Freemium gaining ground on the App Store

If you don't see the value in purchasing a particular IAP item, simply don't buy it.

There is no cause to bring morals into question simply because you are not willing to pay the price.

Is Ferrari immoral for selling $200,000 cars? Of course not.

Would Ford be immoral for selling a $200,000 Focus? Of course not, but they would out of business pretty quick with a value proposition like that. It might be stupid of them, but not immoral.

 

I can understand that being very frustrating for a PS3 or 360 game the player has already spent $60 on.

In the case of the iPhone however, bundling the IAP content with a free app makes a lot of sense. The perfect example of this would be releasing a free version of an app with IAP that will bring it up to par with the full paid version.

Including the "extra" content in the initial download ensures a smooth process when the user wishes to upgrade. There's no risk of problems that might arise from a bad Internet connection or a file server that's out of commission.

 

One problem with that argument is that many of these games are targeted at kids.

I think the farm-villes and smurf villages of today are designed like slot machines, with the benefit (for the developers) that they only take money in, and never pay out in cash.

They are using psychological tricks and Pavlovian conditioning to addict players.

Most people would say that selling or advertising cigarettes, alcohol or casinos to children is immoral, and in my view, some of these IAP games are in the same category.

That isn't even getting into the issue of the 15 minute no password IAP.

 

you always need a itunes pw to buy anything.. thats the way the appstore works.. no application can circumvent this mechanic as its provided by apple..

if you buy something you need to punch in your pw and you stay looged in for some time.. you can then purchase additional stuff without the need to reenter your pw since you are still logged into the system..

so you can buy iap or just another game.. or the the hole top100 apps if you wish too.. so how is that the developers fault? or even apples fault that you are not carefull?

if you loginto your amazon account and don't log out your kids can buy stuff.. WOW.. really... how stupid are people nowerdays?!

just sign out manually and thats it if you don't want to wait for the automatic signout..


yes this is really scam that people in general are stupid and can't even handle single login logout procedures in an online shop.

you can buy whatever you want at whatever price you desire..no one force you todo so.. if you do its your own descision and your own fault.. jeez like your genitals drop off if you don't buy X or Y...

and as for distribution of dlc.. so what the data is already there and? you did not buy the data, you bought the rights to play the game.. you do not own the game.. and you bought whats advertised.. not what might or might not be on the disc.. ridiculous.. most IAP are not DLC.. they are already inside the package you download in the first place from the appstore .. you just unlock them.. so what?... lets rattle the cage abit hard.. this won't change anything but its feels good to rattle a bit



and i agree with hodapp.. its always the minority who are so vocal.. if you are the minority and no one cares about you you should at least shout out loud "foul play" even if the rest is comfortable how things work..


at the end this is an entertainment business.. nothing people need.. this IS luxury.. food and shelter is not.. playing videogames IS... so people rambling about the next freemium game or dlc and feel "forced" to buy this just to moan.. well send you money to charity instead.. that way you don't need to moan around and can feel a bit better about yourself because you actualy did something meaningfull as small as it is..

i can understand people rambling about expensive they don't have controls over like the tax raise in the uk next year.. but about IAP and DLC.. no one force you to buy in the first place.. ridiculous.. its like returning every day to starbucks to buy coffee and rambling that its too expensive and the coffee sucks.. but they still come every day..

 

You're changing the subject. dyscode said that charging $99 for an IAP was not moral. My argument is strictly related to that.

Of course there are ways to make games more addictive, and not necessarily in a good way, but that is an entirely separate issue from the morality of IAP pricing.

If you don't see the value in an IAP, just don't buy it.

 

That sounds like an awesome farm game! Buy smokes and beer with IAP money.... Or grow your own vintage grapes to make wine and sell them to underage kids... Great game!

On another note, IAP does provide some anti-piracy benefits.. As far as I know they can't be circumvented... So pirates can see your base content but if they want to upgrade they have to download the actual version from the store and then buy IAP.... Which means more cash for the developer vs lost revenue..

 

Maybe so, but that doesn't make his point any less valid.

Edit: Who do I have to bribe to get a developer's account?

 

To add to Mr. Ugly- the entire reason one develops a game and puts in the blood, sweat, and tears needed is to make money right? At least some. This is a business.

The "freemium" business model is making money. Nobody can argue with that. Ergo- if you as a developer want to make money, don't cut yourself off at the knees by refusing to consider it and test the waters.

Make money with your games and focus your moral and ethical debates on things that actually matter.

 

I think a lot of the confusion could be solved if freemium games had their own category and weren't lumped in with the free games.

 

I see nothing wrong with freemium games. They are just another choice for a person. It is up to the person to determine if they want to pay more money for a game or not with IAP. As far as kids go, it is up to the parent to monitor their kids. A good opportunity to teach them fiscal responsibility. The parent can opt to not have a credit card on file and just buy their kids a set amount of itunes cards and when they run out, the kids are done for the month or whatever time amount. That way they can decide if they want to spend their money on more games or more smurfberries.

Two of my favorite games have IAPs, Pocket Frogs and Plant Tycoon. I have spent a few bucks on IAP on both games mostly to support the developers.

 

Tip

Let me give you a tip

Ebooks are promoted by affiliates who get a percentage of sales
Yes Apple take a bg cut but still some ebook sellers make 50 60 70 grand per month from their affiliates.

Doodle jump did a promotion at Commission Junction for a while.

IF games people did the same and there was a website for this then even Indies could make a huge living and have money to make more quality games.

 

I'm not a developer, nor did I read every post in this thread yet, but I have been following iPod gaming since the click wheel days, then early iPhone games, then the iPad.

I think I speak for the majority of gamers on this site and many others when I say we do not like freemium games. Usually. There are exceptions but for the most part the game, and company behind it, are in it for just the money. And they get this money by providing the least amount of content possible that will still sell. And it shows too.

There a very distinct line between Freemium and IAPs/DLC. I cant stand any freemium games, from smurfs to farmville. There's a full, fun game sitting there, and they cripple it with the need to buy X items to continue playing. I realize it's a successful marketing strategy for hundreds of games, but that's just how I see it. It shows you instanly where the devs priorty is, money.

IAPs are a different story. They augment a game, enhance and make it something more than it was before. This could be added levels, items, money, whatever the case may be. But nothing is taken away from the game if you don't buy them. You don't have to wait 4 hours to play again.

The Freemium games are so high in the charts because the other games are one time sales, with no profit potential after the initial sale. This skews the numbers to make it seem as if these freemium games are high quality, or at least worth buying, which is seldom the case. There should be separate charts.

I hope this trend stops where it stands. It entices devs into coming up with more convoluted ways to trick people who don't know better into wasting their money on levels/biscuits/seeds/energy/random way to continue playing.

If games like we rule, smurfs, touch pet dogs or cats, or farmville were paid games, without the ridiculous IAPs, I'd be first in line to try them, cause they do seem fun.

As of now, I won't even consider buying or recommending a freemium game over a game that's many times better, with actual value.

Ask yourself, or anyone serious about iOS gaming:

Cats/dogs/seeds/time/levels/coins > Aralon/Infinity Blade/NOVA/World of Goo/Real Racing 2

And they will tell you it's just not true.

More power to casual gamers with deep pockets, but I'll take a real game any day