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The mobile gaming landscape could have been completely different if Rovio charged a flat $10 for Angry Birds all those years ago. I'm sure they've made signifi

by rchaud 4y ago

The mobile gaming landscape could have been completely different if Rovio charged a flat $10 for Angry Birds all those years ago. I'm sure they've made significantly more money by going freemium with ads, but in doing so they also poisoned the well of mobile gaming. Everything now is Pay to Win. Despite there being genuinely impressive games on mobile (Asphalt racing for one), the mechanics of how the game actually works makes me not want to play it.

justeleblanc 4y ago
It's not one company's decision ten years ago that shaped that whole behemoth of a market.
- philistine 4y ago
  It is. It's just that the culprit is Apple. No demos, IAPs for free games, 70% cut on all transactions, those are the actions that shaped the overwhelming part of the mobile market into a casino-in-everything--but-name.
  - AlexandrB 4y ago
    > casino-in-everything--but-name Still hoping that games with "surprise mechanics"[1] get legislated into the 18+ bucket one day. That would not only keep many kids from blowing their parents' credit cards on gems but make this business model less attractive by shrinking the market. [1] https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/06/20/ea-defends-loot-boxes-calls-them-surprise-mechanics https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/06/20/ea-defends-loot-boxe...
- rchaud 4y ago
  They were the first hit game on iOS, they set the standard for monetization strategy in the then-nascent app store world.
kachurovskiy 4y ago
I'm willing to bet that the wast majority of Angry Bird users (including myself) didn't have a payment method on file at the time of install, much less would agree to spend $10 on it.
AlexandrB 4y ago
I think it's unfair to put so much blame on Rovio. Apple themselves have done a lot to discourage traditional single-purchase apps and encourage IAP and subscriptions. For example, the App Store still lacks support for free trials (outside the context of subscriptions) and upgrade pricing. Differentiation between business models is also needlessly hard. Apps that are free with most features locked behind IAP, free with ads, and free for a limited time with subscription all look the same at first glance in the App Store and there's no way to filter on business model.

by rchaud 4y ago

justeleblanc 4y ago

It's not one company's decision ten years ago that shaped that whole behemoth of a market.

philistine 4y ago
It is. It's just that the culprit is Apple. No demos, IAPs for free games, 70% cut on all transactions, those are the actions that shaped the overwhelming part of the mobile market into a casino-in-everything--but-name.
- AlexandrB 4y ago
  > casino-in-everything--but-name Still hoping that games with "surprise mechanics"[1] get legislated into the 18+ bucket one day. That would not only keep many kids from blowing their parents' credit cards on gems but make this business model less attractive by shrinking the market. [1] https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/06/20/ea-defends-loot-boxes-calls-them-surprise-mechanics https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/06/20/ea-defends-loot-boxe...
rchaud 4y ago
They were the first hit game on iOS, they set the standard for monetization strategy in the then-nascent app store world.

kachurovskiy 4y ago

I'm willing to bet that the wast majority of Angry Bird users (including myself) didn't have a payment method on file at the time of install, much less would agree to spend $10 on it.

AlexandrB 4y ago

I think it's unfair to put so much blame on Rovio. Apple themselves have done a lot to discourage traditional single-purchase apps and encourage IAP and subscriptions. For example, the App Store still lacks support for free trials (outside the context of subscriptions) and upgrade pricing. Differentiation between business models is also needlessly hard. Apps that are free with most features locked behind IAP, free with ads, and free for a limited time with subscription all look the same at first glance in the App Store and there's no way to filter on business model.