So, I am changing a paid version of a game to freemium. What works best ? IAP for straight weapon upgrades (at $1 each) or $1 for 1000 coins which buys you the same upgrade, but you can collect some coins in game ... I suspect the coins is a better plan because it encourages playing to collect them, but I don't want the added complexity if I can just sell the upgrades directly. Thoughts ?
As a player I hate that I am forced to pay money for upgrades without the option of earning them in game. I'm guessing you will get backlash for that. The coins is probably a better option.
I lean towards coins myself, because quite often, the upgrades aren't really worth $.99. Coins let you sell things for sub $1 price points, which is nice. That said, I THINK I've heard some players complain that with consumable IAP like coins, there's an issue with restoring. I haven't implemented IAP in any of my apps yet, but I think that there may be some gotchas in how Apple treats consumables: http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#documentation/NetworkingInternet/Conceptual/StoreKitGuide/APIOverview/OverviewoftheStoreKitAPI.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40008267-CH100-SW1 (You might need to be logged in for this link, not sure)
It depends on how you implement it more than anything else, imo. We have upgrade style IAPs in Bug Heroes (purchasable characters), and coin IAPs in Sky Gnomes... we see a pretty good return, % wise, on both.
Be careful - Notably the devs for Dark Meadows tried this not too long ago and undid the changes because of the outcry.
Thanks for the responses, guess I will go with the currency option. Blackharon + 30Below ... of course this has the potential to upset people who have already paid a dollar, but in this case it's all of maybe 200 people, plus it's all add-ons to the original game, so I should be OK.
There are ways to handle people that already bought your app, though not good ways. For instance you could do an update first that saves something on their phone saying they bought the new version. Or if you had a web service, you could use that to note who bought your app too. None of the methods are foolproof and they feel a bit hackish, but they will mostly work. I decided against using these and instead created a Lite version. My next game will start as freemium.
Those 200 downloaders are the people you really want to accommodate. 200 happy fans tell 200 friends. Give them 10$ worth of IAP goods for being the first to join. Give 100$ worth even. Make them happy and you have the beginnings of a following. Edit: This is assuming these 200 people aren't all personal friends and family. They don't count.
ehhh-h-h-h - 200 is a pretty tiny number. I'd consider that negligible. Hell even 2000 is pretty tiny.
200 turns to 400 turns to 800 and beyond. Everyone starts with nothing. If you expect 2000+ after one game (which was premium and turned freemium mind you)... Good luck. Or lets put it another way. Which would you prefer, 200 people who would buy something of yours outright or 200 people who would never buy again?