Sometimes it’s hard to know which side of the fence Apple falls on in regards to paid games and free to play ones. On one hand, free to play has become the most dominant and successful type of game in the App Store, and a select few of them make an ungodly amount of money every single day, of which Apple takes a 30% cut. On the other hand, free to play games and their in-app purchases have caused Apple a lot of headaches over the years, like kids racking up insane bills buying IAP without their parents’ knowing about it. They’ve even changed the download button for free games in the App Store from saying “Free" to saying “Get" in an effort to not mislead customers.
In addition to all that, free to play games have the stigma of being lower-quality. While there are a lot of great, high-quality free to play games out there, the vast majority of what gets released to the App Store is crap, and it can’t make Apple–who prides itself on premium products and experiences–very happy. They’ve even allegedly told Banner Saga developer Stoic Studios that they were “frustrated" at the race-to-the-bottom mentality of the mobile market and that “people don’t want to pay anything" for apps.
So I guess it’s not too surprising that Apple has taken it upon themselves to highlight “Pay Once & Play" experiences in one of the top-level banners in the latest App Store feature refresh. The big banner itself advertises “Great Games with No In-App Purchases" and in the US App Store includes the games: 80 Days, Leo’s Fortune, Radiation Island, Goat Simulator and Bastion.
Clicking on the banner will take you to the full feature which lists dozens of additional games, broken up into the categories Recent Releases, Blockbuster Games, and App Store Originals. Apple has curated quite an impressive list of fantastic games in the new feature, all of which have no in-app purchases to speak of. Perhaps they are encouraging more developers to release more premium, pay-once games, as we’ve heard whispers of in the past. Or perhaps they just decided to highlight a bunch of awesome games that can be bought up-front.
If you’re one of those gamers who despises the whole free to play movement, then be sure to check out this new “Pay Once & Play" feature and put your money where your mouth is and buy some of these awesome premium games.
[MacStories via MacRumors]
My favorite Molyneux game is Victim. He plays it so well.
Lmao!
Comment of the year!
These games and their continued failures are exactly why I never have and never will back a Kickstarter game. Devs will only get my money after they release their game and only if I deem that it is worth my time and money. I have nothing against people backing these kinds of projects, but I'd rather put my hard earned cash into something that has the potential to give me a higher return on investment. I could always use more Apple stock. It's doing great for me so far.
Agreed. I'm a flooring installer, I get paid after the job is done and looks good. If you paid me for a product you have not seen, and for expertise you may not get, then you may need to rethink your spending habits.
Dead State on PC was a kickstarter and everyone seems happy with it since full release and they're still updating it. So my point is not all kickstarters are bad.
Never thought I would too,,but backed Elite: Dangerous. Best game I've played in years.
But on topic, I played & loved Populous, Syndicate back in the 90's & it seems to me that Peter actually knows his name carries a lot of weight. I'm not actually sure he's sorry for the things get gets away with.
Yomi, Pandante and Sunless Sea are all games I've backed on Kickstarter (although the first two were boardgames); neither of which have disappointed myself or the other kickstarter donators. Not all Kickstarter projects are bad, but Molyneux has disappointed me since Fable and B&W 2.
You don't seem to understand that kickstarter creates an opportunity to create a game that would otherwise never get funded. Wasteland 2 is my single example but there are plenty others. Also congratulations on being a stock owner, we're all very proud of you.
Yep, there are some good games that started on Kickstarter. I have played plenty of them. I just choose not to invest in them upfront. I only invest in them after they release and get good reviews.
You realize that if everyone followed your advice, those games wouldn't have been made, right? Obviously more thought needs to be put into paying for a Kickstarter or similar crowdfunding effort, but there's no reason to avoid it like the plague.
WRONG. The nature of business says yes--they would be created by companies that don't teeter on the idea of selling releases to buyers before they're created. We are supposed to buy GAMES, not *ideas* of games. Jeez. This whole Kickstarter/Early Access/DLC pre-order junk is all a big business joke on all. Just because we all can dig out a great release that was pre-funded by gamers does NOT mean it is at all an ethical way, or good idea for companies to do business with customers.
If they can't find a publisher for their game, maybe they shouldn't make it. Simply because as of yet, no Kickstarter backed video game has ever made it's release date. And there has been more schlock than good games.
We're telling the big box publishers that we're willing to put money down on promises, which they don't have to keep because they already have our money.
So you're perfectly content with allowing a handful of major publishers to act as the gatekeepers for which games get made and which don't? I mean, that's fine, but it's a bit depressing. Personally, I get tired of seeing endless rashes of the same franchises, released simply because they're proven moneymakers.
