I am thinking to release a game with an ad bar across the top of the screen. Free game, full functionality, the only thing is there is an ad on top constantly (I think you all know how this looks by now) I want to include an In-app Purchase to remove the ad (basically just replace with a blank space or something otherwise unobtrusive) and charge, say, $4.99 for it. I don't expect many people will wanna buy the IAP, but I want to give those who enjoy the game but hate the ads (distracting and damaging to the aesthetic/game experience for some) an option. I feel that anything I develop is worth at LEAST $5, but I don't wanna restrict users of my app only to those who are willing to pay for it. Based on experience, at this stage I feel that simply releasing an app for $1 is a hard sell, and releasing a "lite" version won't get as many downloads as I'd like (and doesn't really upsell the Full Version enough to be worth the effort) What's your opinion? This is not a new idea - as a gamer, do you hate this, prefer it, don't care either way? I'm looking for some diverse opinions. Your thoughts are very appreciated - thanks!
Postin' from my Touch, so it'll be short. I don't care either way, it would work as a lite version for me.
Well i personally dont really care about the app banners and paying 5 dollars just to remove them seems like a lot. Maybe charge a little les and more people would consider it.
It really depends on the size and if they include audio. For example, I REALLY HATE the Ads in Coin Push Frenzy because they're so huge and pop up almost every 30 seconds and I dislike Pandora Radio's Ads as well, due to the fact that they tend to cover the whole screen and contain sound that last over 45 seconds. As long as you keep the apps short and simple, I won't mind.
I mentioned $5, since when I have put out games many people do say "this is something that I would pay way more than a dollar for!" I do realize that most people aren't interested unless it's free (or close to it), but this way I could collect a semi-decent amount money from the people who actually don't mind paying (and really dislike ads that much) - but still giving a chance to everyone to experience the full game, with the possibility that I could still make some money off of a large number of downloads due to ad-revenue. We put out a Lite version and it got a few hundred downloads, and a tiny percentage of upsell to Full - the Lite has since been taken down completely. When we put our Full game out for free temporarily, we got WAYYY over 100,000 downloads. No ads though, so no chance of revenue.
I don't like this part at all: "(basically just replace with a blank space or something otherwise unobtrusive)". I expect the ad to be over a part of the game background which isn't needed to be visible to play, or that ad removal enlarges (part of) the game to still use the whole screen. Replacing the ad with something else still leaves an annoying wasted space. Especially when you have to pay that much to remove those ads (which I truly hate so much that I refuse to play games which have them) that would feel very unsatisfying. Also: I am probably so used to paying $0.99 for ad removal (without extra features) that I can't imagine myself paying that much money to get rid of them even when done in a way I like it.
This. Gamers hate paying .99 cents for an app, but they hate even more paying for IAP. Also, you better provide me with more than a blank graphic for 4.99. Expand the gameplay area, add some stats, something...
well, leave it to me as a designer to come up with an elegant solution Real estate is often tight in these mobile games.. In such a case, I generally will have to design a game where it can work without needing that space, but if it is not being used then it can either blend into the background UI (unobtrusively, as I mentioned) or maybe some relevant game data can be put up there instead (perhaps otherwise only visible on a pause screen or something). Anyway, now I am getting technical. Charging for the removal isn't so much as giving the player a huge extra value for their money, but rather giving them the option if they really enjoy the game but feel it is both too distracting with ads (meaning, they have a strong distaste for ads in general) AND they want to have a better method to support the developer. Of course, if 50 people come in to this thread and say "this $5 option is a huge racket, you should get hit by a car and DIE for suggesting this" then I will realize that it's probably not a good idea to implement such a thing..!
I personally don't mind ads, especially if it's just a banner at the top or bottom. Though unless it's an online-only game, ads can be avoided by just playing without wifi. Also, I do find $5 to just remove ads quite expensive. It doesn't really matter if your game is worth $5 or not, people will just see that they're paying $5 to remove the ads.
this $5 option is a huge racket, you should get hit by a car and DIE for suggesting this. Just kidding.
Nah, you can suggest asking $100 for ad removal and I still wouldn't want to see you get hit by a car and die. ;-) I am a big fan of an elegant solution, but I am sure that much was clear already. The thing is that I have no problem paying that amount of money for a good game, nor do I have a problem with paying that amount of money for extra content which also removes the ads. There is just something which holds me back from paying that amount of money for pure IAP ad removal. It feels "wrong". Maybe partly because it's not what I am used to. The problem for you is that no one is used to that. People already complain about prices and some people already complain about IAP, yet you want to combine those two. I just don't think it will work out. I also don't trust everyone who claims they would want to pay much more for a game than what they are being charged. For many it seems a way to express that they really like a game, not that they would actually be willing to pay that much more for it. Not that I have any research to back that up.
Depending on the game, I'd probably prefer paying $5 for a separate ad-free app. Like what others have said though, $5 is a steep price for ad removal.
yeah. the replies here are steering me toward $2 or maybe $3. This is still all hypothetical at this point - very valuable responses so far
Unless it's a $0.99 IAP for the game, I think a full paid app is the way to go without the remove ad price point.
full paid was alright to a point, but there's so may games available now that it is very hard for many (most? ) smaller devs to retain any flow of interest in their product, even with decent-quality productions. Following an initial burst of sales, most devs complain about how their sales crash out to nothing. A crashed game will never make you any more money. At least when games are free - even if full of ads, there are many more people who will go from "on the fence" to "no-brainer download" if the app in question sounds even marginally interesting and fairly well-reviewed. Of course, without any monetization, the dev won't get any return on his hard work other than a couple of people who might recognize his name, and "the satisfaction of a job well done" based on my experience and research, it is pretty clear that in the longer-term, the current model is fairly busted - charging rock-bottom prices for apps that hardly sell, or using limited-feature games to try to upsell to an audience which doesn't usually want to spend any money on a title unless it is released by a big, popular developer. Keep in mind what I am proposing is releasing a full-featured game, with ads - by the tone of some people here, I think they expect that the ads are severely detrimental to the game-playing experience. I think *most* people will grab something if it is free and there are ads in it, and if they like the game they will continue to play it with ads anyway. I just want to give a reasonable option to the people who really like the game but really hate the ad-presence. I have a different really great idea for ad-removal which I think all parties would be happy about, and it's not one I've seen implemented anywhere yet - not sure if it could be done, but I am looking into it and I think it could be a pretty fair compromise for all involved
Honestly I look at your record you been here a long time and should know the gamers right now. Nobody will pay $4.99 to remove ADs.Now if you want to try it out go ahead , but it seems like your trying to get people to agree with you. Reality is your not because people play with thier wifi off anyway.Sorry to be blunt but honestly people here are pretty cheap , its not your fault , its just the way it is.
This right here. As long as you don't change the price of the paid version you should make a decent profit.
noooo, definitely "not trying to get people to agree with me," I am just testing the waters to see how strongly people feel about one side of an argument. no amount of me making noise (in here, or anywhere) will ever reach the vast majority which will never hear what I am trying to say anyway They'll just see an app on the store, and the price (or IAP price) and either they'll grab it or they won't. I do expect some pretty harsh responses, but that's fine, so long as I get some feedback! It helps me to steer my decision.
Well like I said its not your fault , people are cheap. I say that as I probaly had a few battles with people saying gameloft games are worth 99 cents. Even a few people who wanted deadspace for $1.99 which I think is ridiculous. Like I said its not your fault ,its just the 99 cent mentality thats going to hurt ipod/iphone gaming in the future.
