have to add any cards at all.
Method of payment has a lot to do with the issue.
The iOS App Store does require credit cards if you aren’t paying with anything other than a gift card (and even then, I’m skeptical). Apple prides itself on its treasure trove of credit card numbers it has acquired.
To even download FREE apps, one must enter a credit card. I know ’cause I had my dumb iPhone loving friend over who wanted to download Pandora and couldn’t figure it out. I had to show her.
WrOng….if you dont know how to bypass the payment part then u and your “dumb iPhone friend” are both dumb, I love android devices and prob gonna get the nexus….I really hate all the slander between iPhone fan boys n Phandroid lovers….it’s a matter of preference and we are not “apple” or “google” but I also have An iPhone 4 and recently just set up my little sisters new iPod touch…..no credit card needed…..it’s really simPle….if u don’t see the option to skip that or say no card….google how to do it….I haven’t given apple my credit card info once and I’ve used the app store to download numerous free and paid apps…..just thought I’d let you know…..if u still think you HAVE to give a CC after u do some research, message this post back and I’ll be glad to tell u how to not enter any type of payment options and still use the app store
Owned….
Which they have to support by annoying in game advertising because they know that they can’t make any money from a paid version because people will just steal it.
When all else fails? F.U.D.
If they were so concerned about piracy, they could always release to the Amazon market only-you have to have that in order to use any of their downloads anyway, and it hasn’t seemed to hurt sales for a lot of devs.
As for iOS, the toucharcade dev forums are littered with threads from devs about how bad piracy is, especially the small devs. And even though Apple has no official return policy I’ve talked to people who asked for a refund on a game or app up to 6 months after they bought it, and gotten the refund. Not only that, but they still keep the app (just unable to update).
As someone else pointed out, it’s not that Android users are cheaper, but Google only allows purchases with a cc. If they made gift cards or even allowed paypal to be used as payment, I think they’d see an increase in sales across the board. Neither market is perfect, or piracy free, but seeing as how IB has been used two years in a row to showcase the iPhones, I call bullshit on what Chair said.
You know it could just be that this game truly showcases what can be done, graphically, on the iPhone…
and you do know that statement completely contradicts what you said earlier about Apple not pushing this game
Games from Amazon can be pirated just as well as games from the market, or iOS games for that matter. The only difference is that iOS requires jailbreak to be able to run them. And guess what, I know more people who pirate on iOS than people who do on Android. (And I know roughly the same number of people on each OS)
i have rooted a crap ton of phones but I always buy apps. Its the only way to support good developers. This is nonsense I really think the majority buy apps and less look to steal them.
I agree. I root every device I have but I purchase apps because I want developers to support Android. If devs truly see the Android ecosystem as an anything goes crapshoot, then what incentive do they have to develop for it? Pirating all of your apps only hurts the phone OS we all love so dearly.
iOS can keep Infinity Blade. It’s devs are showboating, and its very boring. You want the game? You know what to do.
*doubts he would think it was boring if it was in the Android Market*
zzz…
I’m on an iPhone 4, and I can honestly say Infinity Blade is really boring.
I don’t get why it gets 5 stars in App Store neither.
Piracy on Android is not as bad as they make it sound to be, yes it is harder to steal software on iOS. But eventually the devs not making games for android will loose out much more. There will soon be more than triple the amount of Android users over iOS users, and most of the Android won’t commit to piracy some will for sure but I still believe most people won’t. I know exactly where and how to find paid apps for free, have I ever downloaded any NO.
Looking at the people who do, they are the same ones who jailbreak their iPhones and use install0us (iOS wares program) it’s an extra step to do exactly the same way as it is to download an apk after doing an internet search until you find one (and having to scan it for malware).
Chris Chavez, could you send email to [email protected] . I could give you few numbers about iOS and Android piracy rates… if you are interested write some cool article about piracy…
This would be interesting!
People who don’t want to pay…don’t want to pay.
You can do whatever you want against it.
Just try to make the best app/game you can for people who want to buy it.
Forget about the others.
@lordofthereef : 48 hours to try allowed in the market now. I think it’s enough to try..
these guys are idiots.
apple nut huggers ofcourse
It’s all about business models, these guys prefer a closed model, earn 20 mil but have to abide by the rules and costs of the closed system, marketing etc.
Robin Hoods (I’ve never heard of a pirate that gives) distribute freely, and I would argue, to people that aren’t that bothered to buy this life changing app. However, if they like the look of it they become your free marketing tool, propelling the myth of how life changing the app is and how you need to get it.
this kind of distribution model is similar to tv advertising but with no up front costs, and benefits from much better targeting. If these guys are smart they would have relied on calculators to find out market size and penetration opportunities. Of course they may have just listened to the hype and stated that android is ‘ the wild west’.
