Does this hurt app sales or does it matter ? I know if people want a certain game they will pay whatever but the casual gamer who grabs the free games and watches ads or pays $1.99 or less tend to look these games over. Is it better to charge a bigger premium or free to play it with iap full game. I think Mario runner coming out is doing it the best. What u all think I would rather free game so I can play it and try it out and then have an Iap that allows access to all functions and full game.
Because of how the iOS ecosystem is . Apps getting broken Users hesitate to spend money on the AppStore The best way to get user to spend money is by building a community. Built it with your beta tester, and forums. Get some of your player to not stop talking about it
I guess it depends on the audience you're aiming towards. Casual mobile gamers might be turned off by a 4.99 or more price tag, where as hardcore gamers wouldn't care. And in the modern-day market where freemium is slowly taking over, people may be less likely to go for premium, in general. And, IMO, it's better to have it free with a full game unlock, rather than straight-up premium. That way you can at least try it out before you spend money on it.
Agreed. Once I determine I will actually play it for more than an hour, I won't even think about whether to spend 5 euro. For some reason, 10 will hold me back a bit more... which I am ashamed to say; I bought many Game Boy games for much more that were barely any fun. Maybe that's why; maybe I grew old and learned something along the way
This is how it breaks down for Premium Titles that pique my interest. Under $5.00 = almost always an instabuy. $5.00-$8.00 = research to make sure i'll like it, then buy. 10.00 and up = I usually wait for a price drop. I am a casual gamer; I may be the only member in this forum that has actually never finished a SINGLE game that I have purchased, and I currently own about 350 premium games from the last 4 years on iOS.
That's a bit different for me though. I like to try and finish games. Don't always succeed. And time is more limited than money. Maybe the reason for the "10 euro scare" has more to do with the combination of time constraints coupled with the enormous quantity of games I like below 5 euros. I will never be able to play them all. A full game unlock signifies for me that it's likely a type of game that i like, and then I just pick any one that peaks my interest, and then there's always an incredibly cheap one, so the less cheap one does not get tried.
I'd recommend you look at other comparable games to see how they are priced so that your game looks appealing in the App Store. I think it can be difficult to maintain a higher price and stay on the charts, so you want to leave room for periodic sales / price drops. Much depends on factors such as whether the game is featured by Apple or positively reviewed on any gaming websites, both of which help drive sales significantly. Best of luck!
Same here. Though I don't have a problem droping money if I really like to play the game or like very much the dev. I have much more games than I will play on a lifetime, however, I keep on buying. Lol
This is so me too! I can't really comment on sales of apps, as I'm a player, not a developer. However, I would say that I will give a game with a price tag of $4.99 (£3.99 in UK) a second look, as generally speaking a developer needs justified faith in their game to charge that price or more. I have probably missed out on dozens of great F2P games because they don't stand out in the same way. That said, while my view is common among TA members, it's not representative of App Store customers as a whole.
For me, $5/£4 is my absolute upper limit (except for Carcassonne which I got when I'd just come into loads of iTunes credit). For the most part though, I wait for games to come down in price to $1-$2. I just have too many games piled up that I haven't even tried yet to spend more than that on a game.
I've played so many games that have received hours of gameplay from me but have never finished any of them. If they game is 4.99 or more I think it should have a test game or trial game that gives small access and if I like I buy it
I agree. If you want to look at a good business model, look at the trese brothers games. I know it might not be all, but at least the "older" ones are, and they help the player get a feel for their games.
I think people on iOS are spoiled, due to our ecosystem. And that is what prevent us from having even better (more production value, sorry) games. The true question should be: Don't paying $4.99 or more for games that take a lot of work to make hurt the experiences that we could be on mobile? In my opinion, it surely do. Imagine what kind of games we could have here if there was a userbase that would pay $50.00 for a game. But the blame should not lie only on consummers, but also on devs and Apple itself (that break many games every time they update their OS)
Thing is, There are loads of small/1 person developers putting fantastic stuff on my phone. I'm not sure whether many other people would have bought Tennis Champs Returns at 4.99 but I would have. Yet he charged 1.99. Or 2.99, not sure. From what I gather this is not from someone who does this as his sole source of income; and you're competing with that. I know I won't be buying a new tennis game on any system for the next few years... Similar is Rush Rally. That didn't float my boat but I do appreciate that it's a great game. And probably all the rally game people need for a long time. Crashlands also not my cup of tea but again, 3 guys, good game. Mika Mobile is putting out many good games. Warbits. It's hard to compete with that... I like photography. Not a hair on the back of my head that makes me think doing it for a living. I'll keep my day job, and take on a paid assignment or two per year, thank you.
I think we compare mobile to console gaming and compare content and length of gameplay to the price point on what we pay
I don't mind the $4.99 price tag especially if it's a premium experience. However, I do a little more research for games $2.99 and above. I am less risk averse for $0.99 and $1.99 games and am willing to purchase site unseen and jump in. The most I've spent an iOS game would be $30 which includes the IAP, but my gaming experience and the customer reviews need be pretty awesome for me to spend up.
I'll buy games if they're on deep discount (usually 50% to 90% off). Otherwise, I'll skip it for the same reason... I have a backlog of iOS games. I also have a backlog Android games, games for iPad only, Wii, and PC/Steam. Time is a limited resource. $5 on a game is still $5 wasted when it doesn't get played. For that matter, battery life is also a limited resource. My ipod Touch 5 is running on 3+ years. One day, it'll die. I didn't bother with a IpT6 since it still has the same disappointing 4" screen. Well, unless that also goes to 50% off or more When my IpT5 dies, I'll either see if I can get an Iph6 or later for discount, see if there's a good deal on IpT6, or just stick with Ipad gaming, and risk that my save files on my IpT5 won't transfer over.
