Do having multiple price tiers in games make htem more interesting or fun or are they just unfair and a waste of time? What types of things are expected within them? Are you more inclined to purchase somethin because of the in-game reward it gives you?
It really depends on the game and how much the additional content interests you. All this feature really is supposed to do is add additional gameplay at a price for fans of the game who just can't get enough.
I dislike in-app purchases, unless they really add something worth it. I feel most in-app purchases add things that would be free in an update if there was no in-app purchases. Also, the Flick Fishing in-app purchases adds ONE fishing spot for 99 cents. The game only cost 99 cents and came with way more. I feel in-app purchases are good for apps such as collections of games. If there was a Papi app that contained all the free Papi games for 99 cents, and then allowed you to purchase the paid games in the app to save an icon, that would be worth it. I also like the idea of magazine subscriptions and book stores. In app purchase needs to add something really cool, like a level editor, to be worth it.
I like the concept of the desktop space savings alone! It may make it so a company can sort of bind all of their games into one app from which you can buy or pass on their other apps.
Yeah. I have split feelings about in-app purchases. I'll focus primarily on games: If you look at DLC on gaming consoles, you usually see 3 kinds of DLC. 1. Great new content that adds a lot to the game (Oblivion, Fallout 3, Halo 3, Burnout Paradise (island)) 2. Bullsh!t that should have been in the game from the start (RE 5) 3. Content that adds little to the actual game, but is appealing to die hard fans (Castle Crashers, Burnout Paradise (cars)). So it all depends on how developers use DLC. For instance, we get a bunch of free levels for Rolando, Flight Control, Pocket God, etc. How many of us would have paid for this stuff if we only paid $.99 for the game to begin with? Who knows. The one thing that has great potential for DLC is that we will see the life and quality of games increase. Developers can focus on refining their current games and still make money off of them, even from the people who already made the initial purchase. Hopefully this leads to better polished games and great new content. But as we see in gaming consoles, the DLC isn't always worth the price. Also, don't be surprised when someone intentionally holds out on a feature just so they can charge extra for it later.
I agree with you Rockey, I dislike inapp purchases. There is no need to pay for an update. They are just a gimmick to make you spend even more, even if they are just a dollar.
Oh yeah, I forgot about that... Still, it is the same price of the game. I think in-app purchases should be able to be less than 99 cents. They could go in intervals of 10 cents starting at 9 cents. $0.09 $0.19 $0.29 $0.39 $0.49 $0.59 $0.69 $0.79 $0.89 $0.99 ... I think the Flick Fishing update should have been 49 cents. They would sell a lot more too.
A problem with the way the current app store is set up: What's stopping everyone from charging $.99 for their apps and then making a majority of the content DLC. I know most apps are $.99 now anyway, but what if Doom Resurrection was released today for $.99 but required an in-app purchase to play more than a few levels.... just a thought Theoretically, they could make more money by making it to the top of the app store and selling a bunch more copies. Furthermore, the people who were willing to pay $10 today, certainly would be willing to pay for all of the DLC (the additional $9). Don't be surprised to see "premium" apps on the cheap but that require DLC to get the full functionality. This also might lead to a trend of higher priced games to discontinue offering "lite" versions. Lite versions will be replaced by the actual game ($.99 since no free app can charge for DLC), just without the bulk of the content. This way, anyone with any interest in their game will add to their download numbers and move them further up in rankings.
No. Free apps can't have paid for DLC. I don't know if they can have DLC or not, but definitely not paid DLC. EDIT: Nevermind, I see what you're saying. I'm not sure.
Nothing does - but we'd then see a TADLCFTT and waiting for one of those could take some time. Anyway, most devs aren't in this for the quick hit. They need to build good apps that people want, people talk about and I'd say that's especially in Games. Why risk that to release some lousy DLC? You can't mess people about. But your example - if it was stated on the iTunes page what was included then I base a decision on that.
Think about it this way: the developer put tons of hard work and effort into the free updates that came before this. Did he/she need to do this? No. So when they offer a content pack that includes some meaty content including a whole new multiplayer game, $0.99 isn't much to ask.
What galled me, was the way some devs (who shall remain nameless), seemed to come along with this rather crass 'I've said it once and I'll say it until I'm blue in the face. Updates will be free, extra content will sometimes be at a fee...blablabla' attitude. Just seemed a little too 'in ya face' and frankly, a tad ungrateful to me, seeing it's our hard earned dosh that they are accumulating. They seemed to completely miss the point (mine at least) that a big crevasse had been traversed and perhaps a more sensitive approach to their customers might be more welcome. I don't really mind about paying for 'extra content' to be honest, but I did get a sense of 'what's the big deal?'...as though we should just sit back and take it on the nose. Add to that, Apple have decided to keep us in the dark, and not release, with 3.0, a list of rules of what is and isn't allowed to be deemed 'extra content'. Seems to me nothing but good business practice to keep their customers in the know, so they're more inclined to put faith in Apple and the app store and make more impulse purchases, instead of having to think 'oh, hang on a minute, maybe I'm being taken for a ride here'. Both the above are hardly conducive to 'customer satisfaction'.
