If the devs make the games 99¢ I think they would make more money than with a 7$ price tag. I mean they could sell millions more.
I was giving my stepson an economics lesson: Let's say a game costs 1 million dollars to make: On iOS, selling at .99 cents, you would have to sell 1,010,101.0101 copies (not taking into account Apple's 30%). For a 3DS game, retailing at $40.00 (let's say $25.00 goes directly to the developer) you would need to sell just 40,000 copies to recoup cost. This is why, you will continue to see thriving, full fledged experiences on dedicated handhelds. iOS, needing to lower the pricing bar - even incorporate freemium/IAP, is because gamers expect more for less. You get what you pay for.
I said this months ago. I've been saying for years that this whole thing is going down hill and that the balloon was about to burst. That the racing to the bottom, 0.99c, casual, craap entitlement nature of the industry was going to lead to its demise for anyone who considers themselves a serious gamer and who is in any way remotely interested in premium gaming. I warned that this freemium model completely overtaking the marketplace was an inevitability, but nobody wanted to listen. Because nobody wanted to accept the fact that the truth hurts. Remember how many premium games Gameloft released last holiday season? Probably around 8. Now, two. Modern Combat and Gangstar. That's it. Everything else Freemium. You realize that freemium games aren't worth more than $6-10, but because they are based upon consumeable IAP, that you could end up spending $300. "Freemium" games cost more than console games. I took one look at the model being utilized by NFL 2012, and damn near yakked. I couldn't delete that piece O junk fast enough. I shutter to think about how much certain people spent on Eliminate back in the day. Seriously. Some people likely did spend $100s. What could Gameloft fetch simply by going freemium on a multiplayer Modern Combat? The issue here is consumeable IAP. Some games allow you to purchase weapons or level packs and then you keep them forever. As long as it's not a MP game where purchased weapons give distinct advantages, then I'm not entirely opposed to that. Although, even in those instances, the goods can be priced way too high. You have to calculate how much its going to cost you to obtain a reasonably full game experience. Even if the IAP is permanent, if the game is costing $20,most mobile games just aren't worth that. In a perfect world, I believe that some should be. Most, however, not so much.
Ok, I gotta admit I'm on the opposite side of the spectrum here. But this game looks like a must buy which really hurts that it's going to be freemium. NFL Pro 2012 and LG3 are different stories in my case, I wouldn't have purchased those so I wasn't opposed to getting them for free. However! I do believe f2p can equate to positives in iOS gaming. My first iPod was originally a gift. I liked listening to LOADS of music, nearly 15 gb worth. I wasn't aware of iOS gaming being nearly equivalent to last generation's console gaming until I began experimenting with free apps. Of course the lite version worked just as well but still, playing a bit of eliminate and GT Racing really opened my eyes to the bigger picture around my iOS device. Soon half my music was gone to make room for better games. Before someone jumps on it I'll say it here; cool story, bro. Point is, free games are a gateway drug to the bigger picture for the unaware. That's the way I see it anyway. Plus I don't mind being able to play some high quality games for free that I would have easily overlooked otherwise.
I am EXTREMELY relieved to know the game won't have a cheap "energy" system! I will definitely enjoy Six Guns
Yeah -- the previous trailer seemed to focus more on the Weird Western aspects of the game, which are far more interesting than the standard TPS bits. Though the music on this trailer is a huge improvement .
I hope all of the game's soundtrack will be similiar to the trailer's hip-hop/western tune since it's pretty cool and it'd make Six Guns a bit less of a cliché western game, ghouls aside
Well, I really don't think we can generalize freemium, as f2p models vary game to game. Some, particularly the vicious energy system, are worse than others, while some are more manageable, like the system in Bullet time. That said, I'm just not a fan. Bullet Time had the least intrusive freemium system i've come across, and it only lasted a week on my iPad. Maybe it was the game itself, because I'm not all that interested by dual stick shooters, but in general I'd just rather pay my dues up front, and enjoy the game in its complete form. I'm fine with IAP in paid games to allow players to advance through a game quicker, because its completely optional, and even detrimental to an extent in that it takes away from the game experience by giving you items you'd normally have to work for. But even with a free product, the devs have to make money somehow, whether through advertising, IAPS, energy systems, or selling your information (i'm looking at you, facebook). Therefore, I always have an underlying suspicion of anything free. I really hope this freemium system will be manageable, but the more I consider Gameloft's standard practices, and the amount of IAP they put into even paid games, I'm really starting to doubt it. However, I will still give it a try.
This isn't Gamelofts first game set in a desert. I think all the Gangsta games and BackStab were all deserts as well, no?
Getting back to the freemium discussion... I believe a lot of companies are resorting to that system because of a couple reasons... As already mentioned a lot of iOS gamers expect hard core games for an unbelievably cheap price..... 99 cents, lol. They want multiplayer, achievements through Game center, new characters, etc.... This is hurting a lot of indie developers who make premium games but have to put their games on sale because most people won't touch them because of their cost of only 6.99 or whatever. Also companies like Gameloft,others are resorting to Freemium because their big sellers or quality AAA games like Modern Combat, Nova are being pirated. There is big percentage of gamers with jailbreak devices cracking these games, which makes it more difficult for companies to make these great games at a set price ( knowing the risk of it getting cracked) Unfortunately this is what is happening.
^Agree with both of those points. I think we're spoilt with iOS gaming, games are so cheap but for a 69p game you still get people moaning about 'no game centre...' 'only 40 levels'....' etc expecting some huge great game for that price. The second companies like Gameloft (and specially the smaller devs) start losing money to iOS releases due to piracy then freemium games will help. Its better than companies thinking 'too much piracy, we're out...' I must admit i would continue to buy a lot of games if my device was jailbroken (its not) as i'm a huge fan of emulators and would love MAME on my device. But i'm 'legal' but seems like i'm losing out due to all the piracy. Again as a kid in the 80's games were expensive and i hardly got any pocket money, think its disgusting people do have pirated games when theyre often 69p or a few dollars, ridiculous
I agree, it sucks that people have to pirate, because their going to kill the iOS game industry. I don't jailbreak because I want to continue buying games on iOS. With the technology now and what the iphone is capable of. Games are getting better and better. Yes, they are getting to be up at the console level. With all the unreal and Unity engine games coming up in this next year, if people want to continue playing these great games. They are going to have pay for them and not at .99 cents.
First off, I'm just curious to see how this and DH3 turn out after experiencing NFL Pro 2012. Secondly, I'm curious to see how IB2 fares against piracy. Just two things I've really been pondering.
six guns release 8 or 15 december For the first time ever on iPhone and iPad, you can explore a truly vast and open frontier in a Wild West full of mystery, bandits and more…unnatural enemies. Freely discover 40 missions spread across Arizona and Oregon. Whether you’re racing horses, stopping robbers, shooting targets or taking back a fort, you’ll need the right equipment for the job, and there are 19 weapons, 8 horses, a vast selection of clothing and more for you to acquire. So come and visit this land where it’s kill or be killed. You can play it for free - make your enemies pay! Unlock 8 different horses, 19 weapons and a vast selection of clothes and other items you’ll need. The first iPhone/iPad game to let you freely explore massive Wild West landscapes in Arizona and Oregon. 40 varied missions: Race horses, stop robbers, shoot targets, take back the fort and more! Fight looting bandits, bloodthirsty vampires, cunning witches and many other supernatural foes. Get lost in the beautifully designed landscapes.
