Again dude, you're just not the target customer here for this kind of thing. Most people on the App Store are playing games with their iPhone and whether or not their game is connecting to the internet is irrelevant to them. If you're looking for hardcore games that don't require connectivity, there's lots!
I'm with you man. A couple of these type of games coming out and I would've paid a lot for a premium version, but I'm not their target like Eli said. Guess I'll keep waiting for what I'm looking for. Or play the N64 AC game again.
yeap, i was sad to realise that this is an animal crossing disguised, facebook game like candy crush, farm saga and the "villes". Eli is right, i know lots of girls who play those games every day for 15 minutes, and a lot more people with day-in-day-out jobs that use facebook in their breaks and play a game like this, wait for a timer etc. I will have to write it off, and wait for an "Oceanbeard" or "Seamustache" copycat PREMIUM offline title. In the meantime, this game will make the devs loads of $$ from the 15 min. gamers, much more than it ever would from the "niche" crowd.
But we could totally be the target customer! This could be iOS version of Animal Crossing, which is one of the most popular franchises ever, with millions of copies sold. People are craving something like that on iOS, because it doesn't exist yet. Seabeard could have been the new Minecraft, which has been on #1 in the Appstore for forever, but instead they choose to nickel and dime us with petty iap. I'm 100% convinced people are willing to pay for a good game. Look at Minecraft, Oceanhorn, the Final Fantasy games, their own game Rolando and many others.
The vast majority of people (the casual iOS gamer) are unwilling to pay for games, plain and simple. We (TA members) are craving a paid version of this but to say millions are craving an animal crossing on iOS is a stretch. Minecraft is successful because it was an established game/franchise before anything iOS. A brand new IP will very rarely, if ever, flourish on the App Store at a premium price. They made the right choice to target a wide audience and it will be extremely successful. Is it what the "core" iOS gamer would want? No, but it's business and free to play is where the money is.
I think with almost a billion iOS devices sold, millions isn't that much of a stretch if they marketed it well. Oceanhorn was new too and has never even been on sale yet. Making a free game also means it doesn't have any value to a lot of players. The majority will just move on to the next popular game. My prediction is that Seabeard will follow Godus in being very popular for a few weeks and then dissapear into nothing.
Nowhere near enough people are willing to pay for apps. It's become a fact of life on the App Store. Anything more than 99c is "too expensive," and you can't run a long-lasting studio on pennies per sale- Particularly with piracy rates like they are. I wish things were different, but arguing that people are actually willing to pay for things makes you come off as this guy... Every other data point I've ever seen aside from rare exception have said the exact opposite for years now. There's a reason why this Oatmeal comic has circulated everywhere, it's because it's 100% spot on.
Again, developers are just responding to the market. Everyone is to blame for the situation the App Store is in. If people wanted $20 premium games, the App Store would be overflowing with them. That's not the case though, instead the $20 games are reserved for the ultra-niche studios who need high price points to survive on incredibly low volume.
I know you are absolutely right Eli, but I get the impression that a lot of developers are not into making fun games anymore but just see how much iap they can put in it. Seabeard obviously is a very polished game made with a lot of love and high production values, but it could have been so much more. I just think it's really sad when talented developers work on a game for months/years, putting all their time and talent in it, making the best game they possibly can make and then have to give it away for free, hoping someone will buy some iap, because of greedy companies, but I guess that's just the way it is now.
They still can make adjustments. The timers on food and buildings are fine. It's the travel timers that are terrible. You can accidentally go to the wrong island and then have to wait 15 minutes before you can go somewhere else. By then I don't even remember where I originally intended to go.
They dont have to reinvent the wheel, or even release a new app. just ad an IAP for $5, $10, whatever to remove timers. This way they can cater to both crowds, instead of just the freemies. (Agreed with above. Its the ENERGY I have issue with, I dont mind the timers on buildings etc if they arent excessive)
pay to play A lot of love an energy has gone into this game obviously, why don't the developers though try something crazy and yes have a one off payment to remove timers or even do a crazy experiment and release 2 versions, one pay to play, sorry free to play and the other at a say a final fantasy type price and see if they can make money from both types? I know there will be arguments saying the core of the game will have to rewritten etc etc and thats time and money but personally I haven't downloaded one pay to play, sorry free to play game that hasn't had this premium rubbish so obviously tacked on and i am sorry developers out there but these freemium type games do lose something, there is a lack of heart and soul to all these games and deep down I can't believe as artists which is what you are you can really be deep down happy with the results, money maybe yes but artistically surely not
But the reason you can play a high quality game like Seabeard for free is because your play is essentially being subsidized by some whale who will pay $100 or potentially much, much more for pearls and coins over the life of the game. The economy of free to play doesn't work when you have the option to either spend $0 or spend $5. Free plus unlock has a very well documented history of resulting in total failure in mobile. Here's the most recent example- http://gamasutra.com/blogs/AlexPerez/20141024/228589/FullBlast_another_indie_project_that_bites_the_dust.php but you can follow the Gamasutra blogs to see what a disaster this kind of thing is.
It's time for us to respond to the market. Everyone erase your significant other's iDevices! Sure, we'll be in the dog house for a while, but who among us wouldn't kennel up for the future of iOS gaming? Besides, we can bunker down with our hardcore games while the market adjusts.
I don't know if anyone else has experienced this. But I thought it was funny and I think this game has surprises here and there. Liking it more and more. Spoiler alert (never used that before, so I hope it works). It had to do with a new quest and a new mini-game. Spoiler I had to smuggle a package to Dorado Mine. Activated the new mini-game. Got caught in the act. They took my package. Damn.
So apparently I'm one of only 93 people who bought the $2 FullBlast unlock on iOS? What is wrong with the world? Thanks for sharing Eli. That's a damned shame. The game is wonderful...
I will bow to your superior knowledge on the subject, but it is a damn shame. I want to support the dev and enjoy this game. but I have to enjoy the game first, before I support the dev, if you know what I mean lol.
It's unfortunate, but like Eli pointed out, this is the state the App Store is in right now.. Sure, it would be great if we could have a one time IAP to remove the timers, but at the end of the day that method doesn't really work for the developers.. What you end up with is that the people who are willing to invest time into the game will just pay that one time fee, while everyone else will just continue to play the game for free without ever spending a dime. It just doesn't make as much compared to keeping it purely freemium. Simple as that. It's a shame for sure, but it is what it is.
Crazy that some people must have been so upset that they had to unlock this game with $2... that they leave a bad review... And then go drop $5 on new guns and health packs in some other game that's f2p. I'll give Seabeard a try for sure, just so I know whether if really like the game portion or not. So, I'll be a downloader. Probably not an IAP'er though.