If Americans had walked away from the wild west would the US be the world force it now is? (apologies for the rhetoric!)
Well, honestly speaking I have downloaded nearly a thousand apks from net. I just dont find it worth buying since usually i dont use an app for more than a week. Maybe its because im teenager and dont have enough money for apps, but why would you buy a thing, when you can get it for free? I think the best way to make money from games is to put adds on it and make it possible to take them down for a payment.
Let’s just say we all pirated this game, wouldn’t they still get Heaps $$$ from their in-app purchases!? Heck, I know i’ve spent a little too much on in-app purchases even on free titles!
I have to agree with Chair on this one. My game ConnecToo has both paid version and free version with ADs. So users can indeed try before buy. But instead for what I see in Flurry.com stats, they rather pirate full version. I sold little over 500 pieces of the game (for 0.50 GBP), but there is more than 105000 installs worldwide. Mostly in China, but who cares. That’s the reason I started to make AD supported games only without any “full version”. Not to mention that now I’m porting my games to iOS. And sales will determine whether I’ll switch completely (for development).
Don’t get me wrong – I love all of my Android devices (Galaxy S2, Nexus One and Asus Transformer), but you cannot buy bread with love.
maybe china pirate the hell of your app, because they cannot pay for your app? ( it seems china android market cannot pay for app )
That’s why we have GLU mobile :P Blood & Glory –> https://market.android.com/details?id=com.glu.gladiator&feature=featured-apps#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDIwMywiY29tLmdsdS5nbGFkaWF0b3IiXQ..
Nothing short of Google removing the ability to side load apps on stock Android will make these devs happy.
This will make it so only the root community would be able to pirate.
Guys Android doesn’t get high quality games like Infinity Blade because not enough Android users are willing to spend $5 or more on any app or game. And the company who makes Infinity Blade has no intent of releasing a “free ad-supported” or “lite” version.
Developers make the best mobile games for iOS because iOS users spend the most money on apps and games.
You ever consider it could be expensive and a lot of work to port such a high quality game to Android? And maybe these developers feel not enough Android users will spend enough money on the game to make it worthwhile.
I think you got the point, Matt. Sadly I have to say…People have to understand that too much piracy can really scare developers! And without developers we can say goodbye to Android, too.
It’s really that simple….
As a die-hard “FanDroid”, I have to admit that the problem with piracy on Android devices is Google’s fault. While I in no way support Draconian DRM policies, Google made the mistake of letting Android developers utilize various avenues to get apps to the consumer.. that is there are way too many app stores, and not only that but Google does not effectively patrol their own app market.
Case in point:
I purchased NFS:Shift by EA a while back when EA put the game on sale for .99. Well now that app that I paid for is useless because EA “pulled” that version from the market and replaced it with a higher priced version after the sale. That broke the link between my app and the market app, so my app can never be updated or uninstalled by me because the app I paid for does not exist on the market anymore.
No amount of emails to EA or Google fixed that issue. So I did what any reasonable person would do.. I “found” the apk to the game I purchased so that I could continue to use it. Why wouldn’t EA just update the price back to the normal price like most developers do when they put an app on sale? Why would Google even allow that to happen? After all, it was clearly a way to milk more money from consumers that purchased the game legitimately.
Back to the amount of ways for developers to get us apps..Look at the Gameloft BS! Many of their games are not available on the Android Market, instead they sell their best games through their own website/market. Sounds okay right? Well except that when you purchase a game through their website, that game is only re-downloadable to the device it was purchased on.. period. If you upgrade your phone or tablet, then you are SOL. You will need to repurchase the app. I mean that is like buying an XBox 360 or PS3 game, and only being able to play it on a single console. We wouldn’t stand for that as consumers, so why should we stand for this?
I purchase tons of apps and games through the market (and of course I take advantage of the FAOTD through the Amazon market), but Google needs to fix this type of nonsense if they expect consumers to support the developers. If you make it difficult for consumers to get what they want legitimately, they will find easier ways to get it.
I truely fail to understand this obsession with games on a tablet. It’s a lousy platform for games, always has been always will be. Give me my games on the Xbox and my big screen tv.
I agree that tablets cannot replace a home console, but as a frequent traveler I use my tablet alot to play games to pass the time.
wth? don’t tell me that they are still worried about piracy… ROVIO did it properly. they saw that piracy was a bit high on Android and took a completely different approach. they made the game completely FREE and inserted ads. now this way, everyone will get the game for free. and SINCE it’s free, a LOT of people will download the game. i mean, a LOT. maybe even a 15x-20x increase than if the the developers would have charged for the game. Since the game has ads in it, (for example, the pause menu could implement ads, and obviously the main menu) ads will be displayed or clicked on each time the game is launched. so the developer isn’t getting a one-time payment. they are CONSTANTLY getting revenue from players LONG after the game is out. If i remember correctly, ROVIO agreed that this model was the best way to make money, as they were making 12 million per month at the time!