I disagree 100%. There has been a lot of good games lately due to Kickstarter and Indiegogo (in particular, there's really been an RPG resurgence). Just to name a few excellent Kickstarter/Indiegogo successes; The Banner Saga, Shovel Night, Darkest Dungeon, Divinity: Original Sin, Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure, Shadowrun Returns, Cthulhu Saves the World, Wastleland 2, Lords of Xulima, Dead State, FTL: Faster Than Light, Expeditions: Conquistador, Mercenary Kings, Strike Suit Zero, Shadowgate, and Pier Solar HD. That's not even mentioning games that are coming soon that look promising (Torment: Tides of Numenara, Pillars of Eternity, Serpent in the Staglands, Obduction, Shadowrun: Hong Kong, etc.)
So please keep supporting crowd funded games, just use good judgement! Focus on backing projects from creators that have a good track record, and that you can probably trust. If you look at the track record of the guys behind a current Kickatarter such as Underworld: Ascendant for example, it instills confidence. If a project does look shady, don't back it! (for example, don't back anything by Molyneux!).
Absolutely agree that there are plenty of successful Kickstarter games. I've played many of them. I never said they were all failures. I just choose not to back them because I don't think the risk is worth it. If the game releases and it's getting good reviews and good buzz, then I certainly consider buying it. I want my investments to actually have a return other than just a game I will enjoy. If it's a good game I'm going to buy it anyway. But if it isn't then at least I didn't get burned.
John's interview expressed the level of frustration people feel with Peter and was entirely appropriate in my opinion.
At the same time I do feel bad for Peter, because he is destroying his career, reputation, and the hopes of his dwindling supporters. That's where my sympathy lies.
I think it's possible, as human beings, to have sympathy on both sides of a situation. I do, even if MOST of my feelings are in the anti-Molyneux camp.
(I don't recall the Fable scandal. Do we know whether he knew that he was lying about on-rails, vs. having his own impossible hopes it truly wouldn't be? Both are deceptions... but different flavors.)
Haha funny video, all the ones quick to defend him like his a bullied child... Im looking at you gogglebox boy lol but hopefully they realise why that interview was the way it was, molyneux knows that playing the victim card, well always get the gullible rallying around him, he could piss on your back and tell you its raining and they would believe him. This guy systematically knows what he is doing, he has done this for years, and has perfected his routine, so people need to save their sympathy for someone deserves it.
Never heard of Jim Sterling but that was a good video. The very end had me cracking up!
Oh he's great, he rips some people to pieces and for good reason usually. He's been in the games biz for years too so knows his stuff. I've no idea why he wears his outfit though.
Yeah, I noticed the outfit and set too. Reminded me of a certain German dictator from back in the day...
I've never seen that in his outfit you know. I only remember that certain person, from what I've seen, wearing that beige uniform.
Yeah, I liked the video, and he made good argumented points.
But I almost stopped at the beginning because of the set setup and his outfit. They weren't of a good taste, looks like a Waffen SS stand for burning books, but with action figures on top. I'm not sure if it's deliberate or I'm misinterpreting some other US reference he may have.
It's really just a part of his "Jimquisition" personality, I think he's meant to look like an all powerful dictator. I mean, they guy says "Thank God for me" at the end of every episode.
Yep, Jim's actually one of the nicest people I've ever had the pleasure of dealing with. He's even been on our podcast before. The Jimquisition personality is intentional.
He mocks and insults people and get applauded for it.
Well, that's mass media for you in our 21th century. It's all about the sensational and the dramatic now.
I have backed a number of Kickstarter games, and I would never back a Peter Molyneux game. There needs to be a certain level of trust between both parties, and I can't understand how anyone would think he would deliver.
And for those saying no to KS games, one of the best games I've played in years was partly KS (Divinity: OS) and Pillars of Eternity beta is a blast to play (old school ftw).
Karma is a bitch, you reap what you sow Mr Molyneux! Stop making stuff up and deliver what you promise!
Poor Peter, more attacks by the liberal media.
You are insane.
John, Peter, and Jim are all assholes.
Weren't you the one saying "Everyone deserves forgiveness" and defending Peter? Where did that change?
I'm officially freaked out by the set and outfit he's wearing.
That set and that outfit make him look like Hitler or some SS guard. It's in pretty bad taste.
Confirm that. Had the exact same impression
Good article and the Jimquisition episode was a fair assessment of Peter's problem.
Who sympathizes with Peter, those who drank the Kool Aid? It's ludicrous that he's skated by on a handful of classics. RPS merely expressed the frustrations that have percolated for many years. Sure, he's a human, and he works hard, but at some point enough is enough, hence the vehemence that came forth. The industry doesn't need him, and hasn't for a long long time.
How about the reverse?
Maybe, just maybe, idiots should stop pre-ordering things based on hopes, dreams and promises and just wait until a thing comes out and then buy it if it's good, don't buy it if it sucks and it's incomplete and magically these problems will solve themselves.
Companies don't HAVE to deliver any more, there are enough suckers who will gladly plunk down money for something that does not exist for absolutely no benefit to themselves. Oh a trinket for pre-ordering? Maybe a couple bucks off? What if you could have saved all the money by just not buying it? Wouldn't the amount you save in a year by not pre-ordering hopes and dreams balance out the tiny discounts you get off paying for them before they exist?
