Ok, I think I know what the overwhelming opinion will be on this subject, but what the heck, I figured I’d ask anyway. How do you feel when a game you have paid for contains in-game advertisements? I bring this up because this week’s release of Rayman Fiesta Run ($2.99) seems to have created a bit of controversy. It’s a sequel to one of the best games on the App Store, Rayman Jungle Run ($2.99), and at least early on it appears to be better than the first in just about every way. Except maybe for one: the game costs $2.99 but features in-game ads.
Now, based on some of the comments in our forums, the frequency at which you’re shown these ads seems to vary from player to player. Some have only gotten an ad once out of many hours of play, while others have seen one pop up multiple times during just an hour of play. It could be that Ubisoft didn’t mean to include advertisements being shown in this paid release, perhaps just having the framework built in for a future lite version or something. I’ve seen things like that happen before. In this case though, I don’t think so.
Personally, I fall somewhere in the middle when it comes to in-game ads. I don’t love them, and given the option to pay to disable them through an IAP purchase I’ll do that every time to get rid of them. That said, if a game is fun and ad-supported without an option to disable, I won’t avoid playing it just because of them, unless they are ultra-intrusive on the actual gameplay or something. Basically I’m not crazy about advertisements of any kind in a game and I’ll disable them if given the chance, but just their inclusion alone isn’t a deal-breaker the majority of the time.
Some people feel much differently, though. Any form of advertisements will be a deal-breaker, and when it comes to a game that you have already paid for, an in-game ad can feel like a slap in the face. Free ad-supported games are easily avoided or simply deleted without risk if found to be a burden, but once you’ve paid for and downloaded a game only to find that a big pop-up advertisement interrupts your playtime, that can be a much more jarring and angering event.
The thing about Rayman Fiesta Run in particular is that it’s a phenomenal game, and its three dollar entry fee is a steal for the level of quality and hours upon hours of enjoyment I’ll likely get from it in the months to come. Even as a paid game I’d gladly fork over even more money to disable the ads in it, simply because I think it’s worth far more than it costs already. The kicker is that the actual IAP in the game, the currency used to buy in-game power-ups and new characters, is almost laughably unnecessary given how liberally its doled out just by playing normally.
So how do you guys feel about ads? Is it a crime against humanity including ads in a paid game? Are you cool dealing with ads in a free game if the game itself is enjoyable? Do you pay to disable the ads when given the option to? We’d love to hear what you think in the comments below.
