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I also saw the Dungeon Keeper on the iOS App Store, and my first thought was: "DKs gameplay would be fantastic for mobile!". Then I saw their IAP strategy and

by kawsper 13y ago

I also saw the Dungeon Keeper on the iOS App Store, and my first thought was: "DKs gameplay would be fantastic for mobile!". Then I saw their IAP strategy and dropped the game. I would happily have payed $19.99 (the price of XCOM for iOS) for a decent DK on my iPhone. On the other hand I see myself paying for cosmetic items in DotA 2. They don't change gameplay, but my characters look cool. It sounds stupid, and it probably is, but Valve have really designed it well.

stefan_kendall 13y ago
You are unique in this. They would get almost no sales and destroyed in reviews if they charged the real price of the game ($20). Instead, they use IAP. Some users buy nothing, some buy the $69.99 game, and on average everyone pays $20.
- bjterry 13y ago
  Actually, the effect is much more exaggerated than you are suggesting. According to Tim Rogers, the mythical average player pays $1.70, but it's really made of 95% of people who spend $0, and a power-law-esque distribution of people who spend >$0 to hundreds or thousands of dollars.[1] Most of the money is made off of "whales." Technically he's talking about social games and not mobile games, but it would be surprising if the economics were significantly different given that the mechanic (pay to make things go faster) is identical. 1: http://insertcredit.com/2011/09/22/who-killed-videogames-a-ghost-story/chapter/2/ http://insertcredit.com/2011/09/22/who-killed-videogames-a-g...
- bitmage 13y ago
  He's not alone. I played both DK games when they were originally released, and eagerly downloaded this new one. It looked great, and the narrator's "So...you've finally returned" was a perfect beginning. Then I played through the tutorial, and saw it would take four hours to dig through a single block of dirt. I went to the store screen and would happily have paid $20 for a full unlock. Instead I was faced with multiple gem purchase options, including a "BEST VALUE - $100!". You have got to be kidding. And while I could make smaller purchases, I have no way of knowing how fast they would be depleted. As the article notes, the game is clearly focused on scamming the money out of you as fast as possible. So I've uninstalled it without spending anything and am left with further disgust for EA. There's got to be a happier medium ($10 game with cosmetic unlocks?) than this pay-for-every-move methodology. Valve certainly seems to be making it work.

by kawsper 13y ago

stefan_kendall 13y ago

You are unique in this. They would get almost no sales and destroyed in reviews if they charged the real price of the game ($20). Instead, they use IAP. Some users buy nothing, some buy the $69.99 game, and on average everyone pays $20.

bjterry 13y ago
Actually, the effect is much more exaggerated than you are suggesting. According to Tim Rogers, the mythical average player pays $1.70, but it's really made of 95% of people who spend $0, and a power-law-esque distribution of people who spend >$0 to hundreds or thousands of dollars.[1] Most of the money is made off of "whales." Technically he's talking about social games and not mobile games, but it would be surprising if the economics were significantly different given that the mechanic (pay to make things go faster) is identical. 1: http://insertcredit.com/2011/09/22/who-killed-videogames-a-ghost-story/chapter/2/ http://insertcredit.com/2011/09/22/who-killed-videogames-a-g...
bitmage 13y ago
He's not alone. I played both DK games when they were originally released, and eagerly downloaded this new one. It looked great, and the narrator's "So...you've finally returned" was a perfect beginning. Then I played through the tutorial, and saw it would take four hours to dig through a single block of dirt. I went to the store screen and would happily have paid $20 for a full unlock. Instead I was faced with multiple gem purchase options, including a "BEST VALUE - $100!". You have got to be kidding. And while I could make smaller purchases, I have no way of knowing how fast they would be depleted. As the article notes, the game is clearly focused on scamming the money out of you as fast as possible. So I've uninstalled it without spending anything and am left with further disgust for EA. There's got to be a happier medium ($10 game with cosmetic unlocks?) than this pay-for-every-move methodology. Valve certainly seems to be making it work.