Come on people, wise up. Molyneux may be a terrible developer, but all you people who pre-order are terrible consumers that perpetuate the cycle by giving developers free money for absolute crap. You both deserve each other.
I really wished Godus was without the iap and say sold for $20 because it's a terrific game but unplayable without IAP.
An idea: are we allowed to both not feel sympathy for Molyneux and still feel that Walker was being a hey-hey-look-at-me asshole?
Yup, that's my take too. Walker came off to me as one of these people who are really a bully at heart, but don't want to be seen as one, so they look for opportunities to attack people who "have it coming." Even if the person being attacked really did something wrong, sometimes it's obvious that the person doing the attacking is motivated more by just enjoying attacking someone than by wanting to right a wrong. I still consider those people jerks even when they attack someone who deserves to be attacked.
No.
This is the internet. You are only allowed to have one of two perspective here - positive and negative. Anything more complex than that is outside the realm of acceptable!
Do you also feel bad for criminals when they get caught by those big bullies called the police?
I have NO sympathy for anyone who gets free money from kickstarter to make a game that's going to make them even more money.
It's like saying I don't want to risk my money and time so I'll risk donating fools money. /Laughing all the way to the bank.
Kickstarter dilutes games and I feel bad for anyone that gets tricked into "donating" to them.
You know there was a time where I was practically tarred and feathered on the internet for saying this exact thing. :)
People don't like hearing the truth, Eli. They like their fantasy world with an extra big helping of bullcrap.
I've read only a third of kickstarter backed games are ever completed. Those aren't the worst odds, but I prefer to give my money to devs after they've finished their game.
Welcome to every single Kickstarter, Early Access and Pre-Order game setup.
He's Jim F'cking Sterling son!
Why isn't there any mention whatsoever of Mr Molyneuxs looking at Dungeon Keeper for mobile in horror and disgust and then went straight ahead and did the same with Godus?
Simple, he's a hypocrite and a lier. It's one thing to pull off his stunts with developers, but it's another to take money from people trough Kickstarter and pissed people off.
Jim already did a whole episode about the abomination that is the mobile Dungeon Keeper. He's said numerous times how it is basically a sign of the apocalypse and how NOT to handle an iOS game.
This was a very good (and short) article. It reminds me of all those things Obama promised, and for some reason people still take him at his word.
Ooh, talk about a parallel! Obama won the Nobel Peace Price based on the fact that they said he was "going to" bring about world peace. That's just as absurd as people paying Peter Molyneux for a game he's "going to" make.
Lmao. Well said...
The game was bound to be a flop
Gotta love Jim Sterling! :)
Who's this Jim guy? Never heard of him. Nevermind I got Google.
It's a bit funny to see this here, because the main reason why Godus failed is that devs made mobile version of the game and concentrated on it, practically abandonning the original PC SKU for long time, SKU which the Kickstarter was for.
The best comment you can make is to just DELETE it!
I'm a little shocked that no one mentions how horrible the IAP are in this game. Have only a few swipes to alter terrain then you have to wait or pay.
Keep beating that dead horse! I think I saw a twitch... could be all the maggots, though, to be entirely fair.
The horse is far from dead, it's quite lively actually! The point is, we're going to keep beating the horse until it does finally die (until Molyneux finally learns to keep his big stupid mouth shut, that is).
Alright lads, keep beating!
Is it beating a dead horse if we're providing content our readers are interested in? That's kind of the purpose of running any kind of media platform. If you're not interested in something, not clicking the headline is the best way to tell us.
👍 great article
Why would anyone preorder a Molyneux game? This isn't the first time he's done this. I'm starting to feel a lot of sympathy for him because people who are familiar with his history of way over-promising still donated to his Kickstarter and are now mad that he did what he always does. Why? If you stuck your head in the mouth of a lion, would you be angry with the lion for biting it off?
Great article. I couldn't have worded it better. I don't think John Walker attacked him at all. He just kept quoting what Peter Molyneux said in the past and made him answer for it. Answers that Peter Molyneux didn't have.
The interview was a tad unprofessional in the sense that it was so openly hostile and subjective right from the start. In doing something like this, the interviewer becomes as much a part of the story as the actual story itself.
Was the interviewer essentially asking the questions that the public wanted to know and asking what everyone was thinking? Yes, of course. But there are other, less aggressive ways to get to the same questions and answers.
Molyneux has provided more than enough rope to hang himself with, he deserves all the scorn, derision and hate that he gets. But it's not a journalists job to be a funnel for that hate.
I don't feel sorry for Molyneux in the slightest...but that could have been a much, much better interview.
I remember reading an interview with him in Amiga Power (!) about pre-release Syndicate (!) in which Molyneux promised that, by controlling the sliders, agents could be sent to ask for the keys to a vehicle before taking it. Or that they could be sent to play frisbee in the park. That last bit I remember with crystal-clarity.
That was 1993, Pete. I'm still waiting for you to deliver on that before we even think about the litany of oversold nonsense since then.