But the crazy thing is, say this game was $1.99 with those IAP's. People moan that its paid for yet it has a coin doubler and 8 types of IAP's. If they made the game $3.99 with no IAP's people would then moan about the price ! You see it here all the time, 'oh no its 3 dollars, can i have 7 pages of impressions before i splash out on 3 dollars...' So instead you could say the devs made the game cheaper, 'if' you want to progress quicker (a bit like a type of cheat) then get the coin doubler. If you get the coin doubler and finish the game quicker dont moan its too easy ! So if the game price was too high (without IAP's) lots of people will still moan, make it cheaper but with some IAP's and still people arent happy. It seems impossible to please everyone
I don't know. I see more people who complain about people who complain about price than I see people who actually complain about price, these days.
But if devs stuck to their guns more with pricing, people wouldn't or shouldn't complain about a $4-5 app. To me, people complaining about premium prices are worse than those complaining about IAPs. Let's game like we used to and just buy a game and play it like it was meant to be. A pipe dream now as i seriously never see the App Store economy changing. As much as we on this forum like to say not to support IAP laden games to "speak with our money", we are such a small minority that it will never make a difference. IAPs are here to stay. And a huge thank you to the few devs that still believe in a single price with no IAPs.
I think its utterly impossible to please the masses. Again you only have to look here for people who just want freebie after freebie, or people who will give a 5 star rating to 'blank screen simulator' just to try and win $5. People wont buy games due to no buttons on screen, or no game centre, or no achievements etc. I can understand people moaning if the large corporates dont do this (Gameloft) but when its an indie dev and people are shooting down his 99c game due to various reasons as the above its quite depressing. Like you say we're probably in the minority anyway, games with IAP are here to stay, thankfully theres just one thread to whinge about it now instead of every game thread where it derails !
I'm a very eloquent five year old Nah, I'm 21. However I didn't get an IOS device till about year and a half ago, so I wasn't there for that golden age of IOS games. I guess the core thing I believe is that IAP isn't the problem, at least not solely IAP. I'd love to see a day where all games are IAP-free, and paid, and no one complained that $3 is too expensive. It's how the developer uses and implements IAP that's the problem. Let's go back to Starborn Anarkist, a game I really enjoy. I can't see how it isn't considered an "optimal" premium experience. Yes, there are two currency packs. Do you ever have to buy them or even consider buying or are tempted by the developer to buy them? No. In fact the game goes out of its way to give you money, by simply rewarding you with daily bonuses. You can experience everything that the game has to offer without spending anything more than you paid. That's what I feel makes a game a premium experience. Now sadly, despite my initial defense of the game (yes, I tend to be more optimistic than most) Joe Danger Infinity is not premium. It's paidium and I would not be surprised if it went free. Can you be locked out of levels, and need to grind extensively to continue? Yes. Are items and objects overpriced in regards to the rate at which you earn currency? Yes. Does the game hammer the fact that you can buy boosters and stuff at every oppurtunity? Yes. That's paidium. I just feel that the presence of IAP doesn't suddenly shift a game to paidium. It's the context of the IAP that does.
^^ Your example of Joe Danger Infinity is exactly why people are not happy when they see IAPs in paid games. There's sometimes no way to really know whether they will be needed. And even if they aren't at first, devs can easily raise prices of unlocks, etc. Hence, the reality that you kind of need to consider a paid game with IAPs to be paidmium. And how good or bad that is can be a crap shoot. Even though early impressions can still be wrong, that's why I still think IAP implementation is fair game in any thread about an app. No, I don't think threads should be all "I hate IAPs. This sucks". But relevant discussion of IAPs is, IMO, integral to knowing how gameplay truly is.
Bronxsta, Sink or Swim: Those few games are exceptions from developers that wanted to give a good experience but also wanted some money. Those are the good ones, that I also play. They have IAP but the game is good to go. But then there are 500 other games released the same week that are not. Are as paidmium as they can get, and give the others bad fame. Its not the good ones fault, but they fall into that category. Because they see similarities and they run away. If they developers want to avoid that and dont be on the IAP fire thread of the moment or be rejected because of IAP they should at least remove dual currency and gems. With IAP for coins only I think is enough. No need for dual currency, thats a scheme and belongs to freemium. They could try to not include it and see what happens and try to fight it. But no, some are so greedy they dont care. If you dont need dual currency in the game, remove it. I dont want good devs to go out of business because of IAP rejection, they should take a closer look.
Also, on my time on TouchArcade, I've seen more and more rejection towards IAP. People is burnt with that. Just looks at the threads, angry reactions to IAP are more and more often, and this will get worse over time. Developer, react ahead of time.
What do you guys think of the Revive "feature" in most endless runners? I was looking forward to the upcoming Running Quest but the dev said you can revive (with gems) as many times as you want. I don't like that at all.
Nope. Regardless of whether gems can be gained through gameplay or through IAPs, I think they ruin runners. I love runners, but I'm not necessarily great at them. But getting a good run is an accomplishment and that's tainted by revives. Not to mention it totally kills leaderboards.
Yep - 100% agree. I absolutely hate revives in runners. The best games are a delicate balance of luck and skill with no revives necessary. Flappy Bird has no revives and is all the better for it.
When you are left with methods of paying for a product even after you have already paid for the product once, what does that say about the strength of your original purchase?
Gems are the worst kind of IAP. A lot of games have them, and I delete them the first. They dont last very long. Paying to win is lame and its against the leaderboards idea itself. Those games should have "Leaderboards" changed to "Looserboards". Its pointless and loses all fun to compete with wallets, not skill.
That is the problem with the appstore, what you buy one day can be bait and switched to freemium or requiring inapps. And Joe Danger Infinity is a bad example cause it just drops in a couple of days after release. How fickle the appstore has become.
You can't only go by how much the IAP is pushed at you directly to label it as Paidmium or not. The only context required to label something as Paidmium is if it has IAP. Again, that doesn't mean a game isn't good or isn't playable. Minigore 2, one of my most beloved games, is Paidmium. I bought it for the original asking price the day of release for two dollars. Inside the app there is a coin doubler, a full character and full weapon unlock. Therefore, my original purchase was only buying most of what the game offers. If I choose to spend more, I can 'mold' the experience into the most it can possibly be: its most optimal. If the game did not contain any IAP, my two dollars would have delivered everything the game had to offer right then and there. There would be no possible way that it couldn't. I could easily take the route of 'I love this game and IAP isn't thrown in my face, so it's not Paidmium' or 'I can achieve everything eventually and not buy any IAP, so the game isn't Paidmium.' Incorrect. It is Paidmium because IAP are offered after the original purchase is made. Once personal attachments are removed from the math, you're left with IAP.
They are the same difference, except Paidmium is a more clever disguise. Both will ultimately hope and want you to spend more money after your original purchase, or continue to spend as much money as possible, or both. Again, the only true way to know you're getting the most from your gaming is if no IAP are present. Anything else and the math comes out wrong.
I've already asked this question twice before, but no one has answered: Does anyone know why IAP are possible?
I actually read a story today about a lawsuit against Apple on IAP purchases where they settled for $32.5 million to parents whose children bought IAPs without their knowledge (with the 15 minute password thing). And it said Apple had introduced IAPs in 2009. Don't know the billing technology behind it, but it was ultimately Apple that made it possible.
