Hi, I do know that, backtothis, but in the site rules, there is a rule on insulting members. Anyways, this is terribly offtopic, maybe fun for some but not me. David
It's not really tricking anyone though. IAP, even prior to iOS 4.3 when you didn't need to enter your password, always gave you a prompt for what you were buying. It's not like anyone was like "Oh shit I rolled my face across my phone and just bought $100 worth of IAP." Both examples are from games that clearly offer IAP. It's like complaining that no one at the car dealership told you that you needed to buy gas for your car before you bought it. I'm just not sure how much hand holding people should be getting. Where would you file free apps that are paid for in other ways, like viewing ads, subscribing outside of iTunes, and others? I have no idea how you'd quantify that. Free downloads are exactly that, free. Gameloft's new Free+IAP games are still entirely playable just like a free lite version. Many freemium games don't even require a single purchase to be fun.
When I bought Pac-Man CE I knew it was going to cost me the full $7, but why split the content with higher cost IAP then the main game if they weren't trying to make it look like a cheaper game then it actually was? While I agree blindly clicking isn't the smartest thing to do I still feel like my examples were scummy ways to take advantage of consumer ignorance and abusive ways to use IAP. Apps that have ads and subscription fees don't really fall under the same category to me ether thus I agree to to disagree on this matter and leave it at that.
I actually preferred that pricing. Better split up the price so I dont need to shell out 7 bucks for it just to try it and find out I dont even play it for more than an hour. You only need to pay more if you find yourself spending much time with the game.
Hi, I bought Pac-Man CE, at full price but got lucky and bought the DLC on sale. Was a little dismayed with the way the IAP was rolled into the game but knew the way things operate in the appstore. I would do it again as I like the game but I am a little more selective now. Just pays to do a little research before buying sometimes. MidianGTX, yes there is. David
Seriously. I can't even fathom how much money I'd save if I could buy XBOX 360 games that way. I don't even want to think about the number of $60 games I've bought and then barely played through the tutorial. The most recent offender is Dead Space 2, of which I'm all of about 20 minutes into.
In a sense you can: rental services. Which really just backs up your point. People have been taking advantage of the same try-before-you-buy tactic with movies and console games for years now yet for some reason people lash out at the App Store doing the same.
Way too impatient for GameFly, and brick & mortar rental stores in the USA have gone the way of the buffalo because of Netflix.
I don't know... extra features that not everyone may want seems like a good idea to make optional to me; key word their is "extra" features, ie features that are not required to enjoy the full game. Either way, the total price would be the same, only you have the option to pay less with IAP. Also you are certainly pigeonholing a lot of games into one very small category... like all devs are conniving thieves just looking for a way to strip out content to make people pay for it via IAP? What about genuinely huge additions to a game several months after release? I'm not talking about mandatory features here, I'm talking about complete extras... huge content additions and things like that. Anyway, on a game by game basis, I can completely understand why people think perhaps the majority of games have crappy IAP -- its probably true, many do half heartedly tack on IAP. But to outright reject a game with IAP (as I have seen happen often), is just confusing. Its like outright rejecting ALL paid games because you've bought several games that sucked that weren't worth the price. In the end, my biggest gripe is the way some people seem to blindly reject anything with IAP, instead of taking it on a game by game basis. Heck, most people on these forums research regular games before buying, why is it different with IAP? Instead of just taking a look at a game with IAP and saying "it has IAP... the devs are greedy thieves and this game is a RIPOFF!", how about checking out what the IAP is first and then judging it? Oh... Also, non consumable IAPs (ie, IAPs that aren't in game currency) are tracked by Apple, meaning they are tied to your iTunes account, meaning as long as the developer puts it in, you can restore those purchases on any device, as long as you're logged in with the same iTunes account.
