4 ms·

This whole 'pay-to-win' thing has made the free to play games go downhill in quality so much in the app store. I don't download free games anymore because I kno

This whole 'pay-to-win' thing has made the free to play games go downhill in quality so much in the app store. I don't download free games anymore because I know the majority of them will bombard me with push notifications and 'incentives' to get me to cough up £19.99 for some magic keys. Here's a novel idea: Charge me £4.99 for the game and let me play it. I don't mind paying for a decent quality game. I would rather pay for a game than download a free one that's unplayable without a tonne of in app purchases.

RyanZAG 13y ago
Unfortunately, most people do mind. That's why this stuff is so rampant. As the article says, when it comes down to paying, people will see £4.99 listed as a price and decide "nah, I have this other game I tried that I can still pay". No sale. However if the price says 'free', people click the install button and think "I'll give this a try later". Basically, you are still in the minority, and most people do not shell out £4.99 for a phone game. They do, however, shell out 5 crystals for an extra rope so that they can "just beat this stage already"! It's terrible and preys on human failings. The people who are most likely to fall for this are the people who are least likely to be able to afford to pay the rent. The free escape into a world where they can have positive reinforcement from daily troubles is now giving them negative reinforcement until they pay up. Capitalism is fairly cruel.
- andyhmltn 13y ago
  It really is a shame and it's a symptom of the whole 'race to the bottom' that goes on in the app store. In a way, I see why people put these practices in place. You can't charge over a certain amount (as you said) without bombing in sales. In reality some of these games need a lot of work to get the out the door. I'm aware of a few app store games that took months of a full studio's time to release. Yet still, people see it's over £0.69 and say 'Nah, that little game isn't worth it.'
  - socillion 13y ago
    It's because the app store is an extraordinarily poor discovery mechanism for games if they aren't free - people won't pay for something they can't tell if they will enjoy, and app stores simply don't provide enough information to answer that question.
    - GFischer 13y ago
      The app stores are extremely poor discovery mechanisms, full stop. I won't develop mobile software unless I know there's an alternate marketing channel. I do believe there's money to be made, but the way to reach people isn't through the store.
unsignedint 13y ago
This, is basically I always think whenever I see these F2P games. It's just so frustrating that I can't just pay for the game -- it is getting worse the point that if you don't get those in-app purchases, then these obnoxious ads start popping up on me (I guess to offset the cost that I'm not paying to get their coins or whatever), which basically does not motivate me to buy stuff, rather it just goes straight to uninstall... Maybe I'm getting old...

RyanZAG 13y ago

Unfortunately, most people do mind. That's why this stuff is so rampant. As the article says, when it comes down to paying, people will see £4.99 listed as a price and decide "nah, I have this other game I tried that I can still pay". No sale. However if the price says 'free', people click the install button and think "I'll give this a try later". Basically, you are still in the minority, and most people do not shell out £4.99 for a phone game. They do, however, shell out 5 crystals for an extra rope so that they can "just beat this stage already"! It's terrible and preys on human failings. The people who are most likely to fall for this are the people who are least likely to be able to afford to pay the rent. The free escape into a world where they can have positive reinforcement from daily troubles is now giving them negative reinforcement until they pay up. Capitalism is fairly cruel.

andyhmltn 13y ago
It really is a shame and it's a symptom of the whole 'race to the bottom' that goes on in the app store. In a way, I see why people put these practices in place. You can't charge over a certain amount (as you said) without bombing in sales. In reality some of these games need a lot of work to get the out the door. I'm aware of a few app store games that took months of a full studio's time to release. Yet still, people see it's over £0.69 and say 'Nah, that little game isn't worth it.'
- socillion 13y ago
  It's because the app store is an extraordinarily poor discovery mechanism for games if they aren't free - people won't pay for something they can't tell if they will enjoy, and app stores simply don't provide enough information to answer that question.
  - GFischer 13y ago
    The app stores are extremely poor discovery mechanisms, full stop. I won't develop mobile software unless I know there's an alternate marketing channel. I do believe there's money to be made, but the way to reach people isn't through the store.

unsignedint 13y ago

This, is basically I always think whenever I see these F2P games. It's just so frustrating that I can't just pay for the game -- it is getting worse the point that if you don't get those in-app purchases, then these obnoxious ads start popping up on me (I guess to offset the cost that I'm not paying to get their coins or whatever), which basically does not motivate me to buy stuff, rather it just goes straight to uninstall... Maybe I'm getting old...