Should TA stop covering any and all freemium games?

Discussion in 'General Game Discussion and Questions' started by Farmer Harv, Dec 27, 2013.

  1. Farmer Harv

    Farmer Harv Well-Known Member

    Oct 20, 2009
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    Didn't see a thread on this so feel free to point me in the right direction if one already exists.

    So I got to thinking, what if TA spearheaded a drive to rid the gaming world of freemium money suckers? Simply put, if it has timers, paywalls and/or dual currency consumables it would never get coverage at TA. IAP's such as additional content (ie. Lego Star Wars) are fine, I'm just thinking of anything that might encourage whale like behaviour be shunned forever.

    Or am I putting too much stock in how much influence TA has in iOS gaming, and this would have to be a concerted effort from all iOS entertainment sites? Or does anyone even really care, and freemium will eventually (hopefully) fizzle out on its own.
     
  2. Werebite870

    Werebite870 Well-Known Member

    Feb 7, 2011
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    Shun the freemium apps and the indie devs that rely on sites like TA will be forced to switch to premium, a design choice they initially avoided in order to keep afloat in the mainstream market. Meanwhile, freemium apps that manage to become mainstream do so without TA; they go "viral" essentially, and will continue to do so as that is what appeals to the average ios consumer nowadays. In other words, a move like that would only hurt the small studios that made the switch out of neccesity to survive
     
  3. undeadcow

    undeadcow Well-Known Member

    Dec 4, 2010
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    I think Touch Arcade should just continue to focus on fun games. I'm not a fan of the freemium model, but there are some real freemium gems that are reasonably implemented.
     
  4. Exact-Psience

    Exact-Psience Well-Known Member

    Jan 12, 2012
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    The Work-At-Home Guy
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    TA shouldnt stop covering freemium games. As UC mentioned, there are freemium games that deserve attention.

    TA covers ALL iOS GAMES. Not just paid games.
     
  5. seo25

    seo25 Well-Known Member

    May 3, 2010
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    I think they should cover freemium games. I mean people are going to buy them anyway with the 'free' tag why not have TA there to tell us how good to he game is and/or how to make it in the game without any IAP.

    What I THINK they should do is have a separate rating system. Not for freemium games, but for IAP.; and how reasonable the IAP is in relation to the game and how to game is altered to include IAP. So the most reasonable IAP games get the higher stars and the ridiculous blatant money grabbing games get 1 star.

    I'm a person that reads through all of the review they post on the TA website and I've noticed the talk of IAP comes towards the middle (depending on how good or bad they are) and not many people usually read everything on the page, sometimes they skim it and sometimes They look at the star rating to show if a game is a good or bad, and as a result they don't get an accurate grasp of how good/bad an IAP system is from the star rating - as the rating sums up all aspects of the game ( so a perfect game might be 4 stars for very bad IAP - but all the star rating give is 4/5. No further depth)

    I think having another darker set of stars underneath for IAP reasonability or 'IAP value' would give people a better understanding of the game and the IAP hoops you have to climb to have fun with it. Plus it will give something back to he consumers who don't have games with bad IAP.

    My two cents anyway :p
     
  6. Bronxsta

    Bronxsta Well-Known Member

    Freemium doesn't mean bad or not worthy of being played or of attention. There are free games with IAP that are also fun quality experiences.
     
  7. Nobunaga

    Nobunaga Well-Known Member

    Jun 2, 2012
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    Should a website based on covering iOS games exclude the most popular, highest grossing games that attract the most attention... ... ... ? Really? Maybe they could just shut the site down entirely.
    I'm not defending free games, just attempting to point out how silly a question it is. All that would do is lessen their web traffic and make them less money. Take the spotlight off indie games they support. I see no good in doing it.
     
  8. All o' dis.
     
  9. awp69

    awp69 Well-Known Member

    Oct 30, 2009
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    There are many fair implementations of freemium just as there are many really bad implementations of freemium. Personally, I like when reviews point out the quality and fun of the game, but also the way IAPs are implented because in today's market it is critical that buyers know what they're getting into.

    Of course, I like many others here prefer premium, but it's just not going to happen with every game.

    As for a TA, and I'm not trying to stir up anything but it seems like there are reviews that do fairly account for IAPs and others that don't really mention much about them at all. So I would like to see TA take it up a notch in trying to explain IAPs. It really helps a lot and it does a great sevice to readers.

