Freemium: Why do you hate/like it?

Discussion in 'General Game Discussion and Questions' started by [M&B]Games, Feb 8, 2012.

  1. [M&B]Games

    [M&B]Games Well-Known Member

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    #1 [M&B]Games, Feb 8, 2012
    Last edited: Feb 8, 2012
    PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE POST BEFORE RESPONDING:

    I have been on the iOS platform for 4 years now, and I have seen everything since the beginning of the App Store, iPhone OS 2. I have easily spent over $1-2k on different apps and games. I have in fact bought in-app purchases (IAP) with some of that money as well. Although the IAPs that I bought were not from fermium games, they were purchased. I have been playing fermium games since the start of them, which off the top of my head is Eliminate by ngmoco.

    Since I have been on the App Store for a while and have lots of experience, I have seen lots of new people come onto the store and complain about the freemium model. I am not quite sure why they do this though. If you hate fermium apps, could you please explain why, and please make your answers detailed and not like, "Cause the devs want monehhhhhhhhhhh."

    In my opinion, the freemium model is something that is a cool thing. The ability to play a full game without paying is a beautiful concept to me. I think that if you want to pay for the extra "energy," or whatever the IAPs are in that game, that is great for you. I think that most people only hate the freemium model is that they cannot spend more time that about 30 minutes on the app at once(?).

    I personally like not having the ability to play the game for long periods of time, and that if the game is well designed, graphically and gameplay wise, that it will most definitely keep me coming back and playing more of it. With the short play sessions it makes it to where I cannot beat the game in one sitting which is awesome for me.

    To those of you that hate freemium:
    In a hypothetical situation, let us say that Tiny Tower by NimbleBit is a $0.99 app. Now the IAPs for the game are still in the app, but it is in fact a paid app instead of free. Would you feel more compelled to get it because you have to buy the game? I really don't understand why this would make you want to play it more.

    More to the freemium haters of TA:
    If the above situation didn't fix your hate towards freemium, how about this: Name one free mum app that you absolutely hate, and give some legitimate reasons at to why you hate its freemium model. Also, tell me how you would change the payment model to make the game better and more enjoyable(?) to you.

    /end rant
     
  2. Quazonk

    Quazonk Well-Known Member

    Mar 30, 2011
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    lol fermium.
     
  3. Quazonk

    Quazonk Well-Known Member

    Mar 30, 2011
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    [QUOTE='[M&B]
    I personally like not having the ability to play the game for long periods of time [/QUOTE]

    Argument, meet toilet.
     
  4. [M&B]Games

    [M&B]Games Well-Known Member

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    TouchArcade, meet troll.
     
  5. backtothis

    backtothis im in ur base killin ur d00dz
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  6. [M&B]Games

    [M&B]Games Well-Known Member

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  7. GoofyJmaster.

    GoofyJmaster. Well-Known Member

    Oct 11, 2011
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    I think I'm going to pass on arguing/debating in this one.
    /tempted

    To each his own, but please do sign me up for a different ship.
     
  8. Tim Slim

    Tim Slim Member

    Feb 5, 2012
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    I not keen on in-game-currency; there are some games where it seems essential and it makes it difficult to see how much it's going to cost in the long run. To me, it's essentially a subscription model, and I'm not willing to subscribe to an iOS game.

    I don't mind if the currency acts as a cheat code though, like in Jetpack Joyride
     
  9. Quazonk

    Quazonk Well-Known Member

    Mar 30, 2011
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    Hey guys, your boy Quaze here *waves* haha.

    But c'mon man, seriously? When you're playing a game, and suddenly "We're sorry, you've used all your available playtime/tokens/coins/etc" or something to that effect comes across the screen, "Cool! :) I love not having the freedom to continue playing :)" is your response? Sorry man, just seemed a little off to me. Definitely not a good argument in favor of freemium, anyhow. Most people like being able to play their games with the freedom to play them to their hearts content, call me crazy. Or a troll, your choice.
     
