Tap-Fu developer Smells Like Donkey has expressed surprise and concern about the ease and rate of iPhone piracy.

According to the studio, a cracked version of its recent release Tap-Fu turned up on various download sites just 40 minutes after launch. During the game’s first week on sale, the developer found that as many as 90 per cent of players submitting scores to online leaderboards were playing with a pirated copy.

The company also said that zero per cent of those found to be playing pirated copies of Tap-Fu ended up purchasing a legitimate copy of the game, even though its price was quickly slashed from $3.99 to $1.99.

“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,” Smells Like Donkey said. “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.

“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.

“Also, the move to DLC seems to be another step in the right direction to combat this. 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.

“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. It’s all up to the tastes of the individual developer.”