I remember when DLC first became available on the PS3. I thought it was a great idea, but most of the VG community just whined about it. My guess is that a lot of it has to do with some misconception about what a supposed "full game" is. And with DLC, the devs are "ripping you off" by not selling you this "full game" and then charging for DLC that makes it "full". Yes, there are going to be some devs that skimp on content, but a lot of IAP/DLC content is stuff that we never would have gotten if that avenue for extra purchases did not exist. It's also funny to me how some people feel ripped off when they don't even plan to purchase the game because of the IAP. Would they rather the game not exist? Maybe misery really does love company; If I can't have it, I'd rather no one have it. It's really hard to get ripped off when one has a full understanding of what they're paying for and how much they're paying for it. Getting ripped off would be buying a game thinking it's working and it turns out it always crashes on startup. It is not purchasing a game for $3, knowing that there's a $1 IAP, and then making an informed decision on whether or not to purchase said IAP.
Personally I don't have a problem with IAP. I much prefer it when its for real content like a level pack, characters, additional modes etc like you might get in a 360/PS3 DLC than virtual stuff. I think the option for developers is a good thing, especially with the ridiculously low prices on the app store and a quality bar that continues to rise yet prices remain the same. On the other hand, I can see why people have issues with freemium games. Particularly stuff like Eliminate, which hampered free users to the point that progress was near impossible (mainly due to the terrible matchmaking system not taking player level into account).
I bought the games with IAP that removes ads or unlocks levels. I do prefer a full game that I can sync to a new device without having to remember which IAP I bought and which I didn't. Some devs put "restore" purchases function in their games but most don't. Makes it hard to remember what you bought. It's all about peace of mind. Recently I had an issue with StarDunk. I reinstalled the game but the previous IAP option that I used to get rid of the ads was not there. There was another option that did the same for double the price. A lot of people were not sure if they are going to be charged again if they "buy" the ad removal Iap again. Dev had to join the forum to clarify the matter. I suppose it is that kind of unnecessary hustle that ruins it for games that have Iap well implemented. If I buy IAP today, is it going to be there tomorrow? If restore purchases button was standard and we were sure that we can always restore purchases regardless of app's presence in app store, people would be less apprehensive. I would rather buy "pro" version any day than have to pay for IAPs piecemeal.
Exactly! This for the win. Its gotta be hard for devs to charge fair prices (for them) when there is a race to the price floor (Looking at you EA). I'm glad when I get to try a few levels of a game for cheap or free and then see if I want to pay more. Makes perfect sense.
IAP didn't bother me even though it happened to me that I can't complete a level unless to purchase items from app store. Indeed it tricks, but you must clearly know it's IAP before installing. Thus it makes the sense the ads pop up in the middle of the games
Some of them do. There's a growing trend of developers including the content on the disc and then charging to unlock it as supposed "downloadable content". I've got no problems with them continuing to work on a game and releasing it for an additional charge at a later stage, but if it's already been completed and included on the actual physical media you've paid for... that's cheap.
IAP is confusing, and often vague and/or dishonest. Ridge Racer, which was cited as an example, is a particularly cynical one. The App Store blurb says only "* Some cars and courses may only be available at the ONLINE SHOP" - it gives you no idea whatsoever how many courses and cars you're actually buying for what's already a premium price. It's sometimes - though certainly not always - possible to find out exactly what you get with the base version by reading reviews and the like, but that's a whole bunch of extra effort, so some people apply the crude filter of simply dismissing anything with IAP. It's not ideal but it's a fairly rational policy to adopt in a marketplace where 40,000 games are all screaming for attention at once and you don't have 67 hours a day to research them all. As an aside: the kneejerk reaction of TA staff to any form of consumer dissatisfaction - basically a big angry "You've never had it so good, so shut up, stop whining and hand over your money to anyone who asks" pout - is one of the least attractive facets of the site and its forum. We get that you're big cosy pals with the industry and essentially think that consumers (your readers) are all scum, but a tiny bit more subtlety about it wouldn't hurt. (I'm sure I've just misread that, though. I'm sure there's some other interpretation of that I'm just too dumb to have spotted.)
"hand over your money to anyone who asks" when has anyone from TA ever wrote that? The great thing about IAP is you have the choice to hand over your money... you never have to do it.
