Thoughts on piracy…
Things come full circle. Here’s the game I developed, Dark Nova on a Warez board. I just found this while searching for our android code repo… a simple link on how you can download and install my game for free.
My game is only 3 bucks. Yet, people are out making an effort to pirate it. What’s funny is that this doesn’t bother me in the least. It kind of makes me happy. 
As a kid, “Juarez” was a very close friend of mine. I started out in about 1986 with an Atari ST and a 1200bps modem and I quickly set out to find free software. At 12 I had no income and a huge desire to collect and try as much software as possible. I spent countless hours finding warez BBSs that carried Atari ST stuff. And countless more getting access, trading software, and playing with my pirated software booty! I later ran several semi-popular warez BBSs including Burning Chrome ][ (801), The Turing Registry (714), and The Black Sun (714).
As I pirated I always said I wouldn’t care if I was on the other end. If I was the software developer and kids (or slovenly adults) were stealing from me, I’d be fine with it. I’m glad to say now that I’m on the other side, I don’t care. People are stealing from me. Getting my game for free and I don’t care.
Why? Because there will always be pirates and they actually help more than they hurt. A pirate spends an inordinate amount of time pirating. It’s sport. It’s clearly not about the $3 my game costs. But these pirates are enthusiasts as well. They want to play EVERY game, even if only once. They recommend games to people who don’t pirate, increasing your paying customers. It’s the long tail. Kids on the bleeding edge don’t pay. They even offer to help long tailers not pay. But in the end, people with more money than time (your actual customer) will pay.
Today, while I still maintain the skills to easily pirate iPhone games, I never do. It’s not worth it to me. I’m busy and have more money than time. It’s not that I can’t pirate, or that I am scared to pirate, I just don’t want the hassle. Pirating software is ALWAYS a hassle even for the most accomplished pirate. Most pirates eventually grow out of it and start paying for things they like either to earnestly support the artist/creator or simply to avoid the hassle.
This is why I hate invasive copy protection. It does nothing to stop the real pirates and it usually inconveniences the actual paying customer. The pirates are not your customer. They are your “social marketing” team.