When Web Scouts, Inc. wrote its tank warfare game iCombat for the iPhone, the company put a few extra lines of code into the application. The code checked the size of the application's .plist and, if the files size differed from what it was when the company packaged the application, it would phone home.

Checking the size of the .plist file is a popular means of detecting whether an application is being run as a cracked version from a third party website or an official version from the app store. During the cracking process, the .plist changes formats and thus changes in size. Numerous developers have used this method to collect data on unauthorized usage or just to disable an application altogether. Now, Web Scouts, Inc. has made the information it collected public along with their thoughts on the issue of App Store piracy.

The numbers are staggering. Pirates made up almost 74 percent of the application's users during the period in which the statistics were tracked. In the first seven days alone, the application had 6,350 users, 5,261 of which were pirates. That means, at the time of launch, the application realized four pirated copies to every one copy sold (The original article stated a five to one ratio, but that has been pointed out as inaccurate). Eventually, the ratio did level off, reaching one legitimate copy for every one pirated. Oddly enough, however, the company was surprisingly upbeat.

In the end, the makers of iCombat decided that the effort to thwart pirates wasn't worth the trouble, as none of the users they directed to a page asking them to buy the application actually purchased. After all, even big-name software companies know that not every illegal copy equals a lost sale.

"The goal behind launching an app isn’t thwarting pirates, it is getting users and generating sales, so leave the 'making a point' anti-piracy measures to the big guys," Web Scouts wrote on its website. "The competition is so fierce to get noticed in the App store that any attention is good attention."

In the end, the company suggests that developers continue to make an application better and think about a lite version so people can try before buying. Frankly, I'd be curious to see if a lite version hurts legitimate sales in the end, particularly in the game genre. For quality products this might not be the case, but some users might lose interest before they pull the trigger on the full version.

Listing image by RAWKU5