iPhone developer Smells Like Donkey, creator of the recent Tap-Fu fighting game, have claimed that the iPhone platform is rampant with piracy - and that Apple is being very slow to respond to the issue.
Astonishingly, research done by the development team reveals that as many as 90 percent of players are using pirated copies of Tap-Fu. In the game's second week of sale a detailed analysis of the high score tables revealed that between 55 and 90 percent of users were playing a pirated version.
The team, speaking on their official website, also found that pirated versions of the game were available online within 40 minutes of the official release.
Smells Like Donkey has also gone on to do a comparison of iPhone device IDs, tracked against the number of players who downloaded pirate copies from sites - the idea being to see if those who pirate the game do later go on to buy a full copy. Apparently there's a zero percent conversion rate.
Apple has been "fairly slow to respond" according to the team, who predict that developers will be forced to take matters into their own hands in the future - though that'll be done through blocking online functionality rather than through vigilante justice, apparently.
Smells Like Donkey says it's first step will be to post an in-game message asking players to buy the game if they enjoy the pirated version.
"The pirates have essentially removed themselves from the iTunes economy and that hurts everyone," it commented. "How much does it hurt? Probably not a whole lot. There's probably a few of these people that would have bought our game in the first place so it's not really a big deal."
Let us know your thoughts in the forums.
Astonishingly, research done by the development team reveals that as many as 90 percent of players are using pirated copies of Tap-Fu. In the game's second week of sale a detailed analysis of the high score tables revealed that between 55 and 90 percent of users were playing a pirated version.
The team, speaking on their official website, also found that pirated versions of the game were available online within 40 minutes of the official release.
Smells Like Donkey has also gone on to do a comparison of iPhone device IDs, tracked against the number of players who downloaded pirate copies from sites - the idea being to see if those who pirate the game do later go on to buy a full copy. Apparently there's a zero percent conversion rate.
Apple has been "fairly slow to respond" according to the team, who predict that developers will be forced to take matters into their own hands in the future - though that'll be done through blocking online functionality rather than through vigilante justice, apparently.
Smells Like Donkey says it's first step will be to post an in-game message asking players to buy the game if they enjoy the pirated version.
"The pirates have essentially removed themselves from the iTunes economy and that hurts everyone," it commented. "How much does it hurt? Probably not a whole lot. There's probably a few of these people that would have bought our game in the first place so it's not really a big deal."
Let us know your thoughts in the forums.
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