That's because the app store is (mostly) a free market. Not where developers have to pay $20,000 for test units and microsoft/sony/nintendo takes $10+ out of every game sale.
I've bought quite a few gameloft games and to be honest they are all pretty good at least the ones I've bought so far. Ok their mostly clones but they are not bad at all I agree they don't quite have the polish of the originals but for the price you are paying their exceptionally good the only bad thing I can really say about them is they don't seem to fix bugs I really like dj mix tour but a minor freeze nearly always ruins my score. First two apps I bought on the app store were actually both gameloft namely Nova and GT Racing. Oh and if none of that convinced you the girl on their podcast is hot.
Apple takes 30%. So if apps were the same price as console games, 59.99 Apple would be taking almost 18 bucks each game.
Back when I started on this forum, I had near-enough the same mindset as the OP. However, as time has gone on, I have seen how Gameloft are leading the way in innovation on the AppStore with high-quality cheap games. I say innovation. You mentioned that Gameloft does not innovate, but copies games over from other platforms. I disagree. It innovates the mobile game market. It constantly tries to push the boundaries (as we have seen with Gangstar and Modern Combat 2). Gangstar: Miami Vindication attempts to create a whole sandbox world with missions for an extremely small cost ($6.99). Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus is, in my opinion, is the best multi-player FPS out there. With other modes such as Capture the Flag and so on, it is really good. So you might argue that these are just 'copies' of GTA and COD, right? They are not copies in the way that Veggie Samurai is a copy of Fruit Ninja because there is nothing out there on the AppStore that offers exactly the same experience as Ganstar and Modern Combat 2, to the point of it being dubed a copy.
Exactly. Apples price fluctuates with the change in app price whilst sony and Microsoft would take $10+ no matter what the price.
You're splitting hairs. I hear ya though, I happily spent $7 on what's easily the iPhone's best FPS, Black Pegasus. And I'm having a blast with it. It just has no soul.
Although most gameloft games are rip-offs, that doesn't mean they're bad. If you want rip-offs that are bad, look at trinity interactive. Back to gameloft, rip-offs are not bad at all, as long as they're good. Lets look at the top ten for instance, Doodle Jump is a rip-off of papi jump. Angry Birds? Crush the Castle copy. Like someone else said, the copies are getting higher quality also.
I have bought every Gameloft game for 0.99$ (Assassins creed, prince of persia, zombie infection, N.O.V.A, and Castle Magic) . And I have found all of them fun and entertaining!
