5 ms·

Free-to-play games aren't going away anytime soon and neither are IAPs. Consumers just don't pay for games anymore and a developer has to make money somehow. I

by dmalik 12y ago

Free-to-play games aren't going away anytime soon and neither are IAPs. Consumers just don't pay for games anymore and a developer has to make money somehow. I like what Apple is doing by forcing developers to make more ethical games. This Gamasutra article on ethical free-to-play gaming comes to mind and foreshadowed Apples move - http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/207779/ethical_freetoplay_game_design_.php?page=1 http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/207779/ethical_freetop... Edit: I'm referring to mobile - "New research shows free-to-play on mobile isn't slowing down" http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/211333/New_research_shows_freetoplay_on_mobile_isnt_slowing_down.php http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/211333/New_research_shows...

wmf 12y ago
There are good IAPs (like permanent unlocks) and bad IAPs (like consumables).
- gearoidoc 12y ago
  It's not cut and dry like that.
  - pessimizer 12y ago
    Why isn't it? It certainly sounds simple.
    - gearoidoc 12y ago
      Perhaps I misunderstood you but not all consumables are bad IAPs.
- nasalgoat 12y ago
  There's apps that offers "credits" to access features on an ad-hoc basis that would otherwise require a full subscription. That's actually cheaper for some people and allows them to try it out without committing to a full subscription. You can't be so black and white about IAP.
TillE 12y ago
> Consumers just don't pay for games anymore This is completely absurd. Look at Steam. Or every game console.
- selectodude 12y ago
  Oh come on. You know the poster was referring to mobile gaming, not gaming in general.
  - TillE 12y ago
    The 3DS XL and PS Vita are also doing quite well.
    - selectodude 12y ago
      Now you're just being intentionally obtuse.
    - tehwebguy 12y ago
      Right! But my guess would be that those are purchased for the purpose of playing games by the majority of customers, and that phones are not.
- ChrisClark 12y ago
  But those games don't run on phones, and we're talking about phones in this discussion today.
  - TillE 12y ago
    Why are phones magically different when we're discussing games? You're going to have to justify that.
    - mcintyre1994 12y ago
      Compare the most popular free games on Steam and consoles with mobile devices. Off the top of my head, Candy Crush Saga and multiple free Angry Birds titles have over 100m downloads on Google Play alone.
jkrems 12y ago
I think it's a question of offering some kind of good old demo mode for games. The problem is not that people don't pay for games (they do, see IAP) but that people don't want to pay for things without knowing what they are buying. Apple has pretty much everything in place to offer (usage) time limited demo versions of paid apps. Many IAPs are using dark UX patterns. Claiming "but they don't have a choice!" is at best naive.
- DanBC 12y ago
  Here's a review of a game that offers the first few levels free, with a single IAP to unlock the rest of the game. Everything is clear and above board and seems to follow the Doom (etc) model - playable game and pay to unlock the rest. http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/Glyph+Quest/review.asp?c=57026 http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/Glyph+Quest/review.asp... Note that this reviewer calls it "tacky".
  - jkrems 12y ago
    Sure, if the game isn't properly up-front about being a limited time demo, it rightfully feels tacky. But if you "bought" it by clicking a "try for a day" button, why would it feel tacky?
- RKoutnik 12y ago
  Making demos is usually a net loss for developers. There are few scenarios where the extra time and effort put into a demo actually result in increased sales [0]. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QM6LoaqEnY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QM6LoaqEnY
  - jkrems 12y ago
    I wasn't talking about "making demos". I was talking about native support in the platform to limit usage of an app to a certain time. The developer just clicks a checkbox "make 24 usage hour demo available" and that's it.
jfoster 12y ago
Note that Apple's efforts might drive up the prices of games and IAPs. Consider the effect of an app offering rewards to users who share it. What is the economic effect of that? The app developer is driving down their average cost of acquiring more customers. Cut that off, and suddenly the app developer has to spend more to acquire customers through some other method (advertising being the most obvious option). In order to preserve profit, revenue must go up. Consumers get slugged with more costly IAPs and apps, or greater amounts of ads within apps.
- Chronic26 12y ago
  Then so be it. Apple's efforts are needed.

by dmalik 12y ago

wmf 12y ago

There are good IAPs (like permanent unlocks) and bad IAPs (like consumables).

gearoidoc 12y ago
It's not cut and dry like that.
- pessimizer 12y ago
  Why isn't it? It certainly sounds simple.
  - gearoidoc 12y ago
    Perhaps I misunderstood you but not all consumables are bad IAPs.
nasalgoat 12y ago
There's apps that offers "credits" to access features on an ad-hoc basis that would otherwise require a full subscription. That's actually cheaper for some people and allows them to try it out without committing to a full subscription. You can't be so black and white about IAP.

TillE 12y ago

> Consumers just don't pay for games anymore This is completely absurd. Look at Steam. Or every game console.

selectodude 12y ago
Oh come on. You know the poster was referring to mobile gaming, not gaming in general.
- TillE 12y ago
  The 3DS XL and PS Vita are also doing quite well.
  - selectodude 12y ago
    Now you're just being intentionally obtuse.
  - tehwebguy 12y ago
    Right! But my guess would be that those are purchased for the purpose of playing games by the majority of customers, and that phones are not.
ChrisClark 12y ago
But those games don't run on phones, and we're talking about phones in this discussion today.
- TillE 12y ago
  Why are phones magically different when we're discussing games? You're going to have to justify that.
  - mcintyre1994 12y ago
    Compare the most popular free games on Steam and consoles with mobile devices. Off the top of my head, Candy Crush Saga and multiple free Angry Birds titles have over 100m downloads on Google Play alone.

jkrems 12y ago

I think it's a question of offering some kind of good old demo mode for games. The problem is not that people don't pay for games (they do, see IAP) but that people don't want to pay for things without knowing what they are buying. Apple has pretty much everything in place to offer (usage) time limited demo versions of paid apps. Many IAPs are using dark UX patterns. Claiming "but they don't have a choice!" is at best naive.

DanBC 12y ago
Here's a review of a game that offers the first few levels free, with a single IAP to unlock the rest of the game. Everything is clear and above board and seems to follow the Doom (etc) model - playable game and pay to unlock the rest. http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/Glyph+Quest/review.asp?c=57026 http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/Glyph+Quest/review.asp... Note that this reviewer calls it "tacky".
- jkrems 12y ago
  Sure, if the game isn't properly up-front about being a limited time demo, it rightfully feels tacky. But if you "bought" it by clicking a "try for a day" button, why would it feel tacky?
RKoutnik 12y ago
Making demos is usually a net loss for developers. There are few scenarios where the extra time and effort put into a demo actually result in increased sales [0]. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QM6LoaqEnY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QM6LoaqEnY
- jkrems 12y ago
  I wasn't talking about "making demos". I was talking about native support in the platform to limit usage of an app to a certain time. The developer just clicks a checkbox "make 24 usage hour demo available" and that's it.

jfoster 12y ago

Note that Apple's efforts might drive up the prices of games and IAPs. Consider the effect of an app offering rewards to users who share it. What is the economic effect of that? The app developer is driving down their average cost of acquiring more customers. Cut that off, and suddenly the app developer has to spend more to acquire customers through some other method (advertising being the most obvious option). In order to preserve profit, revenue must go up. Consumers get slugged with more costly IAPs and apps, or greater amounts of ads within apps.

Chronic26 12y ago
Then so be it. Apple's efforts are needed.