The day I stopped worrying and learned to love the $6.99.

No kidding. though music apps can set you back big time...on the other hand, how else can you purchase a 48 track recording studio for 50 bucks? (I forget the name of the app, it was just released yesterday or the day before for Ipad).

It cost a (teenage) fortune to record at a 32 track studio back when it was cheaper to press vinyl than burn cd's.

 

Dead Space was my first big purchase at $6.99 Don't regret a single cent out of it

 

Battle heart was my first purchased game for more than a buck. Spent at least 30 hours of game play

 

I grew up when video games were more about pumping quarters at the arcade than something you do at home. Back then, $0.25 could get you as little as five minutes of game play depending on the game and your skill level. Some games you could get a decent 10-20 mins of play time on your quarter, if you knew what you were doing.

I still, to this very day, judge the price value of a game based on my arcade days of the 80's. If blowing $5 worth of quarters in less than an hour at the arcade was ok, then spending $5 on a game that you'll play more than an hour is definitely worth it.

 

i bought my ipad for adobe ideas and other art apps they were 5 or 10 pounds, they were the first apps i bought i think, but yes, as far as games, i think broken sword was the first non 99 cent ish game i bought. most expensive to date would be ff3 and ff tactics.

 

When I was a kid in the 80s games for my ZX spectrum range from £1.99 to 9.95. Was on a small amount of pocket money back then

So now it's even more laughable when you hear people waiting for a 1.99 game to drop to 69p! Talk about cheapskates! People don't realise how lucky they are. Plus if we all waited for games to be free devs would leave ios gaming in droves

The more we buy early on, the more releases we'll get as companies will make more and want to develop more. Way too many cheapskates out there

 

Those were the days. I remember I spent $9.99 on Scrabble because there were no alternatives. There was no online multi-player or anything at that point. The price later dropped to $.99, and I believe it's been free a few times.

The first game that I bought was Caissa Chess, which was also $9.99. I think it's been taken off the app store by now, but back in the day it was the best chess app IMO.

 

Wow. Now the real question is this: would you guys whether revert back to the "old days" where you had to pay for EVERYTHING and often quite a hefty sum with no IAP, or now with all the FTP games?

 

I prefer one time pay and no in app purchases.

 

Agreed, I'd rather pay a full price without any IAP's instead of a dollar with IAP's ruining the game

 

I would prefer the old days. Not as much BS back then.

 

(9).99

Now that I think about it, I don't think the higher than 0.99 thing has ever been an issue for me. While I have downloaded many iOS games for free (legally, and thanks to TA), many of the games I really want or already have were well above $1.00 - Aralon ($5 when I got it, but I almost paid $10), The Quest ($5), Mage Gauntlet, Dragon Fantasy, and Guardian Saga ($2-$3) and the Turbografx emulator (all the games I have purchased so far = $18, with more to come). And with some of the games from the late '90's being released with higher price points, I think we are getting more used to the idea.

BUT (and a wee but off topic), it does make me wonder (and worry) about how much longer iOS will remain unique in its pricing and the game experiences it provides as the game industry as a whole moves away from consoles with physical copies and embraces mobile devices/tablets and digital distribution.

I would like to think that developers like Raptisoft, Muteki Corp, and many other one or two person teams that have released wonderful and truly enjoyable games via iTunes will continue to flourish.

In short, as the 'big name' publishers move in the direction of mobile platforms, and as people expect current gen performance out of them, will there be room (and I mean years from now, not anytime soon) for the little guys with ideas that are just as - if not more so - creative and enjoyable to share the same space?

 

I'd be more worried about iOS gaming turning into something more like Facebook gaming. Something I've never tried. However, 21 out of the top 25 top grossing games on the AppStore are "free".
On a side note. People playing those "free" games obviously have no problem paying more than $.99 for a game.

 

Interesting... why do you think that it will do the social route? Also, about those freemium titles... yeah, I'd rather just pay for everything up front. But I do understand the appeal of the bit sized micro transaction, especially in the current economy. Thanks for the response

 

I remember back at the beginning of the App Store when a free game was actually quite decent. No ads, no IAP - just the game. There was definitely a better distinction between free and paid. Now it seems to merge; some are lite editions, some FTP, some are crap and riddled with ads!

Premium games were actually really fun because they felt like fairly full games, but with the casual play feel of a mobile game. Premium games now feel like I must set aside at least 30 minutes per play so I can complete the level, or get to the checkpoint.

My first premium game (I think) was Moto Chaser for £6 (but AppShopper says it was only £4?). It was a lot of fun and kept me going for hours.

If I could go back to those times, I think I would... Although I do like the advances of game such as MC3 and GTA etc.
Much preferred the honesty back in '08 though.