Linked by henderson101 on Tue 24th Jul 2012 23:42 UTC
"I read earlier this week about a developer who made their Android version free after the $1 game was extensively pirated. Stories like this come as no surprise, but the industry press rarely deals with the core problem - and nor does Google. [...] Whilst the aforementioned story about the Android game didn't surprise me, it did horrify me. Android is designed to be difficult to make money from, and the core issue is that it's open - with the corrosive mentality that surrounds such openness."
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RE: Openness and Piracy, I don't see where the match up.
by sergio on Wed 25th Jul 2012 04:45
in reply to "Openness and Piracy, I don't see where the match up."
Member since:2005-07-06
I think sub-par app quality (at least when compared to corresponding iOS versions) are the reason Android developers aren't making money.
I think It's just the opposite. There's no high quality apps because developers can't monetize them easily on Android.
I mean, Android is less profitable than iOS, so developers have fewer incentives to do great apps.
RE[2]: Openness and Piracy, I don't see where the match up.
by JAlexoid on Wed 25th Jul 2012 22:22
in reply to "RE: Openness and Piracy, I don't see where the match up."
Member since:2009-05-19
RE: Openness and Piracy, I don't see where the match up.
by grahamtriggs on Wed 25th Jul 2012 04:50
in reply to "Openness and Piracy, I don't see where the match up."
Member since:2009-05-27
Fragmentation is a big issue. You are always left wondering with Android apps - will it run on my hardware? Will it run on my version of Android?
You do get the odd iOS incompatibility with Apple, but generally, it's much simpler - a small number of hardware configurations, and the apps can state which ones they work on.
I'm not advocating entirely losing the fragmentation - when it comes to buying the handset, having multiple manufacturers, each doing slightly different things (larger batteries, larger screens, smaller handsets, etc.) is a real strength in being able to buy a phone that suits you.
But there needs to be some broader "profiles" defined that handsets can be classified into, so that we can easily see what should work.
And it probably should be the norm that every app has a 'demo' install, where you can see it before you buy. I know that many have free and paid versions - but these are separate entries in the store, which make it harder to navigate, and don't lead you to purchase them. Get rid of that and unify 'demo' and 'buy' under a single entry, and make it easy to convert a demo into a purchase.
RE[2]: Openness and Piracy, I don't see where the match up.
by JAlexoid on Wed 25th Jul 2012 22:25
in reply to "RE: Openness and Piracy, I don't see where the match up."
Member since:2009-05-19
RE: Openness and Piracy, I don't see where the match up.
by ze_jerkface on Wed 25th Jul 2012 10:24
in reply to "Openness and Piracy, I don't see where the match up."
Member since:2012-06-22
If that's the argument then the many pirated copies of Windows, Office, and Adobe Photoshop prove that the 'closed' model does not work.
No that isn't the argument at all.
Windows, Office and Photoshop are not sold on a closed platform but more importantly have plenty of legit customers to fund development.
Android is overwhelmed with cheapskates who pirate $1 games
http://gamepolitics.com/2011/10/11/piracy-rate-facefighter-android-...
Open gaming platforms make piracy easier. That's just a fact of life. The PS3 would have been rife with piracy from day one if the games were naked ISOs loaded on a standard cpu. I'm sorry if nerds have such a hard time with this reality.
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Member since:
2009-02-09
I think sub-par app quality (at least when compared to corresponding iOS versions) are the reason Android developers aren't making money. I know it's hard because the market is fragmented and a whole bunch of other reasons (economic and technical). I also know things are improving but it's still frustrating to see a difference in quality or performance when comparing an iOS app and an Android App from the same publisher. I think this is the reason the Android Market is not doing so well. Not because of 'openness'
If that's the argument then the many pirated copies of Windows, Office, and Adobe Photoshop prove that the 'closed' model does not work.