When goods are virtually free, why do people pirate software? Developer Cliff Harris took the simple step on his blog... to ask the pirates why they weren't buying his titles. While the Positech titles in question are for the desktop, the principles should apply to mobile games as well.

His four main conclusions were as follows;

• No More DRM
  While only one title had even basic DRM (a single internet look up to check) this was enough to put most people off. So no more DRM in the new titles.
• Longer Demos
  Although the marketing man in him wanted short demos to encourage the full purchase, this short time period was putting people off. So longer demos are now the order of the day, and when he has spare time, he'll go back and make his existing demos longer.
• Price
  While a $20 price tag felt about right to the developer, the market felt this was over priced. So a cut down to $9.95 has been implemented.
• Quality
  Probably the interesting conclusion is the developer realising that he could do more with his games and make them better. The higher quality games seemed to be pirated less than those that simply tick the boxes.. Quality comes through may seem 'ideal world' but to this developer it does seem to be the case.

His overall conclusion? "But I gave it a go, and I know my games will be better as a result. I'll never make millions from them, but I think now I know more about why pirates do what they do, I'll be in a better position to keep doing what I wanted, which is making games for the PC."

Definitly worth a read if you're a developer or industry watcher.