Huge difference between paid/free reviews..

Discussion in 'Public Game Developers Forum' started by dangerz, Jun 1, 2009.

  1. dangerz

    dangerz Well-Known Member

    Apr 23, 2009
    227
    0
    0
    Anyone else notice that the free reviews are a lot worse than the paid ones? I'm not really sure what to do with this.

    With my paid app ($1), I have a single 1-star rating. The rest are 4's or 5's. With the free version, I have like 7 1-star reviews. It's almost at the point where I feel like it's hurting more than it's helping. The fact that I can't respond to the reviews also really sucks. The one guy said that the app crashed, but I don't see any crash logs so I can't follow up.
     
  2. codepunk

    codepunk Well-Known Member

    Apr 14, 2009
    89
    1
    0
    yes it is the way it is

    Yes seen it with two different applications make it free and you get smoked with 1 star reviews. I have implemented a rather simple policy to fix that issue, I will not release a application for free any longer. Free and no sales is exactly the same out come zero dollars.
     
  3. conrem

    conrem Well-Known Member

    Mar 29, 2009
    435
    0
    0
    developer + student at medicine
    Moldova
    are you sure CODEPUNK?)
     
  4. LBG

    LBG SeƱor Member

    Apr 19, 2009
    7,471
    1
    0
    nada ilegal
    31.560499, -111.904128
    yep, that is right. People are expecting too much for free. They should just be pleased that they have an iPhone/iPod Touch and have an app store full of cheap under-priced quality games.

    And what really gets on my tits is when people give lite versions bad reviews purely due to the lack of content. Well what else do they expect? A lite version is a free demo with limited content, so why do they moan that there isn't enough gameplay in there? When I review a game, I review it purely on the gameplay and quality of the game, not the content (if it is free).
     
  5. conrem

    conrem Well-Known Member

    Mar 29, 2009
    435
    0
    0
    developer + student at medicine
    Moldova
    LGB - totally agree.
    But in fact, lite versions is not good to make now if you are a developer.. imho.
     
  6. dangerz

    dangerz Well-Known Member

    Apr 23, 2009
    227
    0
    0
    I really just wish there was some way to follow up. The review makes my app look like crap when I feel that it's a pretty decent app. It's no million dollar app, but that's why I only charge $1 for it.

    This is my first free/lite release. I'll continue to do it in the future since I like getting my name out there. I just wish that people would be reasonable about things.
     
  7. HJJ

    HJJ Well-Known Member

    Dec 2, 2008
    858
    0
    0
    #7 HJJ, Jun 1, 2009
    Last edited: Jun 1, 2009
    It's a sad phenomenon, really.

    It's because people will download something for free (most of the time, simply because it's free -- not because they want to actually test the product), play it for 10 seconds, decide it "sucks", delete it off their devices, and when prompted, give a 1-star rating.

    Because happy customers aren't as likely to delete the games (at least not right away), they do not get prompted to rate them. Instead, they have to go, of their own will, to the App Store to write a review. And even as happy as I am about some games, I haven't bothered to go and write reviews. I download lots of games. I don't always think to review every single one of them.

    It's such a pain in the ass to see good games go on sale for "free" and watch their average rating plummet. A while back, I saw someone post on here that he downloaded a free utility app (a leveler or something), but he didn't have a use for it, so he rated it 1 star. Like, WTF. Sorry, developers, but these are the types of people you are dealing with here. :(

    ETA:
    Ugh, and this! What about the reviews for LITE versions that are like, "Good, but needs more levels". UUUGGHH. Retarded.
     
  8. Zincous

    Zincous Well-Known Member

    Dec 23, 2008
    4,567
    46
    36
    Sacramento, CA
    Yeah but that's because people delete apps so quickly when they are free and apple kindly prompts a user-review pop-up rating system which everyone who is deleting the app in the first place didn't like it :rolleyes: So it's doomed for 1-star reviews.

    Check out this picture from the number one free app in the store a little while ago:

    View attachment 4314

    That's crazy....and it's ALL because of apple's dumb rating system when people delete apps
     
  9. HJJ

    HJJ Well-Known Member

    Dec 2, 2008
    858
    0
    0
    They really just need to get rid of this "feature". Let people who dislike apps go to the App Store and write a review as to WHY they dislike them. Believe me, when people have something to complain about, they'll find a way. But at least, you'll have A LOT LESS undeserved 1-star reviews added into the average.
     
  10. dangerz

    dangerz Well-Known Member

    Apr 23, 2009
    227
    0
    0
    Wow.. I didn't realize it was that bad.
     