This strategy needs to be spread, so major developers are aware of it.
I agree with you in many ways, however comparing Angry Birds to this game is almost like comparing Apples to oranges. Angry birds really does lend itself to adds in the top right corner. You really lose almost nothing, in terms of gameplay enjoyment that way. With a game like infinity blade, it is actually pretty useful to have the entire screen. At the very least, ads in Infinity Blade would be far more distracting than in Angry Birds. Also, a LOT more dev time goes into a fully 3d rendered game of this calibur than it does for a game like Angry Birds. I am not saying they couldn’t make money here, because I am sure they could. As devs it is perfectly within their right to decide whether the amount of money projected to be made is worth the extra effort of supporting another platform.
Well, that would be a good reason to have both free ad-supported versions and paid versions with no ads. People could try out the free version, and if they found the game enjoyable but the ads annoying, they could easily upgrade to the paid version.
I repeat. The amount of money projected to be made may not be enough to justify the port. I am sure there are other factors too. How many horrible rating have you seen in the marketplace because of people with shit hardware upset the game won run on their device?
Still stupid, hell why make games for PC, piracy happens all the time in PCs so it must be a bad platform for game developers. Even if a few people pirate games is it that big of a deal if they make a few mil in profit anyway? People will pay for apps if they’re good.
I think most people can live without Infinity Blade. Let’s keep Android OS the innovative and open system it’s always been.
Well damn. Instead of buying it and playing it on my 4.3 inch Bionic, now Im going to have pirate it and play it on my jailbroke 3.5 inch iShit. Im not paying to have it on an inferior device, free it is then. Sorry guys.
Do those assholes developers are telling me there is no piracy in the apple products…..They really are a bunch of assholes.I wonder how much money apple is paying them for keeping the game eclusive to them…
Why not just release to amazon app store? Same walled garden as apple provides and apps only work if you install from there and have the store installed.
Last time I checked, Infinity Blade was also chart topping in AppTrackr..
Piracy is NEVER as bad as they make it out to be, just look at the largest pirate platform Windows but somehow they still push out products and developers still make money. Devs need to quit making excuses because of the devs we can’t even have good enough time to test products if it works or not and its not like they have to do anything for us if its outside google’s 15 minute return window. Dev’s need to trust and respect their customers and in android that respect and trust is lacking, all because a few people know how to install an apk. the attempts to block piracy will only lead to much more piracy due to more knowledge about it.
Developers don’t even lose anything as a result of piracy in the mobile world such as android, its not like they were prepacked discs in jeweled cases of the pc world. Devs are creating something and they hope it runs right across the board most times with android not all apps work across all devices so they only have to make it one time and tweak little bits here and there if they want. Its not a loss if its just a copy and they weren’t going to buy it anyways. If anything its just an annoyance.
I’ve dabbled in piracy in my day. .. it is a bunch of questionable sites with links and ads. The dies are constantly being shut down and moved. It is a lot of work to go that route.
Yet iOS warez has:
– a website of such quality that it rivals the actual App Store
– an app in cydia which is better than the app store
– a domain that has not been shut down
Idevices also have a huge fan base of hackers and piraters that can focus on a single device base.
I have acquired more apps on my iPad than I ever tried on my Android because Android makes It harder than iOS for sure.
Devs might want to pull their heads out of their asses and do a bit more research on the real pirate device.
This is absolute nonsense! They should sell the game for a bug or less and nearly no one will strugle with probably virus contaminated APK files, to geht this piece of sh.. ;)
Lmao the funny thing is I downloaded shadowgun the other day of the net :D
anyway it is a boring game… for big graphics and deep games i’ll stick to the vita or something with controls like xperia play… give me a mobile assassins creed and i’ll never be bored on the road ever again
ALL my friends have jailbroken iphones with installous, i’ve brought more in market then then combined on App Store
I was just about to post the same thing. when I was an iPhone users, I had nearly 2,000 pirated apps from installous, since switching to Android last summer, Ive installed about a dozen pirated apps BUT after evaluating them, went straight to the app store to buy it.
from 2009-2011 I pirated nearly 2,000 iOS apps and purchased only 2 apps from the app store.
since June when I got my Galaxy Tab 10.1 Ive purchased 2 Android phones and 2 more Android tablets and Ive purchased 39 apps including a half dozen or so apps that cost more than $5.
even on Cydia, Ive purchased more apps than I did in the App Store, and I purchased 2 copies of each app !! including MyWi which cost mean $20 for each license.
clearly, Im willing to PIRATE apps and Im willing to PAY top dollar for apps. BUT HERE’S THE DIFFERENCE. the Market Place and Cydia lets me try before I buy, the app store does not, therefore I pirate from the app store but buy from everybody else.