    There are a lot of great freemium games, but they're are probably far more games that abuse the system and are pure money grabs (many that are trash and wouldn't even be considered for review). So, yes, TA and any other mobile gaming site should review all games whether premium or freemium so we can navigate the minefield.
     
  10. bacon-N-eggs

    bacon-N-eggs Well-Known Member

    Mar 17, 2012
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    #10 bacon-N-eggs, Dec 28, 2013
    Last edited: Dec 28, 2013
    I agree.. Outwitters, subway surfers, Jetpack joyride, asphalt 8, 8 ball pool and many more fall into "good guy freemium." I normally prefer paid games, but it's stupid to bury one's head in the sand and pretend that all freemium is evil :)
     
  11. Mene

    Mene <b>ACCOUNT CLOSED</b>: <em>Officially</em> Quit iO

    Mar 18, 2012
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    It would be great if they stopped covering vile freemium trash, don't hold your breath though,I don't see it coming tbh.l
     
  12. Gotta love that mindset.
     
  13. indalico

    indalico Well-Known Member

    Aug 25, 2011
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    I don't mind the coverage. It's helped point out some really good freebies, and also some that were really bad.

    I rarely spend money on free games. If there's something really good and the price is reasonable, I don't mind throwing some money to the developer.
     
  14. C.Hannum

    C.Hannum Well-Known Member

    Feb 13, 2011
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    #14 C.Hannum, Dec 30, 2013
    Last edited: Dec 30, 2013
    (in before lock)

    Let's see, TA stops covering freemium games -> freemium games represent lion's share of players, income,and, by extension, advertising dollars -> result: TA becomes even more of an insular niche website out of touch with what the vast majority of paying gamers are doing with their time and money -> effect on iOS gaming: nothing whatsoever.

    If you want to get away from "vile freemium trash", you aren't going to do it while playing games on iOS. Get yourself a PSP or 3DS and pony up the $9-$15 per download only title and $30-$40 per premium title, because that's what it costs to get away from "VFT". So long as the average entry price point remains below the point of economic viability for not making flexible pricing and features the standard, that's how it's going to stay.

    Whatever the nuances of the model - Freemium, Paidmium, Premium with optional DLC, etc. - that's what is required by the *starting* prices the market and Apple has allowed and fostered. The sooner people realize that, no, you really can't buy a full fledged video game with future updates, customer support, etc. for a one time fee of less than $5, the sooner we can move beyond pointless issues like this thread.
     
  15. squarezero

    squarezero Moderator
    Staff Member Patreon Silver

    Dec 10, 2008
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    1) "Vile Freemium Trash" is coming to all your favorite platforms. Keep in mind that "Vile Freemium Trash" didn't start on iOS – it started on PC, where it's still extremely popular.

    2) The current platform economics are failing to support gaming on all platforms. That's why so many studios and publishers have gone bankrupt in the last two years. It's the rare business that's making money off of gaming these days (the big three are all losing money at the moment, BTW).

    3) The price for downloads across all platforms are plummeting – courtesy of Steam. Many indie games sell 10 times as many copies during the infamous Steam sales (or Humble Bundle deals) than they do at their standard $10-$20 price points.

    The idea that console or PC gaming is some kind of panacea is laughable. The only way we're going to get away from "Vile Freemium Trash" is to support good games on all platforms – including iOS.
     
  16. Farmer Harv

    Farmer Harv Well-Known Member

    Oct 20, 2009
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    Wow. Someone has issues. Last time I checked this was a discussion forum, and I posed the question to foster discussion about the promotion of freemium titles.

    This is an extension of a chat between a few people over the holidays after my nephew tried Dungeon Keeper, and I thought I'd throw it out to a wider audience. If it's that big of a threat to you, then feel free to find someone to padlock it as soon as you can.
     
  17. To whom is your message made out to?
     
  18. Exact-Psience

    Exact-Psience Well-Known Member

    Jan 12, 2012
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    The Work-At-Home Guy
    Philippines
    inb4yousaysomeonehasissues. :D
     
  19. Farmer Harv

    Farmer Harv Well-Known Member

    Oct 20, 2009
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  20. I don't see anything wrong with what he said.
     

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