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IMO this has so much to do with how Apple advertises the App Store. They were able to get people to spend some money on apps, which was a HUGE improvement over

IMO this has so much to do with how Apple advertises the App Store. They were able to get people to spend some money on apps, which was a HUGE improvement over no money at all. But then, instead of managing to get people to pay higher upfront prices, they heavily supported a race to the bottom and micro transactions, which inevitably resulted in freemium games that felt like casinos. Unfortunately that isn't just true for games but also for apps. I wish Apple had focused more on building a healthier App Store ecosystem.

simondotau 3y ago
One could argue that Apple Arcade is exactly that healthier ecosystem. Games with less bullshit and no in-app purchases.
- goosedragons 3y ago
  It's a tiny garden in a dump of shit. Some titles probably can't make money from a revenue share of service that costs $6 a month.
  - simondotau 3y ago
    Which is fine, because I don't need a thousand games. Honestly the only thing I wish Arcade offered is more games for the 5–10 year old crowd.
Gareth321 3y ago
They've been actively fostering the enshitiffication of the App Store. Practises like preventing paid upgrades forces developers to use micro-transactions to survive. They also aggressively change and deprecate APIs without adequate notice or documentation. This means apps require constant maintenance. So one-time purchases are much less viable for developers. Soon we'll be able to install whichever apps we like in the EU thanks to the DMA. I think there is a hunger for alternative app stores.
qubex 3y ago
Not to mention the rise of the dreaded Subscription Model. That has to be the most miserable scam ever inflicted upon software users. I’m sure a lot of developers here will disagree and quote needing a constant stream of revenue, but the same is true of any business including a Mom&Pop corner shop—and yet they survive (or don’t) on the margin they make on the products they sell, not by selling a subscription card you need to possess in order to have the privilege of shopping at their store.

simondotau 3y ago

One could argue that Apple Arcade is exactly that healthier ecosystem. Games with less bullshit and no in-app purchases.

goosedragons 3y ago
It's a tiny garden in a dump of shit. Some titles probably can't make money from a revenue share of service that costs $6 a month.
- simondotau 3y ago
  Which is fine, because I don't need a thousand games. Honestly the only thing I wish Arcade offered is more games for the 5–10 year old crowd.

Gareth321 3y ago

They've been actively fostering the enshitiffication of the App Store. Practises like preventing paid upgrades forces developers to use micro-transactions to survive. They also aggressively change and deprecate APIs without adequate notice or documentation. This means apps require constant maintenance. So one-time purchases are much less viable for developers. Soon we'll be able to install whichever apps we like in the EU thanks to the DMA. I think there is a hunger for alternative app stores.

qubex 3y ago

Not to mention the rise of the dreaded Subscription Model. That has to be the most miserable scam ever inflicted upon software users. I’m sure a lot of developers here will disagree and quote needing a constant stream of revenue, but the same is true of any business including a Mom&Pop corner shop—and yet they survive (or don’t) on the margin they make on the products they sell, not by selling a subscription card you need to possess in order to have the privilege of shopping at their store.