http://thenextweb.com/insider/2016/03/23/free-to-play-games-are-not-the-way-forward-for-mobile-gaming/ Title may be slightly misleading so I apologize but I'm curious on everyone's thoughts on this. Basically, almost half of the money from mobile games comes from, yes it's this small, .18 percent. That's crazy. Is everyone so opposed to paying a couple bucks for a nice game? Or even a gem pack in a F2P game? Like really?
The number of people willing to pay for video games is shrinking meanwhile the number of people entering the market either as kids or casual gamers who are being exposed to games for the first time have been trained into believing all games should be free is growing. I'm not sure why this is such a mystery.
I mean... I understand kids aren'to gonna pay much but if adults get into it, like some gamers on here seem to be (adult ones) wouldn't they contribute at least some money?
I pay for iap on all f2p game that I play for more than a day or two. I don't like the idea of using something without some type of compensation for the creators. If I don't care for the game, I'll delete and move on. I still got my money's worth if I played for a few days. I buy lots of " premium" games as well. I think the problem with some gamers, regardless of age, is entitlement. I'm always amazed at the level of bashing on some games that some free players put out there when they haven't actually invested anything in the game; except play time.
It's just kinda fascinating seeing people on consoles pay outrageous amounts of money for stuff like Star Wars battlefront: like 120 for the game and season pass and then you turn to mobile where getting a buck is like pulling teeth.
That isn't an apples to apples comparison though.... Those who are frugal on iOS would probably just only ever play the free stuff, and spend perhaps $5 to $10 a month or so (premium, freemium, "legit IAP", and IAP for cosmetic stuff/boosts/timer refills). Those who are frugal on the console side would only buy games after a few years when they go on sale, less than half their original MSRP (e.g. Nintendo games after 6 years of their initial release). They also wouldn't be throwing away $$ on DLC like they just won the lottery or spending somebody else's cash. Those who are "high rollers" on the iOS side would spend $50 on a huge wad of gems/stars/virtual fish food/whatever they use in some teletubbies game app. Those who are high rollers in consoles probably have all 3 consoles, and do do the preorder stuff, with deluxe content, and yes.. season passes (although in some cases, these SAVE money), as well as buying expansions and sequels. . For me, I got Castlestorm: Free To Siege for iOS was free. I spent $5 for the one-time VIG (very important gamer) IAP which removes in-game ads, doubles XP, gets me weekly coins + gems (though you need to log in daily), and also to support the devs despite some of my misgivings about iOS games. I paid $15 for Castlestorm for Steam/PC (also included the 2 extra campaigns). On one hand, it's more than the iOS version, and not portable since it was on desktop. OTOH, not having to deal with gems, daily grind throughs of online only levels for Pearls (2ndary currency), but also having a large 24" monitor with mouse and keyboard felt luxurious. Having beaten the game on both platforms, I deem the Steam/PC purchase to be the better choice.
TL;DR (up to the double header bar...) We'd like to think all consumers are "doing their fair share" of supporting businesses, but some are simply far more valuable and lucrative than others This actually isn't THAT surprising. We see this often in other business cases... Back in the 90s, for supermarkets that would advertise $1 or 50cent paper towels and toilet paper, I HIGHLY doubt they were making any $$ off that. The idea was to get people into the store, so they'd pick up other things while they were there, and they'd come out ahead. There were folks who drove down there ONLY to pick up those insanely cheap items, and then go elsewhere to buy the other stuff... that's cheaper elsewhere. For some restaurants, alcohol is the one thing that keeps their profit margins going. If everybody stopped purchasing booze, they may be in trouble, even with patrons coming in ordering "normally". Speaking of which, somebody who worked at a burger joint when he was younger, back in the 70s ended up doing some of their books. Soda is 800% profit margin. It was so good that if everybody came in and bought only sodas... they'd STILL be in business. No need to purchase any burgers nor fries really. =========== Another reason for me of why I don't support devs more... I truly have all the games I could play for years and years on end. I believe it was Eli who mentioned this very thing in another post (or perhaps more!). "I'm full". Plus, even if we all pitched in $$ and bought more stuff, there's so much competition on the iOS AppStore that there will still be those who are left behind. For some of us, we have plenty of other avenues to spend our money. iOS games may be important to some of us, but it's not our center of the universe.
Another reason why that many of the weekly featured games in the App Store are complete junk. You know the ones I'm talking about#. The companies that come out with a new game every week. The lack of polish and quality in numerous titles. It's because selfious sc*mbags love to jailbreak, pirate, *for the wrong uses and other people have to pay the price. I don't feel sorry for myself whatsoever but my heart goes out to the developers who work extremely hard at putting together a quality title and they do not make any money. As for the emulator excuse on an I-device or Android regarding legal jailbreaking, what a bunch of BS! Move on!
Lol wut? Hate to break this to you friend but free to play games are free for everyone, not just pirates. Also I wont give a cent to most 'free to play' games because eff them. Thats why. I don't want to support them, their game, or the payment model. There are a FEW exceptions to this for me if they come up with a particularly great game, or a particularly fair payment model. (Pay for full unlock is fine, pay to remove ads can be fine as long as the ads weren't TOO in your face to begin with. I want to make the choice, not feel forced into paying). Anyways for those that are of the mindset 'well if you dont want to support them just dont play the game' fair enough, I usually dont. However I am still an optimist and if I try 20 FTP games, maybe one will stand out as a winner and get some love from me. The rest I play until I A) find out dont like it or B) hit the paywall (its almost always there eventually). Anyways. Eff F2P. Eff it right in the bottom.