Isn’t it like an Artist saying they’re aren’t gonna release any Albums because of uncontrollable piracy? Heck there are tons of MP3 download apps!
Well, few seconds of googling showed and proofed that such statements are just wrong and based on prejudice.
It takes just a few seconds to find a copy of that iOS Game – so where is the protection on iOS? Today I read a comment of a german iOS Developer who said that 85% installs of his App are pirated copies. The copyprotection mechanisms of iOS are way less effective than the ones on Android. Sure, on both plattforms are many people who pirate – but if a developer want’s to avoid it it seems to be more effective on Android.
Example? The game spectral souls of hyperdevbox. It’s one of the most complex Android games and sells for 14-15US$. It’s been in the market since almost a year and still nobody got a pirated copy which worked for more than few hours done. There are also some other good App developer who do a good job. There is a serverside android licensing system and with a good implementation and maybe some own tweaks it’s possible to do a pretty good copy protection for Android Apps without harming the user – and I’m glad it’s there because thoose developer have deserved any buck.
I love your info, it must be true since you said it! And of course you are always right since your a walking supercomputer of knowledge. Who cares that the statistics of Jailbroken devices on IOS are 7-11% because you must be right! How could I doubt your concrete information? How stupid of me….Damn those thriving, conniving 11% they must be pirating everything >_> I hate them all; they are being selfish enough to pirate 85% of a developers app that he/she worked hard on. No wonder Apple has only paid out approximately $4.5 billion to developers, it’s due to these jailbreaking, fiends! Maybe people that bought an app and are unsatisfied with it are part of the conspiracy too? Of course, how dare they! Surely they can’t pay for something they regret buying and then expect to get their money back! They must be sent to the gallows for beheading!
Signed, A Moron
The problem is Google made it too easy to install pirated apps. All you do is to check the Unknown Sources and you are ready to go. It’s also easy to make games for iOS than Android, since they only use PowerVR SGX graphic chips.
I think the piracy download numbers can be misleading, and don’t necessarily reflect actual usage. I admit that I have downloaded full versions of quite a few apps, for two reasons: The market doesn’t provide enough time to try them out and compare them to similar apps, and the free or trial versions are often too limited for me to make an informed decision. Most of those apps sit on my phone for a few days or weeks until I get around to trying them out and uninstalling.
As an aspiring dev, I definitely buy apps that I like and use. I have purchased over 40 to date, most in the $4-10 range.
How much more than 20 million do the greedy bastards need, lol!!
If the vast majority of Android users have the attitude of “how developers get compensated for their work is not my problem” then they can and should expect developers to have the attitude of “whether Android users have great apps or not is not my problem”. If something is not worth the money to you then just accept the fact that you are priced out of the market for that thing and move on with life. You will be just fine without it. I am priced out of the market for a Lamborghini and I sleep just fine. Life is good. But insisting on having something for free when it is not offered for free is pathetic and childish, and it cheapens the work of developers. If you really hate to pay for software, you can download the Android SDK for free and write all the software you want for free. Be warned however that the time spent in this process may actually cultivate in you a grownup understanding of software economics, and you’ll have to leave your childhood behind.
There’s plenty of things you can check against such as hardware id’s and mac addresses and make it so when there is no match it doesn’t work . It really doesn’t have to be that complex does it?
Android is the easiest to pirate. No surprise here.
Your dillusional if you think iOS is secure and pirate free! This is just a small trade off for open source, which i rather keep than some videogame.
Well here’s something that might help … I was scrolling around the Market place looking for some games for my SGS2 and I saw this game called Blood & Glory (by GLU MOBILE), When I open it and saw the pic I was Stunned, The Graphics were AMAZING the design was so much like Infinity Blade and When I saw that it was free, I couldn’t help shedding a tear of joy … :) … Check it out ! https://market.android.com/details?id=com.glu.gladiator
Wow can’t believe time was wasted on that….thought they were going to say it costed $26 for it but when I heard the word “thousand” I was like who the hell would buy that peace of trash unless to play expensive frisbee with their dog!
http://www.jailbreakme.com, click install.
add installous repo
install all the cracked software you want for iphone, period.
Pirates have a really tough life on iOs. :P