I want to start off by proposing a simple question, are app shoppers ungrateful. This is not a hit at you personally, yes you the one reading this. It's more at the community that leave reviews on the apps. I want to start off with my opinion and then ask you guys, I'll just state what I have observed. Ipod and Iphone apps have come a long way over the past years, and are in no sense stopping. Though is the content given worth more than the price they ask for? Let's start off with Angry Birds. Angry Birds has been updated over and over by the kind devs, and has and always will be (most likely) priced at 99 cents. Are they asking too little of a price for such a dynamic game? Angry birds consists of over 200 levels. Which take a great time to pass for most of the latter levels. Thats around lets say 100x3 (earlier levels) 50x4 (middle levels) and 50x5 (crazy had levels) that equals a total of 12.5 hours of gameplay. Thats more than a campaign in any recent releases for consoles. But angry birds isn't console quality? True I agree but with all 12.5 hours of gameplay, more time has been put into developing the game. Yes angry birds has been #1 for a while now, yet we still have those people asking for more and more free updates. And once you announce a small part of iap the community (not you who is reading this!) flips out. I mean would you rather have a bag of chips or angry birds. Modern Combat 2 Modern Combat and Modern Combat 2 were great steps for gameloft in the dirrection of bringing a great fps to the underrated ios devices. With the intagration of online ranking and multiplayer it was set to be a great game. An update has been announced for more content for online play. And everyone (not you silly again its not you) is asking for it to be free. Which I find crazy, I would honestly be mad if they did charge, but being a concious knower, I feel as it would be justified for them to charge for their extra release, such as all games tend to do. This was not much of an example but the next one is what caused me to write this. Dungeon Defenders Dungeon Defenders, is a great game, albeit there are some bugs and some issues to be looked upon, but otherwise the developers have been kind in showing there support for the game. I looked and decided to post a rating, and I saw the price drop to .99c and I was just thinking, I bought a bag of chips earlier today, you are telling me that with something I ate in 5 minutes (and had to burn off for 20) I could of had a game that lasted me over 20 hours? WHAT!!! So I decide to post a review (I purchased this at the 2.99 price) and looked and the game had 2 stars, I was appaled. Then I read things such as Elle.F.G 1 Star Still buggy and lagging. Ambitious but dissapointing Dissapointing? The dev did really well converting this to an ios device, with this much content dissapointing, and it was only .99 what do you expect for a dollar? Moorechez67 1Star Gawdehmmit this game is so frustrating! Take out all the bull crap like voice and focus on getting a GD game that is playable. This by far the most unstable and unreliable app I have ever purchased of over 1000 apps. So much potential for this game but its just a heaping pile..... Fix this garbage. I'm just asstounded, it crashed once that I can recall after over 6 hours of gameplay. Devs work crazy hard for ipod and iphone games, its not easy flash html code(even if flash was easy) its specifically created code for the iphone and ipod touch, and everyone just seems to expect more (BUT NOT YOU, SILLY) I hope I got my point across, and would love to see this open for discussion, if I did not explain clear enough it is 12:06 in the morning, and Im fairly tired. I had to say this, Im excited to see what you have to say. Enjoy this wall of text. Yours, Maybenotnow...
