Tap-Fu Developer on App Store Piracy

Neptune Interactive, the developer of Tap-Fu, has posted its own extensive analysis of the phenomenon known as “App Store piracy,” a subject that has been touched by many lately. Talking from a developer’s perspective, Neptune tries to paint a picture of just how incapable developers are of turning things to their favor, once their app has been pirated.

Noting the immense joy a developer feels once Apple approves their app... “A day later, you are devastated when you realize that you are getting totally screwed over,” Neptune Interactive says. “Despite what you’ve heard from others, your game isn’t being bought but it is being played.”

Here's the company's app, by the way.

Download Tap-Fu for iPhone ($1.99)

The company has done some investigating and has realized that most people playing its game are pirates. While Neptune doesn’t have hard feelings towards iPhone hackers – “[...] There’s some pretty cool things coming out from those developers and some of it looks like some pretty cool nerd fun” –, the company does feel the situation is slowly getting out of hand.

“Because Apple has been fairly slow to respond to this and because piracy is becoming very commonplace, we’re predicting that developers will be taking it into their own hands to try and prevent it. Detecting a pirated app is quite simple to do so I wouldn’t blame them at all. We’re even considering doing a few things,” Neptune claims.

“Probably the first thing we’ll try is popping up a message reminding people that they really should buy the game if they like it and conveniently provide links to do so. It’ll be an interesting test to do so we’ll let you know when it’s done,” the company reveals. “Also, the move to DLC seems to be another step in the right direction to combat this,” Neptune adds. “Give away the base app for free and charge for content. This forces the pirates to change their strategy significantly and it might be a while before it becomes feasible to attack this system.”

Lastly, and probably the method that is most easy to implement, “Another option for multiplayer apps is to verify the app online and not allow it to connect to a match making server or something of the sort. Fair is fair and if someone isn’t paying for your app, they maybe shouldn’t be allowed to use your service,” the company’s post reads.