How come so many games have been going free lately? Is this an unhealthy trend?

[defred34]

I can't remember iOS going free as frequently and abundantly as they have of late. Don't tell me devs are doing this because Christmas is coming - that is certainly an excuse, but no main reason.

At the end of the day, devs will lose out because now instead of waiting for a $0.99 sale, many will instead wait for an $0 sale!

The notion that iOS gamers are not "cheap" also doesn't hold true anymore, because on say Android, it is impossible to go paid>free>paid.

What are your thoughts on this subject matter?

[wendezeit]

The notion that iOS gamers are not "cheap" also doesn't hold true anymore, because on say Android, it is impossible to go paid>free>paid.

Are you saying it's technically impossible on Google Play to make a game free for a short time? That would be another excellent reason to own an iDevice.

[JBRUU]

Originally Posted by wendezeit

Are you saying it's technically impossible on Google Play to make a game free for a short time? That would be another excellent reason to own an iDevice.

No, he's saying that it's not financially feasible to do so.

[defred34]

Originally Posted by 2590648

Are you saying it's technically impossible on Google Play to make a game free for a short time? That would be another excellent reason to own an iDevice.

Yeah. Not possible at all.

[defred34]

Originally Posted by JBRUU

No, he's saying that it's not financially feasible to do so.

No, I'm saying it is impossible to do it, cause the rule of the game is once you go free, you can never go paid on Google Play.

[JBRUU]

Originally Posted by defred34

No, I'm saying it is impossible to do it, cause the rule of the game is once you go free, you can never go paid on Google Play.

I don't think you understood my post at all.

[Respox]

Games going $0.99 or free is just bad for developers in general, and small devs especially. It also punishes the early adopters who buy a game at launch for full price... who are the kind of consumers that iOS gaming needs so it can prosper. More devs should follow Rocketcat's example. They have a launch sale to reward first-day buyers, raise the price a few days later to the regular price, then never touch it again. Of course, this only works when your game is axtually good.

[psj3809]

Yeah i find it strange devs do the opposite, expensive at first then price drops and then free.

Normally the game arrives at a cheap price before going up.

Again its back to the same argument, if we all bought games early on then i doubt we would get as many freemium titles, but people stupidly wait for games to be free/freemium and then spend a ton of money in freemium games ! When they would have saved money if the game was $2.99 or so with no IAP's !

I'm happy buying games ASAP as i want the devs to do well and make more and more games. If they dont make the money they'll fold or move to another platform and we all lose out

[Connector]

Originally Posted by psj3809

Yeah i find it strange devs do the opposite, expensive at first then price drops and then free.out

Yeah, about 6 months ago, the trend seems to screw early adopters and go freemium within one week to one month. Even major companies like Chillingo have changed their ways recently. It's really too bad that early adopters are being taken advantage of instead of being cherished.

It really makes you selective nowadays. So many games now with coins and inapps. Oh well, at least there are a lot of apps to choose from, and games for the most part are getting better with more powerful devices. At least we are lucky to get so many games for free. Just wonder if this is healthy for the developers.

[psj3809]

I still love iOS gaming a lot BUT i'm getting fed up of the clones. Last year everything was Angry Birds, this year seems to be constant runner games for everything. I see a new game, get excited, click on the thread and its a runner game.

Theres a 'few' which are decent variations but most are just the same. At least these are often free as i would regret buying half of them.

I do hope premier priced games do well as i would rather pay $5 for a game than some crappy freemium one. But the days of the 'lite' version seem to be disappearing as well, to be fair for a $5 you often need a lite or unlock version.

I feel kids are ruining the app store by constantly waiting for games to be free, when most games are a dollar or two then just buy them ! Instead we're getting plagued by freemium stuff all the time which is depressing