I don't like paying for updates or things like that. Most apps don't charge money. An app that's really annoying is cod zombies. The new map came out to day and it cost 5$. I think it's stupid charging that much. But there's other games as well that charge money. We shouldn't have to pay for more content if we already payed for that game. What do you people think?
I don't think that game is worth it in the first place, but some people think it is since it carries the Call of Duty title. The game costs $15, and to break it down, you're paying around $10-12 for the title, and around $3-5 for the actual game. To each their own I guess. On the other hand, other games which have reasonable prices have DLC that unlock new features (not updates), which is reasonable in my opinion.
In my opinion, it's all up to the consumer...you bought Cod:zombies for the one map right? Did you expect a new free map? It's all abt choices people make...if you didn't think the one map is worth $10 then why did you buy it?
I didn't pay for it I got it free from my bros itouch. I know that tour gonna say something like why am I complaining. I'm saying that people who support an expensive app shoudlnt pay for more content. Ps. treyarch was on CRACK when they made Nazi zombies.
I think $15 for CoD is a great price for hours of fun and replayability, period. Honestly, I think the appstore spoils people with it's low prices.
I was about to write a longer post with a sarcastic tone, hoping to explain how development as a business actually requires lots of money every month to pay the wages, but I gave up. This reminds me of a piece of advice I once received from a concerned individual: "You should make your game free, or you lose customers." It's just painfully obvious at times that those who vocally criticize an already ridiculously cheap market for not providing additional service for free are unlikely to have yet had to work for a living.
As long as you can redownload the extra content I don't really care. A good percentage of it usually is either extra characters or content you can go without.
+1 I get that feeling every time I read people yammering on about how everything is far too expensive...
COD Zombies is way over priced. let me break this down for you... ok first it is a MINIGAME from an actual game, that is only unlocked once you actually beat the game. Which means it's a BONUS, technically free. COD for a PC costs $50, this include the full single player game, online coop, a full online mode with multiple game types. This also includes FREE updates, with ALL of the maps. So really this game is completely free on the computer. The game is already made, all they had to do was port it. I'm not sure why they are charging such a high price for this game. I understand charging some money, like maybe $5, INCLUDING free maps. It just blows my mind why so many people are going crazy about this and spending so much money on it. Well thats just my thoughts, go ahead and flame me if you want (chances are, that if you do, you are just a fanboy of COD). I love COD too, but not this ridiculously high priced game. You do realise that after you buy the game, the new map, and the other 2 maps that they will probably come up with that you are spending at least $25 on the game, that is a essentially free. That is half the price of the full COD game.
As a tiny indie dev this is something I struggle with a lot, especially right now as we are days away from submission of our latest app. Charge too little and you risk making next to no money, and having a perception that your app hasn't got value. Charge too much and piss off the consumer, because you are not meeting the accepted standard. There's got to be a happy medium in there somewhere.. There's a lot of misconceptions going around "the COD Zombie game is COMPLETELY FREE on PC" No it isn't, it was an added bonus that had to be bought with other for-sale content, and even then it needed to be earned by "doing something." What about Canabalt, it's "completely free" on PC, why even buy it for iPhone? Because it's on your iPhone. Furthermore just porting something isn't free for a developer either. It might seem like "less work because it's not a big creative venture like making something new," but honestly porting stuff is NOT free. It does take work, and time, and manpower, even for something small. A lot of things that are invisible to the end-user must be figured out and executed. A port of some game's bonus material might not be worth $20 - but surely it is worth more than a couple of nickels. But there's people who will complain if they have to shell out more than an initial investment, on principal alone (look at what happened with Tweetie). This is what I come back to then, "who is at fault then?" It's not the customer's fault, because ultimately you are going to speak with your dollars, your patronage - who cares what some kid says on a forum (or what some dev says for that matter!) Ultimately it is the dev's fault, for starting or following a trend (99 cents!) and then maintaining a status quo. Case in point, if we relinquish IAP and just give everything out for free, free, free all the time, then we create an expectation overall that this is what is normal, and then when someone goes and charges for an update, a vocal contingent will complain and then devs will get reactionary and maintain the status quo which only hurts them, in the end.
I think it should be done like pocket god not forced or overpriced but just a small extension to the game
Bug fixes, UI tweaks and the like should always be free, if a developer tries to charge you just to fix what you've already paid for they're doing it wrong. Luckily I don't know any devs that do this. As far as additional content goes... it's entirely up to the dev. You paid for the original game, you paid for exactly what you saw, you didn't pay for stuff that hadn't been created yet. The developer should price their DLC fairly and in relation to the cost of the original app and the amount of content it contains, and the consumer should respect the decision made and come to their own conclusion about whether or not the content is worth it for them.
Depends on the amount offered for the first price. OK: Jet Car charging for more levels Not OK: Pac Man Championship edition
You make porting a current generation game to the iPhone sound trivial. It's more than likely that they had to at the least rewrite massive portions of the code and rework all the graphics.
"Should apps charge money for more content?" Yes. They should charge for any additional content. Most developers should also be charging more up front for the apps. Almost everything we can buy for our iPods and iPhones is seriously underpriced. I'm happy that I can buy as much as I can for as little money as I spend, but I can't see how many developers can last at $1 and $2 per sale. So when something like Cogs or Pocket God asks me for another $0.99 for extra content, I gladly pay it. Some apps I have I've purchased extra content I'll likely never use just because that's the easiest way to get additional money to the developers so they know people want more from them and so they can continue to finance working on the apps. Are some apps overpriced compared to what is available on the app store already? Sure. But are those apps truly priced too high? Well, for different values of "too high" you'll get different answers from different people. So far, I've not bought anything that I feel I paid too much for, but I've bought a lot I would have paid more for and still enjoyed enough to justify the additional expense.
The DLC is done well in PG but for Cod:Zombies...that's a totally different game..$5 is a bit high for my taste...but I don't care for cod:zombies anyway. Here's one way I look at app store pricing(might be slightly off topic) think of the last time you bought a candy bar....Do you even think"does this candy bar have enough content to last?" probably not...what I mean by this is that so many people have gotten soo used to app store pricing that they complain about a $.99 game not lasting them more than 4 hrs...how long does a candy bar last? 20 min? And to people complaining that "this game should be free" have you ever complained about a candy bar not being free?
Making a full title then breaking it into smaller pieces that together and priced higher then a stand alone product is not OK. Selling additional content for a product is absolutely fine as long as it's useful. I don't mind paying for the occasional level pack but the way companies like Namco handle their DLC is downright shameful. From leaving one blank spot in the SC4 menu then selling the character for $5 to splitting up their iPhone games with DLC at a heavier cost of the game it's all a pretty big f*ck you at their customers if you ask me.