man, first thx for writing such a long article to make your point. as an indie dev(though not having released 1st title), i would say that i care about user review in appstore a lot while i was still working for another ios game company. though some users are extremely picky and even cruel to dev with their reviews, most of the users are good and they leave insight feedbacks or express their feelings towards the game. this kind of thing happens everywhere. so, you could do nothing to it. all you could do(as a dev) is to make a game as perfect as you could. for those who don't appreciate it, you could just let it be. you go your way, you can't please everyone. sometimes, the dev does have responsibilities to the phenomenon. for example, you(dev) might happened to clone some ideas without making significant improvement. this could be annoying. you(dev) might missed a big bug or an important feature. all these things are the fuse for the users to blast and writing bad reviews in appstore. then you need to learn from the reviews and improve yourself. to sum up, customers are God, and they have their points. hope when i publish my games, i could please most of them. LOL
Maybenotnow; you made a pretty good point, although i guess it's something that everybody who is 'in the know' already acknowledges subconsciously, which is why, for example, i no longer actually read app store reviews- if you look, you can usually get a feel for whether the person who wrote it either a) knows what they're actually talking about, or b) wrote in frustration because the game had a couple of bugs on release and the devs were audacious enough not to fix IMMEDIATELY, WITHIN TWO HOURS, WITH FREE EXTRA CONTENT AND A FULL REFUND FOR THIS TERRIBLE INSULT TO MY FAMILY'S HONOUR. Unfortunately, then, a lot of app shoppers, or at least the more vocal ones, seem to fall into the latter category. But for those using the store, who don't read TA for example, and aren't really clued in as to where to find info on quality apps, the store reviews will be what makes or breaks it for them...
OMG I Love Dungeon Defenders. Speaking of which - you gotta check this website that someone - not a dev - drew up for the trendyent forum - http://cfs.tistory.com/custom/blog/22/225742/skin/images/ddds.html?id=8%2C669741639%2C614990942%2C-628245367%2C545731298 Strategy discussion to follow - in depth.
Angry Birds has made the developers a fortune. As appreciation to all the buyers they make free updates- and this is also an additional incentive for a new buyer to buy the game. I'm not a fan of angry birds but I'd imagine there are people that do want more free updates- it is maybe expectant, but all the developers have to do is say no. It's a review. A review is how good a game is, how well it performs on the device etc etc. It doesn't matter how much work has been put into it if its crap.. Not that I've played Dungeon Defenders(waiting for it on the PC) but if that person is harsh- then the sum of the review scores will reflect that. McDonalds worker work crazy hard to serve McDonalds but do you want to know about that? No- you're only concerned with paying your money, and getting your food. Ie. these people make money for their games- its the whole reason for putting in the effort to do it. If they don't want to do it, maybe someone else will do it and make that money instead.
Dude - I cld not make a game like DDFW even if I wanted to. dnt have the recipe for the secret sauce.
You do know that you are being cruel to Chair when you call Infinity Blade right? I think your will be fine when IB fans call you 'original' upcoming IOS game a piece of shit LOL.
Lol. Anyways, I'm not agreeing/disagreeing with the OP. Don't know his/her position because the only thing I read was this.
I think its because the apps and games are now so cheap, whereas you would be paying over US$20 at least for them. As more people are able to buy it, you're exposing yourself ot a wider demographic audience, who's tolerances are low or aren't willing to do some homework on researching the game first. Back in the days of SNES or Megadrive days, I would only really buy a game for 40 GBP if I read consistent reviews across afew magazines, and/or tried it at a friends place first. Later, for Dreamcast and PS2 games, the Internet forums and review sites made it slightly easier to research, but you're still paying around 40 GBP so you had to be careful not to waste your money. With the App Store, its so cheap, that everyone from kids getting default pocket money per week, through to middle-aged workers are able to try it at a whim, without even thinking. And when it comes to software that ranges from high-quality to my-first-app all being sold at the same price point of US$0.99, expectations have soared to unrealistic levels that everything should be 110% polished. The last thing customers want is to be beta-testers for something half-baked. But this is one perspective. The other is that you get to play a game earlier and it develops and grows over time through updates and/or IAP. You just can't please everybody. So to answer the OP, yes, app store reviewers have by and large become ungrateful, and do not appreciate the hard work and effort required to develop. But this is more apparent with the App Store because of its ultra-fast fluidity in pricing and placement in the Top 50.
