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I may be misunderstanding the author's target for his rant, but why would Google or Apple want to turn off in-app purchasing? They make an immense amount of mon

I may be misunderstanding the author's target for his rant, but why would Google or Apple want to turn off in-app purchasing? They make an immense amount of money off it, which has to outweigh any reason I can imagine for turning it off, including this one. Similarly, why would the developer want to hide their main source of revenue?

radley 13y ago
It's not just "an immense amount of money", in most cases it's the only way they generate revenue.
joosters 13y ago
Apple already offer the ability to turn off in-app purchasing. It's a global setting (which can also be password protected if you're setting up the device for your kids, say) and does the job well. It sounds exactly like what the author needs.
- endianswap 13y ago
  Thanks, I didn't know this. This doesn't stop the popups and inside-app advertisements, though, does it?
  - girvo 13y ago
    Nope just makes it so you can purchase anything. The UI for the IAPs still exist.
- potatolicious 13y ago
  I don't think this is what the author was talking about. I think his complaint is less about control over his spending, but about the intrusiveness and confusion the constant up-selling causes. He's not afraid of Nana spending a boatload on IAPs (though that has happened...), he's frustrated that these games are bombarding Nana with bright flashing buttons that have nothing to do with the core gameplay which he has already bought (either upfront or via IAPs), and making it harder for her to play the game. This is basically the native app equivalent of complaining about intrusive omnipresent banner ads, overlays, and interstitials. They're grossly damaging to the user experience. It's the mobile gaming equivalent of "okay, I clicked your ad and paid a subscription for your online magazine, can you stop bombarding me with even more ads now?".
  - interpol_p 13y ago
    But surely an "off" button for all those intrusive and omnipresent IAP buttons is what he is looking for, then? And this is what is provided in the iOS settings.
    - pjc50 13y ago
      Does it actually turn off the IAP-promoting game mechanics? I think not - more likely you just get bounced at the point you actually try to make the purchase.
      - interpol_p 13y ago
        That's true, it doesn't do that. However, a good developer can simply check [SKPaymentQueue canMakePayments] and disable those IAP nagging screens (as they are now ineffective). I am unsure if any actually do this.
girvo 13y ago
A user experience thing for his particular use case. I see why he'd want it, and can think of another reason why as well (see my post above), but it's not something that will be implemented IMO.
- lukeschlather 13y ago
  A lot of game developers are increasingly trying to milk every last dime out of their customers. There was a time when you bought a game for about $50 and you got access to multiplayer servers that you could count on to be available for several years, and the initial $50 purchase was all the seller expected. So you can have your opinion that this won't be implemented, but obviously it already had been, and I'm hoping IAP are more of a passing fad.
  - girvo 13y ago
    With respect (and I totally agree with you), IAP not existing in the past isn't quite the same as expecting App Devs to implement a feature that turns off the IAP user interface. That's why I said that this wouldn't be implemented...
    - lukeschlather 13y ago
      If the "turn off IAP" button costs $10 I bet a lot of games could turn a tidy profit off it.

radley 13y ago

It's not just "an immense amount of money", in most cases it's the only way they generate revenue.

joosters 13y ago

Apple already offer the ability to turn off in-app purchasing. It's a global setting (which can also be password protected if you're setting up the device for your kids, say) and does the job well. It sounds exactly like what the author needs.

endianswap 13y ago
Thanks, I didn't know this. This doesn't stop the popups and inside-app advertisements, though, does it?
- girvo 13y ago
  Nope just makes it so you can purchase anything. The UI for the IAPs still exist.
potatolicious 13y ago
I don't think this is what the author was talking about. I think his complaint is less about control over his spending, but about the intrusiveness and confusion the constant up-selling causes. He's not afraid of Nana spending a boatload on IAPs (though that has happened...), he's frustrated that these games are bombarding Nana with bright flashing buttons that have nothing to do with the core gameplay which he has already bought (either upfront or via IAPs), and making it harder for her to play the game. This is basically the native app equivalent of complaining about intrusive omnipresent banner ads, overlays, and interstitials. They're grossly damaging to the user experience. It's the mobile gaming equivalent of "okay, I clicked your ad and paid a subscription for your online magazine, can you stop bombarding me with even more ads now?".
- interpol_p 13y ago
  But surely an "off" button for all those intrusive and omnipresent IAP buttons is what he is looking for, then? And this is what is provided in the iOS settings.
  - pjc50 13y ago
    Does it actually turn off the IAP-promoting game mechanics? I think not - more likely you just get bounced at the point you actually try to make the purchase.
    - interpol_p 13y ago
      That's true, it doesn't do that. However, a good developer can simply check [SKPaymentQueue canMakePayments] and disable those IAP nagging screens (as they are now ineffective). I am unsure if any actually do this.

girvo 13y ago

A user experience thing for his particular use case. I see why he'd want it, and can think of another reason why as well (see my post above), but it's not something that will be implemented IMO.

lukeschlather 13y ago
A lot of game developers are increasingly trying to milk every last dime out of their customers. There was a time when you bought a game for about $50 and you got access to multiplayer servers that you could count on to be available for several years, and the initial $50 purchase was all the seller expected. So you can have your opinion that this won't be implemented, but obviously it already had been, and I'm hoping IAP are more of a passing fad.
- girvo 13y ago
  With respect (and I totally agree with you), IAP not existing in the past isn't quite the same as expecting App Devs to implement a feature that turns off the IAP user interface. That's why I said that this wouldn't be implemented...
  - lukeschlather 13y ago
    If the "turn off IAP" button costs $10 I bet a lot of games could turn a tidy profit off it.