My price limit is pretty much non existent, however my expectations tend grow as much as my wallet shrinks (The Order 1886, Destiny, I'm lookin' at you two) however the price I'm likely to spend without looking for info here at TA is around 3-5 dollars.
I used to spend 100-150 euro/month on IOS games. Now I only buying the more expensive games because those are the games that I keep on playing. Those are the games I put a lot of time and effort in, reading manuals and studying the rules. I only have one cheap game (0.99 euro sale) that still remains on my ipad and that I keep playing. That game is Zero Age. Most other games that are on my ipad are 9.99 and more. Nowadays I spend about 40 euro/month for IOS games. The most expensive game on my ipad is Panzer Corps, 19.99 with the 'give me everything' expansion (I guess that cost me 50-55 euro?). But after one year still playing Panzer Corps and enought content for another 2 years!
I think part of the problem for me is that I have both an iPhone and an iPad and the way I game and the way I think about gaming is very different between the two devices. For my iPhone, I'm probably like a lot of the people in that MacWorld UK poll where I wouldn't spend very much on one particular game, mostly because I prefer simpler games like Crossy Road or You have to Build a Boat on that device. I also tend to spend only a few minutes playing a game at any given time. I game on my iPad very differently. I prefer to play way more complex games and I play for an hour or more at one sitting many times. I'm not afraid to pull out a separate Bluetooth game controller. So I prefer games like GTA: San Andreas, Bioshock, KOTOR, Transistor, and Baldur's Gate, as well as strategy games like the ones Slitherine puts out. So for my iPad I am definitely willing to spend much more on a game, even upwards of $20, which seems to be the max in the App Store.
At that point the iPad becomes less a portable device and more like a console. Thinking about it, I have the same iPhone-iPad relationship. My iPhone has simple, quick games that I can play anywhere, but the iPad is loaded with all the "big guns".
I assume you guys do have a smaller screen iPhone 3.5" or 4"? With the iPhone 6 and 6 plus I guess things change for some? Or is it still too small for your preferences? What do you think?
I have an iPhone 6 and it's still to small for a lot of the more complex games due to the small touch targets. I can't even imagine playing a game like Prison Architect on a 6 Plus, though I guess something like San Andreas would be better. For me it is a matter of which device is better for which game. Just as it seems ridiculous to play Baldur's Gate on an iPhone, it seems ridiculous to play flappy Bird on an iPad.
For ports, it depends on how old the game is. If Bioshock for the Xbox 360 costs less at some gaming outlet I'm probably gonna get that version, which is easier to play with better graphics anyway. Depends on a lot of things actually buy I'm tired and only feel like putting this one reason out here^
I'm the opposite. Prefer playing games on my iphone rather than my ipad (wihch i used mostly for books/comics/films) Its just the portability of the iphone i love, in my pocket i have 100's of games, 100's of games via emulation, books/comics/films and other utilities. Its like the best 'swiss army knife' ever with everything it can do Its been interesting seeing some comments about that new Warhammer app price. Some people seem shocked. Again $20 is still very very cheap compared to many other prices of games on machines. Just wish it was universal !
It all depends on the quality of the game. I personally like games with IAP, I've spent a few hundred dollars in a single game before....Grepolis
Buying a desktop game (I don't own a console) for more than $50 would be a hard pill to swallow—I'm guessing I would never do it. I'd set $50 as the likely ceiling. I would set the same theoretical maximum for iOS—it would just have to be a REALLY good/large game to get me to pay $50! Given that the iOS market is lower priced (fairly or not), it would be harder to make me pay $50 for mobile. (Note: I'm not an IAP whale. I do buy permanent IAP, but not consumable.) I certainly would pay (and have paid) more than $10 for an app. $15 for a great iOS game isn't hard to swallow. (But at lower prices, I'll buy even MORE games!)
What I really liked was the Palm format. They had what I recall was called "crippleware" (hate the term) which allowed for a limited trial of a game/app - if one liked it it would cost money. NO IAPs which IMO have had a significantly negative impact on the whole gaming genre. Yes, Palm's games/apps tended to be more expensive. Mostly I bought apps but I did buy Bejeweled which cost around $15 dollars at the time; I didn't blink an eye. Given that I dislike "consumables," the first thing I look for in an app or game is whether it cost money for something which buys a limited "whatever" which is quickly used up (i.e lives, currency, etc.). What I can't foresee is dishonestly on the dev's part - when a game or app is advertised as "free" & costs nothing. Then, later on, it adds ads or other intrusive features it cost money to get rid of. Another thing which I dislike: supposed "bug fixes" or updates which conveniently mask unwanted features or which change the rules of the game. What I do understand are updates which offer added value & are totally voluntary. I've purchased a few games outright. Worth the price of admission for the spectacular graphics alone were The Room & The Room 2. They turned out to be immensely challenging as well (I was grateful for the free hints). If I like a "freemium" game, I always contribute to the devs as recompense & encourage them to continue their hard work. I write this as a non-avid gamer. Although I've spent $15 on a game which had significant added features, I'd be unlikely to spend more than $5.00 to buy a game or more than $5 to thank a dev.
Its not really nonsense when you highlight it this way is it. Some people love not having to worry about IAP ruining the game.
Well its weird I mean a straight up game for $15 makes me stop and think but I will buy it if I want to. At the same time I have spent like $50 or more on Dungeon Hunter 5 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance. Those 2 games probably have gouged me more than any other IOS game period. I think for me in most cases I need to know I will play a game a lot before deciding to spend a decent amount of cash on it. There has been so many games I spent $10 to buy and played it twice and never again so I am not sure whats going on there lol.
It would be weird to think of iOS games that cost $50 upfront for some reason. Dunno why. It would have to be a huge, amazing game for that! I think Apple are trying to promote a lot more games that are at a more expensive premium up front than before.
I'm getting to the point that I won't pay that for a console game. Not the way they tend to drop in price and usually offer very shallow experiences. My willingness to pay [X] price is directly related to if a game makes me perceive that the value of said game is the same is the same or greater than [X] Thus, a game like Card Crawl (one of my favorite examples) is a no-brainer at $2 I purchased X-Com when it went on sale for $10 largely because I could easily get it on sale for the same price on Steam. I like having it on both platforms but it's an older game and just because it is available on iOS does not make it more valuable in my eyes, especially since I've played the hell out of it on PC.
For a full retail $60 I would expect something of a Triple A experience. Of course if the developers provided such a game I would provide the money upfront! Pity mobile CPU/ GPU's undoubtedly cannot handle these types of game just yet. I'd expect another 3 years to pass before mobile games peak as console equivalents.
I used to have no upper limit but after losing games to freemium (that were premium), seeing purchased games get ads, mechanics changed to suit IAP, not getting updated to newer iOS and so on, I'm now very tight about what I buy on my iPad. I maybe buy 4 games a year now, I'd often have doubled that weekly previously.