I'm guessing about 90% of people that buy from the AppStore don't use TA or any other review site, so they rely on customer reviews, and ratings. Take away the ability to post reviews on the AppStore, and people will have to find a reason to dislike the game themselves, instead of being predisposed to hate it by the people that think "this game stinkz, one stars till you fixes it!!1" When you factor in the number of people using the AppStore that are kids, or adults with the minds of children, you learn to completely ignore apples wonderful rating and review system. I honestly feel sorry for people who dont know about TouchArcade
No, it's a decent system in my opinion. The appstore's generous prices and myriad of amazing games makes up for the spazzing idiots that litter the review boards on the appstore. In every way, I find it better than going to the nearest best buy/target/etc to buy a ps3 game for 60$, without all the idiotic comments, and for the game to suck. I definitely don't have time to sit around and play consoles either. The appstore makes up for these 'kids' and then some.
I totally agree And as for this app shoppers ungratefull thing, well, most games/apps on the app store right now are 99 cents. Unless you totally hate the genre/style of the game, or if the game is a complete piece of sh*t, 99 cents is still a really small price to pay, and you probably got more out of the game you bought than you would a can of soda, or a burger from McDonalds. So even if you are not completely satisfied with the game you bought, it is still only 99 cents, and for you to say that you wished you coulda bought a can of soda instead, that is saying ALOT. But if there is some other app that your 99 cents would be better spent on than this particular one, well thats another story.
it's a really hard thing. As a developer I hang on every word from the community, be it out there (app store) or in here (forums). Every time people are talking about my game negatively, it hurts my rep and chances to sell.. I do believe that gamers have become ingrates at this point - and it will get worse - but I don't "hate them" for it, because it's not really their fault. We developers have certainly only helped the situation to where it is now, by offering up all the majority of the products on the store for next to nothing, and therefore devaluing everything. As we have perpetuated it, this has only made things worse, and very quickly it got to the point where if you try to charge more than what something is perceived as its worth you will be either scorned, or altogether ignored. I must mention that the bigger studios are just as guilty, as studios like Konami, Namco and Taito (and famously EA) will also have 99c specials very often, and then when a tiny indie dev tries to compete with that.. well, you get the idea. As for the people who take time and energy to write nitpicky, lousy reviews on the app store - for my game that they got for $1 or FREE - that just confounds me. I welcome criticism - even harsh - but when someone is so dismissive because I've "wasted their time" with my game which hasn't got the production values of a PSP title, then I gotta scratch my head. Just the same - it really makes my day when I read a note someone's left either in the forum on in iTunes that they love my game and can't put it down. I may not be making money from my app, but it does make me very proud to know that someone's day is better because of my hard work. Gamers - If you enjoy an app, especially from a small team, take one minute and do something nice to help them out, even if only to say 'thank you.' It goes a long way __________________ twitter - HeadcaseGames.com Puzzling has Evolved - Get 180! FreeAppTracker.com Win ANY app you want, daily!
No way. Pandora's Box has been opened. Any further action to cull irrelevant messages would likely raise concerns about censorship etc. Unless the AppStore ratings mimic forums and engadget/gizmodo posts where peers can "like" or downrank a post into oblivion. The 1star would still be counted, but remarked as being not useful. This obviously needs to be applied to the iPhone/iPod Touch App Store app, not just from within iTunes, because I'm sure alot of the quick reviews "man this sxxks" are swiftly inserted after the app was tried and deleted. then again, this could be abused too. Imagine if the entire staff of EA or Gameloft logged in to downrank all the 1-star ratings....
ungrateful There is just a whole lot of pale, fat, spoilt, lazy kids out there with a distorted sense of entitlement they inherited from their godless, materialistic, probably also fat, baby boomer parents. That, and the fact we live in a secular, corporate controlled pleasure seeking society where the proliferation of instant gratification is the be all and end all... I think the ungratefullness stems from those things. Then again, when i was a kid i thought pinball and rollerskating were sports.
Glad to see a full thread on this. I just changed my signature the other day after being appauled by what people say in iTunes reviews for perfectly good games.
