Why do people insist that Premium is dead?

Oh, Zamrod, Zamrod, Zamrod... First you say you haven't played most of these games because you don't have enough time, then you say you don't like many iOS games because they're too short and shallow! What is it you actually want?

Everyone knows their own tastes best. I'm also not a fun of endless runners (which the Mario game won't be, by the way - it'll be a stage-based autorunner, like Rayman Jungle Run or the excellent Lost Socks, which isn't quite the same thing), so even if I see one get five stars, I'm unlikely to pick it up. You also learn to appreciate certain reviewers' tastes over others - and most reviewers will make clear their fondness for certain genres.

If you really don't think iOS has what you want, think about what you do like, and start a thread on the forum saying: "I'm looking for an iOS original game that is blah blah blah". You will soon get about a dozen suggestions, and I'd be surprised if something didn't float your boat.

 

Staged based runner for the Mario iOS game? That's promising. Hopefully, the levels will have more "structure" to them, as opposed to say, something like Gravity Man where it's just endless levels, instead of just plain "endless".

 

It's alive and well in my purchased list

 

Dankrio, as the old adage goes: "correlation does not imply causation"

In other words, this game's release on mobile does not change the fact that premium mobile games are for all intents and purposes "dead men walking." It certainly doesn't mean that it will be profitable. I sincerely hope it is, and at least they're leading with the PC version so the mobile version's success won't make or break them.

Don't get me wrong, I bought this game immediately and I'm ecstatic when developers are willing to risk it. However, a few dozen Touch Arcade forum regulars buying this game are not going to make its development costs back. Hopefully this crashing issue is rare and/or can be fixed quickly since we know how vindictive AppStore reviewers can be.

This is also why I tend to lose my patience with people who both decry freemium and then moan or "wait for a sale" on games that cost a fraction of the same title on other platforms.

 

Spot on comment.

If you want or not, Freemium has taken over the mobile market big time and judging from the revenues, more devs probably will go that way.

Just look back: Gameloft had so many premium titles, now they only commit to f2p anymore - Apparently generates more cash in nearly every case. Or Cut the Rope, Angry Birds etc. The successors of all those those titles having been successful at a premium price back when mobile gaming became popular have now changed they're business models to freemium or 99c plus a lot of possible iAPs.

Sure, the guy you were replying to had a point, but as it looks now premium for mobile is a niche market. Everybody has a smartphone, hardcore gamers like most people on the TA forums just aren't the main target group for most devs anymore. Most like free to download. That they often spend more money on those games as if they paid a one time price is another story.

Alas the majority of games on mobile aren't profitable and it's even harder for premium games (without being on the start site of the App Store or word of mouth there's virtually little chance). But one thing I'm fairly sure of, there'll always be certain publishers and devs who'll release/port their game at a premium price, no matter what.

And at least judging from plenty TA comments there's still a market for that - Alas, as you imply, some (or plenty?) of people don't put their money where their mouth is ... Or don't think when they talk. Decrying freemium but then complaining about 3 or 5 bucks being too high (often for games that cost twice or thrice as much on PC) is just cuckoo

 

Regarding OP, the term "dead" isn't supposed to be used literally, premium games are by no mean non-existent, but they now form part of the very small minority, and hence the term.

Now to give my two cents about the matter, I live in Venezuela, a third world country going through economical and political crisis, and we have no access to foreign currency in order to buy things digitally, and our own currency isn't worth shit and can't be used on any online platforms, and I know this is something that happens in other countries and those countries have a lot of active smartphone users, so it's easy to see why these games are so profitable. Here, either we play F2P and endure it, or just outright pirate it (since there are no laws prohibiting it), I love to show my support to developers, and try to buy games legally but most of the time it is just impossible. Now, knowing that, there is an incredibly huge market hungry for F2P games, and obviously all developers want to take advantage of it, it's just simple logic, and they are not to blame if they are providing a well polished product. The problem is when the game they provide is hostile against players who are not willing to pay for IAP, which happens to be like 90% of the F2P games, and that is what we must criticize.

I'm not against the majority of the games being F2P, heck, most of my mobile gaming goes to F2P games. I know there are some really good premium games that shine and prove developers that going that route is also profitable, and the example that comes to mind is Reigns.

 

Full disclosure, I'm an indie developer trying to better understand what pricing model gamers are gravitating toward. I have a game on iOS that is premium but thinking about changing the model. Would love to get the thoughts of anyone who cares to weigh in about a F2P where 25% of the content is available before paying an IAP to unlock the rest. Do you avoid these knowing the pay wall is close & don't want to waste your time? Or are you glad you get a taste before plunking down the cash?

I know as a gamer I'm of the latter thinking which is why any outside insight is appreciated.

 

Funny that you mention that... I have Castlestorm: Free To Siege on iOS, and Castlestorm for Steam/PC. The former is f2p, but I paid a one time $3 (or $5?) to remove ads, get weekly rewards, and double XP. For the latter it was $15 that included the 2 expansion campaigns (that are already included in the iOS version).

For the former, grinding was fun at first, but in the end, I was glad I spent $15 on the game for Steam/PC. I don't know where the notion came from that a "bigger screen" means the game gets charged more, but that seems to be helping out the Steam/console/PC market. Somebody here on Touch Arcade argued that the state of premium may have been different if the devs were able to charge $10 to $20 per game while still making sales.

 

Those who keep shouting that premium is dead, are like those guys who were yelling a 6 years ago that PC is dead and 2 years ago that console is dead.
Well neither is dead, and it won't be, not now, not in the near future.
Premium is becoming a niche market, if it isn't already. Premium buyers are players that want their games without mindless gating systems, without time/energy/life based things. They want to play as much as they fancy and don't like being scammed out of their money for the sake of "ingame progress".

In the end freemium and premium have their own unique dedicated player base, and everyone get's what they want. Also in a way they complement each other.

 

Respectfully speaking, piracy, particularly on Android devices plays a huge roll. I'm not holier than thou but developers and publishers have to eat and feed their kids too.

 

This. I just wanna play as much as I want what I want when I can. Which is not often and rarely for very long. When I want to play, I want to play. Not watch an ad. Not wait for timers. I don't care much for multiplayer. I don't give a hoot watching for graphical prowess. I also, by the way, don't want to watch cutscenes.

My main investment is not the 1-5 euros I spend on a mobile game. It's my precious me-time.

 

I think we're on the same page. What we are saying are both true statements- there are lots of premium games in the AppStore, but it's also true that the vast majority fail.

I'm in a unique position. I've been in the game industry since 1993, and have worked on mobile games at large studios with access to data consumers just don't have. Believe me, with very few exceptions (that mostly just prove the rule), premium games are a losing bet for any mid-size or larger studio. Two years ago I moved into game industry tech work, because from my perspective mobile game development has been reduced to "fighting over table scraps."

Leading your portfolio with a premium mobile game can be a viable business strategy for small indies who a) don't have very many mouths to feed and b) know exactly what audience they're building games for, setting scope and pricing accordingly. Hence, you get folks like Rocketcat, Butterscotch Shenanigans and others making a successful living.

With all of that said, it does not mean premium games will disappear. There are certainly enough developers out there who will keep building them in the hopes that they capture lighting in a bottle. As consumers, it means we have the perception that premium titles can flourish on mobile, but that's not the whole truth.