  11. codepunk

    codepunk Well-Known Member

    Apr 14, 2009
    89
    1
    0
    Yes 100% Positive!
     
  12. DaveMc99

    DaveMc99 Well-Known Member

    Mar 1, 2009
    4,761
    0
    0
    Seattle, WA USA
    You can check some previous #1 free apps here with their ratings http://appshopper.com/bestsellers/free

    Urinal Test and What is your sex appeal were #1 free apps :), a better example are games like TTR.. it has 28 thousand 1 star ratings. Hopefully apple will change its rating system someday.
     
  13. Anders

    Anders Well-Known Member

    Feb 3, 2009
    1,634
    0
    0
    Co-owner and CTO at Color Monkey
    Sweden
    Simple solutions:

    #1 don't do Lites. Lite versions doesn't automatically mean that you will sell more, even the contrary in some cases.
    #2 charge more for your product (if it's worth more than $1, that is). Then "everyone" will not buy it anymore, but only the ones that actually want it in the first place. More satisfied customers, better rating, and more money for you too.
     
  14. PixelthisMike

    PixelthisMike Well-Known Member

    It does depend on the app and the price point to a large extent. If you rise the price too much and don't have a lite version available then people will be less inclined to buy the app and you won't get any reviews. Solves the review problem sure but has an obvious down side!

    If you don't have an established reputation or a lot of positive talk about your app then people would rather try before they buy at a higher price point, this is a good example of when you need a lite version.

    Anders is absolutely right on his second point; it is a well documented fact that selling your app at a low price/free will have every man and his dog buying it without even looking at what it is they're buying. Subsequently they'll give bad reviews when they learn that 'iBarbieFashionShow' is not a zombie shooter.
     
  15. Anders

    Anders Well-Known Member

    Feb 3, 2009
    1,634
    0
    0
    Co-owner and CTO at Color Monkey
    Sweden
    I would buy it in an instant! ;)

    Back to topic, I really feel it is Apple's fault because the way the top #100 lists work (why on earth would an app rated 2 stars be on a top list?), and accordingly I hope they will fix it.

    (and I like Sheepish a lot by the way, bought the full version directly)
     
  16. PixelthisMike

    PixelthisMike Well-Known Member

    Certainly it is odd that a lowly rated app should be a bestseller. How have they duped so many people into buying it if it's not actually any good? It just goes to show how appealing a low price (or no price) is to the consumer. The question is, if you were Apple how would you implement the lists?

    Thank you muchly for your vote of confidence, it is greatly appreciated :)
     
  17. Anders

    Anders Well-Known Member

    Feb 3, 2009
    1,634
    0
    0
    Co-owner and CTO at Color Monkey
    Sweden
    Well, they could for instance take install time into account, base it on revenue instead of nbr of sales and also rating should be taken into account. Stuff like that.
     
  18. HJJ

    HJJ Well-Known Member

    Dec 2, 2008
    858
    0
    0
    This is how I feel about bestseller book lists too. There are so many books out there, sometimes the easiest way to find something new to read is to just look at the "New York Times Bestseller List". But if you buy a book and absolutely hate it, the NYT Bestseller List has no way of knowing that. They simply record your purchase and that's that.

    It's the same thing in the App Store, and especially on the free list, where there is literally zero risk involved in trying something that lots of other people are trying.

    One of my early gripes with the App Store is that you can only sort by "Release Date", "Most Popular", or "Name". WTF? I guess there is some value in seeing what is "most popular", but there really should be an option to sort by "Average Rating" - like Amazon. I know that this would come with it's own drawbacks, but having it available as an option would be much more useful than not.
     
  19. MuseFan288

    MuseFan288 Well-Known Member

    May 30, 2009
    68
    0
    0
    sometimes the one star reviews are cuz the game just sucks
     
  20. PixelthisMike

    PixelthisMike Well-Known Member

    Revenue is not a bad way to do it actually.

    The problem with install time is that some games just don't take that long to finish but that doesn't make them bad games, especially if they were only 99c to begin with.

    Similarly with rating, those apps that should be priced low will get some number of bad ratings that they don't necessarily deserve.

    You can see that there is no simple answer for Apple in this respect.

    But the more I think about your suggestion to use revenue the more I am sold (excuse pun) on the idea since this would also go some way to encouraging a higher price point. And I'm not being a greedy developer here, we all know that there are thousands of apps out there worth more than 99c.
     

Share This Page