Back in May of this year, developer Yakuto released their first iOS game called Table Tennis Touch (Free). It was a table tennis game, obviously, that featured incredible graphics along with gameplay that straddled the line between simulation and arcade. Yakuto totally nailed it with Table Tennis Touch, as it was a blast to play, had a lot of content and was very challenging. The game initially sold for four dollars and offered completely optional “Boosts" as in-app purchase items which would allow you to hit harder and add more spin to your shots.

Or at least, Yakuto claimed they were optional. And therein lied the problem. Since Table Tennis Touch was such a challenging game, especially at the later tiers of opponents, and since using the Boost power-ups could turn the tide against a tough opponent so easily, it was really hard for players to know for sure that the developer wasn’t simply “turning the screws" in terms of challenge in order to get people to buy more IAP Boosts. Personally, I absolutely believe there was no malice behind Yakuto’s inclusion of IAP Boosts, I think they just enjoyed having a very challenging game. And there were players who managed to beat all opponents without buying extra boosts, so it was definitely possible. But still, the only way to be sure there was no funny business going on is to not offer IAP Boosts at all.

So that’s just what Yakuto has done with the latest update to Table Tennis Touch: they’ve removed all in-app purchases. The Boost power-ups still exist, but these are only earned through completing achievements and playing the Career mode in the game, you can’t buy them outright. If you’ve been playing the game previously and have already unlocked achievements that would qualify you to earn some Boost, you’ll automatically get those upon updating.

Like I’ve said, I really enjoy Table Tennis Touch and I’ve always felt the developers were on the up and up with the whole Boost IAP thing, but it’s nice that they were so concerned with what their players might think that they just completely removed them so there would be no doubt that the game wasn’t tuned in a way that pushed people towards spending more money. Now, it’s simply an awesome four dollar table tennis game that you can pay for once and enjoy forever. Yakuto has more planned for Table Tennis Touch in future updates too, so be sure to keep tabs on the forum thread for discussion and more information from them, and if you like table tennis games you should make sure you check this one out.