I think some people need to get some facts cleared: Stop thinking GTA: CW did anything, AT ALL. It didnt say "hey, I'm a more expensive game in the iDevice" instead, what it was really saying was "hey, look at me here, I'm MUCH CHEAPER than any other of my counterparts!". Now for my opp: What makes this game generate a difference, other than quality (which it has) is compromise. If SE drops the price of this one (like every other dev does, ergo going eventually in the .99 crap-fest we know) then we're doomed. Pretty much this game can't go on sale and that shall determine if the pricing has a future. If SE gives up, I pretty much give up on the iDevice premium market. This game is great. It might not be the longest game ever, but I believe that SE is actually testing pricing/quality waters with this one to actually make an even better bomb later. If this one doesnt survive, I'm pretty much forgetting at a FF exclusivity for the iDevice. This game is totally worth the asking price, the problem is we're ALL just used to the cheaper mind-set that the only "perfect competition" market has given us, and that is that, due to the fact that most crappy (or non crappy) devs just want to make a buck, they'll go lenghts to reach the most of the market, whereas older gamers know, that the gaming market works the other way around, it is us that reach for the games, knowing their qualities and flaws, that the lack of publicity in the appstore doesnt allow for. I do hope this succeeds, I do hope this doesnt give crappy devs the delusions that they, too can rise their price (which I'd totally lol to...) but I hope for an appstore where both segments of the market can coexist, w/o stupid people not knowing their place in the food chain.
I agree completely, will this game make all those 99c devs raise their prices? No. Will this inspire more big-name developers (ea, gameloft, etc.) to put more effort into their games and try to make a truly good premium handheld game? maybe, we'll just have to wait and find out. Also, if Chaos rings continues to sell well, (currently no. 15 in paid apps and no. 1 in top grossing apps) then we will see that promised original FF title for iphone which will really make a difference and that I would absolutely pay 20$ for. Nice discussion, but I'm gonna go play Chaos Rings now.
Played it. I was 100% right. You 100% fail. This game has done squat. GTA is the mother of why we're getting real support for the iphone.
I own an iPhone since 02-2008, play stuff since mid-2008 and started taptoplay.de in 02-2009. Overall, regarding all the games I played and loved in this time (for myself and for the site), Chaos Rings stays out. Not only does it offer great graphics, a good written storyline and tons of content. It really is immersive and sucks myself in, which no other game was able to do. Oh, yes, we had great games and ports, like Broken Sword, Final Fantasy and GTA, but Chaos Rings feels like a big game optimized for a platform where you can get interrupted everytime, where the gaming slots are sometimes only five minutes long and where, sometimes, you dont play this game for some days. Chaos Rings never has the problems I had with other games: 1. I loose interest because of other games coming out 2. I feel lost, because I start the game, see myself standing in some wood and dont know what to do, because I forgot it. I really hope that other devs take a look at what makes this game great. This game, the quality of this game and the price point show, that big games from big publishers can work, if the publisher tries to understand the platform. For several months I always said that I want the big games coming to the iPhone. Now, that many big games are here, I have to adjust what I want. I dont want the same big game which feels at home at the DS or XBox. I want big games which feel at home at the iPhone. And for me, Chaos Rings is the first game, which gets this right.
