IAP - thread for complaining about in app purchases.

[P.T.]

Games with good IAP:

Fruit Ninja - Starfruit can be easily earned in game
Doodle Jump - Coins ... .. ...... ...... .. ....
Pocket God - Skinpacks, optional. No real gameplay added
PvZ - Same as Doodle Jump

[Royce]

Originally Posted by pavarotti2007

This place is getting ridiculous. If we post about price etc in a thread the posts are moved. Now that this thread has started it won't be long before we can't mention IAP in a game's thread. (Unless it is a positive comment of course )

Shouldn't happen. Price is set and obvious from the get go. Either you will or won't pay it. IAPs on the other hand can dramatically affect gameplay and the user experience. They are often unknown at release and even when they are revealed, aside from simple unlocks, there is no way to determine how they will impact the experience without playing yourself or reading player comments. Discussion of price in a game thread is fairly pointless while discussion of IAP and how it is implemented is very much appropriate for a game thread.

[Nobunaga]

Originally Posted by awp69

The problem is that you really can't discuss IAPs in a vacuum. There's so many differences in the way the games implement them and the need for them. I really do think it's fair game to bring up in each thread whether IAPs are required/needed as it is information pertinent to whether you want to buy the game.

That said, here are my general ideas on when IAPs are acceptable:

1. Shortcuts - eliminating need to grind or have to play the game more to get an item.
2. One-time unlock - Game is free, but can be completely unlocked with a one-time IAP.
3. Expanded content - new level packs, etc.

Anything else is either borderline or just plain bad. I like to know how much a game is really going to cost before I get it. That's really the center of the issue is that games once upon a time were purchased and you had no restrictions to the game's content. With the IAPs introduced into the picture, except for the reasons listed above, there's often no way to know how much the game is going to cost you in the long run.

My 2 cents, anyway.

I'm inclined to agree with you. If in a thread people care to comment that IAP are neccissary/not necissary to progress in a game I think that's fine. It just gets annoying when people jump into a thread and berate a developer for including IAP in a game at all. Especially when they are not needed.
For example, infinity blade 1 & 2, tiny troopers, apocalypse max, random heroes. All games that offer IAP shortcuts.
I'm not a fan of games you pay for where you hit a Paywall. Or games that require endless hours of grinding to attain reasonable equipment/unlocks.

When I go into a thread and see pages of discussion about IAP in general I find it annoying. Especially if I'm looking for info about that game. I think people should realize there are more people that come here for info that don't have accounts than people that do. I'm sure they'd rather get info about a game in the thread than hear an endless ranging argument.
A thread like this seems like a better place for that discussion.

[Janni]

as there are way to many forms of IAP (ranging from "shortcut", "acceptable" to "kids don't touch that!"), they MUST be discussed in game-specific threads (as an information/warning/exchange with the developer).

and how you deal with that information is completely on your own... but reducing the discussion to a single thread makes no sense at all (thats just a philosophic good vs evil / needed vs unneeded contradiction)

at least WE are the customers, so why not discuss the way a dev/publisher wants to get our money (thats for sure no taboo topic)?