6 ms·

Why not just charge money for games? Seems like a reasonable way for them to make money...

by wtetzner 7y ago

fredsanford 7y ago
Then you create a soft ceiling and miss out on the whales that will spend $1K a month to have a shinier hat.
- Lammy 7y ago
  Still waiting to hear a downside :)
- Zenst 7y ago
  Yes many of those games litterly throw their freemium players as cannon fodder to those whales. Few get the balance right and many will always tip one way on the odd patch, pandering to the whales - who after all - spend money. Though the games that just offer hats and other cosmetics, well, you have to love those and certainly a solution that appeases all and rich fools are not to be scoffed at in such games as they are paying for it to carry on.
- someone7x 7y ago
  For some, “missing out” on that kinda exploitation is the reason for not doing it. I’m not interested in the nicotine business for the same reasons, regardless of how much each smoking whale is worth.
rchaud 7y ago
Because the app economy doesn't reward that kind of behaviour. A free game will get more downloads than a paid game. Kids are the biggest consumers of mobile games and they can't download it if it's paid and they don't have a credit card set on their account. Obscure games with low sales will fall off the rankings pretty quickly. And that's before you consider that there are only a few successful game types (Clash of Clans, Tower Defense, Candy Crush) and probably 10 different clones of each out there. How would you stand out? This incentivizes devs to just put out a game for free, load it up with ads and hope that it gets enough downloads for it to become an acquisition target.
- Zenst 7y ago
  Why I'm a big fan of such games that also offer a remove-ad's one of fee option. Simple and elegant way to handle many area's - try before buy is covered and allows people the choice. Not all games/apps work with that approach, but many do and I'm all for fair choice.
  - res0nat0r 7y ago
    Apple Arcade is awesome. $5/month for top tier titles, all of which have no IAP or ads. There are some seriously great games there with voice acting and beautiful artwork etc. You can't beat the price and they add new stuff constantly. Just a few that I have installed right now, but there are a ton more: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pilgrims/id1296855328 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pilgrims/id1296855328 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/jenny-leclue-detectivu/id882562699 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/jenny-leclue-detectivu/id88256... https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tangle-tower/id1437742603 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tangle-tower/id1437742603 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sayonara-wild-hearts/id1441675161 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sayonara-wild-hearts/id1441675... https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dead-end-job/id1461747354 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dead-end-job/id1461747354
- imgabe 7y ago
  Eh, as a kid in the 80s and 90s, we were by far the biggest consumers of console games which cost up to $50-$60, in 1980s dollars, and Nintendo had no problem making money. Maybe it would be a good thing if children couldn't wantonly download adware without their parents inspecting it?
  - hombre_fatal 7y ago
    You're forgetting that you could rent games from Blockbuster before you bought them back then and some consoles had demo disks. You can't rent mobile games to try them before you buy them. Freemium is the modern/mobile game demo. If you have kids, try Apple Arcade.
    - 7y ago

Why not just charge money for games? Seems like a reasonable way for them to make money...

fredsanford 7y ago

Then you create a soft ceiling and miss out on the whales that will spend $1K a month to have a shinier hat.

Lammy 7y ago
Still waiting to hear a downside :)
Zenst 7y ago
Yes many of those games litterly throw their freemium players as cannon fodder to those whales. Few get the balance right and many will always tip one way on the odd patch, pandering to the whales - who after all - spend money. Though the games that just offer hats and other cosmetics, well, you have to love those and certainly a solution that appeases all and rich fools are not to be scoffed at in such games as they are paying for it to carry on.
someone7x 7y ago
For some, “missing out” on that kinda exploitation is the reason for not doing it. I’m not interested in the nicotine business for the same reasons, regardless of how much each smoking whale is worth.

rchaud 7y ago

Because the app economy doesn't reward that kind of behaviour. A free game will get more downloads than a paid game. Kids are the biggest consumers of mobile games and they can't download it if it's paid and they don't have a credit card set on their account. Obscure games with low sales will fall off the rankings pretty quickly. And that's before you consider that there are only a few successful game types (Clash of Clans, Tower Defense, Candy Crush) and probably 10 different clones of each out there. How would you stand out? This incentivizes devs to just put out a game for free, load it up with ads and hope that it gets enough downloads for it to become an acquisition target.

Zenst 7y ago
Why I'm a big fan of such games that also offer a remove-ad's one of fee option. Simple and elegant way to handle many area's - try before buy is covered and allows people the choice. Not all games/apps work with that approach, but many do and I'm all for fair choice.
- res0nat0r 7y ago
  Apple Arcade is awesome. $5/month for top tier titles, all of which have no IAP or ads. There are some seriously great games there with voice acting and beautiful artwork etc. You can't beat the price and they add new stuff constantly. Just a few that I have installed right now, but there are a ton more: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pilgrims/id1296855328 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pilgrims/id1296855328 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/jenny-leclue-detectivu/id882562699 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/jenny-leclue-detectivu/id88256... https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tangle-tower/id1437742603 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tangle-tower/id1437742603 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sayonara-wild-hearts/id1441675161 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sayonara-wild-hearts/id1441675... https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dead-end-job/id1461747354 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dead-end-job/id1461747354
imgabe 7y ago
Eh, as a kid in the 80s and 90s, we were by far the biggest consumers of console games which cost up to $50-$60, in 1980s dollars, and Nintendo had no problem making money. Maybe it would be a good thing if children couldn't wantonly download adware without their parents inspecting it?
- hombre_fatal 7y ago
  You're forgetting that you could rent games from Blockbuster before you bought them back then and some consoles had demo disks. You can't rent mobile games to try them before you buy them. Freemium is the modern/mobile game demo. If you have kids, try Apple Arcade.
  - 7y ago