I don't think anyone is confused. F2P has been a cancer for quite a while now, but most of the games that employ this pricing structure are trash. This is my first experience involving a respected, trusted, quality developer selling out to this industry-killing trend. If it continues, we're all going to end up with watered-down experiences, pay walls and IAP-infested garbage, every time, from all developers, always. Wouldn't that kill the platform, though. If you lose the gamers, you're left with people that sometimes play games. A gaming platform can't survive without gamers. I've spent more time and money with my iPad since the beginning of the year than I have on my Xbox. If this RR3 debacle is a sign of things to come, a pivot point in the industry, and this pricing decision ripples through the marketplace over the next couple years and the changes that follow are in line with what would be expected, I guarantee I would lose interest in iOS as a gaming platform. And that would be a shame, because for the first time ever, I think it is beginning to build some serious momentum in challenging consoles for market share. I have never played F2P, I will never play F2P. It doesn't matter how good the game is. I purchase products with my money. I do not purchase fake money with my money.
Yes, that will do the trick. As soon as you enter the game and you get the status as "Repaired" you can set the clock back. It worked for me. EDIT: The only thing that makes me hopeful is that, when I have more cars, I will be racing a bit more. Till then, it will be like repeatedly stabbing me in the back.
I agree with you on most points (the first two paragraphs were almost poetry), but I don't think it'll kill the platform, and that's the problem. When you group up every owner of iOS devices, there ARE more people who "sometimes play games" than there are "gamers". It'll stop appealing to the hardcore crowd as much, but the marketplace they're left with is still absolutely enormous. Maybe some of us will head back to consoles. I'd like to see both Sony and MS get their next consoles right and give us something comforting to come home to, but right now I'm kinda worried about how they're doing things as well.
Ahahaha that's ridiculous.... The time trick works. You need to change the time, close the app and turn off wifi and bam! No waiting...
That's another thing that bugs me. I feel pressured into buying the cheapest car just so that I'll be able to keep playing while another is in for repairs... but it's not the car I want. I don't like it at all, I just need it to play. Now we place bets on how long it'll take EA to stop that working.
I just had to reply to this comment because I found it an interesting response. You propose that the platform would stagnate and die off if not for freemium. I feel there are several inherent flaws in that supposition. For one, if games consistantly adapt to this model, they would inevitably stagnate because the games design would be lead to the goal of profit, not innovative game design, period. These games all tend to start to "feel" the same regardless of the genre... Would not that in itself be considered stagnation? Because I see more freemium games that seem similar on the market then breaking trends, molds and innovating... Secondly, there is only so much money you can squeeze from gamers, and with more and more developers seemingly heading in this direction, one has to wonder when the bubble will eventually burst. A handful are and the rest are making do if that. Because let's be honest here, not every freemium game developer is banking money hand over fist with the model. There are too many developers at the table trying to get a piece of that pie. That's the real unspoken problem with the market. This IAP problem is one created by both gamers and developers. I think its a lopsided argument to just throw gamers under the bus and suggests developers have no ownership in the problem of the current pricing model on the AppStore. Developer and publishers chose to compromise their products worth for the quick sale. Sell your product at a reasonable price, stick to your guns, and eventually if you have a product people want, they will buy it at the price you ask, period. We can't always throw consumers under the bus for being consumers and looking for a sale and free... That is what a consumer should do as they owe no allegiance to any company, only to their own finance. Likewise, we can't fully blame developers for the move they have made to freemium either. They have to make money, and with the bed they have made this model seems the only way how. I just think it will lead to te opposite of what you say, with a collapse of the market, or perhaps restructuring, as there is no long term way such a model can support itself. It is merely a get rich quick scheme that will run its course once market saturation and exhaustion kick in. I am not trying to be rude, merely looking for proper debate, as it seems that both sides seem adamant about only arguing one position and not seeing it from all angles. Now there's a sentiment we can agree on!
Just some minor facts: In the Top 100 apps on the All Games Grossing chart on the App Store (I.e. the apps making the most money) for today, there's a grand total of 16-17 apps that are premium. Angry Birds Space is #54. Not even Angry Birds can beat the Top 10 money-grabbing FTP apps. Minecraft PE is in the top 10, but it is nowhere near #1. It is also the ONLY premium app in the Top 10. Writing's on the wall in the App Store. You want to make buttloads of money to fund awesome games that pushes iOS forward? FTP is a must. All the folks here at TA can cry foul as much as they want, but it's hard to argue against numbers like THAT. That's about 84% of the top successful apps that are FTP, while only 16% are premium. If I was a developer looking to be successful so I can support myself by making games, hell yeah I'd go FTP. That's a ridiculous success percentage. Why would I risk my livelihood on adhering to a model that has such a small chance at acceptance by customers? I know the TA community is angry right now, but I seriously think that FTP is here to stay and no goddamn wishful thinking or boycotting of any kind is gonna change that. Too many people on iOS support it. Just because their voice is not heard in this forum does not mean that they do not exist. Also, I'll go through all 100 games and state how many games from each dev are on there. If EA's FTP bullcrap is as successful as everyone thinks it is, they'll have the most games on the Top Grossing charts. No time for that now, I gotta get to work
Here's a theory.. Considering the quality of the games being made for iOS these days (I'm looking at RR3, IB Dungeons and such) I think $7 is way too little with reference to the $60 price tag on console games. I'd say somewhere between $20 to $30 would be an appropriate price for high end titles in iOS. If this was the case, and if people learnt to accept this price without crying, I think the whole freemium system can be abolished entirely. With games getting better by the day, I'm guessing more and more people are taking iOS as a legitimate platform for gaming. So the higher price tag should be acceptable. This change can't happen overnight though, so companies like gameloft and ea should start charging more for upcoming titles, instead of going the freemium route. With time, the target price would be hit, and developers wouldn't have to implement strange pricing strategies like the freemium setup that's going on.
Sorry guys but you may not agree or like the iap but posting a picture of an obviously hacked game and then calling it excellent from another poster is just wrong on every level. Please refrain form promoting piracy at any level, its ruining the industry in its own substantial way.
So your theory is that big-name games should charge $20? In this environment, that would be an express lane to bankruptcy. The landscape of the App Store is pretty much set in stone at this point. One or two companies deciding to charge more for their games will just open the door for everyone else selling their games for a buck. Or worse. There are plenty of good games out there selling for $10-$20. I don't know how well they're selling, but they're awesome games. TWEWY, The Walking Dead, Battle of the Bulge, Battle Academy, Baldur's Gate, etc, etc, etc. The precedent is out there, it's just not working. Financially, this is the best decision this god-forsaken company can make. It's too bad, because the ripple effect could have serious consequences when taking into account developers that actually still thrive on creativity and innovation. You know, those people that haven't sold their pride for chump change while a mega-producer takes their work to the bank.
Live by the sword, die by the sword. NEVER have I stolen from this market. I would gladly hack this game and the pseudo-economy within if I had the wherewithal. I think hacking this crap is absolutely excellent and I would encourage and embrace anyone willing to do so. These people have been stealing from the industry for decades.
Fast forward your iDevices clock 50 mins, close the app, turn off wifi and go back into it. Problem solved! No hack! It's called saving money on iAPs