  10. nfong

    nfong Well-Known Member

    Aug 30, 2011
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    It really depends how the freemium model is implemented. Games like Jetpack Joyride and Off the Leash use the model incredibly well; you get all the gameplay content for free, and there's additional optional items/accessories to buy with coins earned in game or thru IAP.

    And Quazonk pretty much summed up the other part of freemium which most people dislike.
    IMO freemium is fine if implemented correctly, but since most devs don't, people tend to dislike freemium games.
     
  11. GoofyJmaster.

    GoofyJmaster. Well-Known Member

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    ^I agree that Off the Leash uses freemium very well. However, there was talk of bumping it up to a dollar...meh.

    A 0.99 game that uses IAP d@mn near perfectly is Blot. If I had paid a buck for OTL I would've been pretty dissatisfied with the game.

    TBH, I would've paid a few dollars for Blot.
     
  12. [M&B]Games

    [M&B]Games Well-Known Member

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    I guess I could've worded that differently. :p I just think that having a restriction on play time for a game makes it last longer and makes it to where everyone can be on the same page unless they buy the IAPs.
     
  13. DistantJ

    DistantJ Well-Known Member

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    Freemium is interesting... I mean it's not that far from the lite/full deal, where you get a "demo" of the full game before deciding if you want to buy it, it's just a more clever way of doing it.

    It's also a good way of ensuring quality. People aren't going to pay to expand a free app if they didn't enjoy it, so while freemium (my OSX keeps autocorrecting that to fermium too) may guarantee downloads, the dev still has to make sure they provide a quality product, otherwise nobody will pay that first 99c.

    So yeah, I think freemium is a good thing for gamers, just that it shouldn't be the only answer in the race to the lowest price.

    I believe that any freemium apps should have some code which disables any ads once content has been purchased. It's only fair.
     
  14. Teknikal

    Teknikal Well-Known Member

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    I can't believe idiots play these basic flash like games and pump their money into something that will vanish as soon as a server is removed.

    Freemium is killing the platform before it really got started in my opinion.
     
  15. GoofyJmaster.

    GoofyJmaster. Well-Known Member

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    I'm still trying to wrap my finger around freemium prolonging games. I see it as dragging out games, as well as making them tedious. If you want to make a game longer play a RPG.

    *I really think this is the first time I've seen that argument.

    I also don't want to be on the same level/page as other gamers.
     
  16. Teknikal

    Teknikal Well-Known Member

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    Looks like the developers of freemium games may well be in for future lawsuits it's funny I read this now when I made my earlier post on the same point.

    Freemium Lawsuit

    I'm all for their customers sueing in the case of freemium, the developers basicly milk peoples cash until it's not profitable then kill the game and everything that's been paid for and repeat cycle.
     
  17. awp69

    awp69 Well-Known Member

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    #17 awp69, Feb 8, 2012
    Last edited: Feb 8, 2012
    I generally have a low opinion of freemium games, but there are two cases where it doesn't bother me as much:

    1. Unlock of full game
    2. IAPs for shortcuts

    I hate IAPs for consumables and I think that's where the general hatred of freemium titles comes from.

    Really, the idea of playing a bit of the game and paying an IAP to unlock the full game is perfectly fine. It's no different than having a lite -- just getting rid of having to have two different apps.

    And when I say "shortcuts", I really mean just that. Like unlocking levels before they're available in the game.

    I DON'T like when games really ramp up the difficulty and then have IAPs if you aren't doing so well. To me that's pretty sleezy too. I'd rather have steady challenge but balanced gameplay at a higher price rather than spikes in difficulty that force IAPs if you want to continue. Even if the IAPs add up to the said price, it's just more annoying than anything when IAPs feel forced because you don't know if you're going to have to keep getting IAPs further in the gameplay. Again, I'd rather just have a set price and know what I'm paying in advance.
     
  18. GoofyJmaster.

    GoofyJmaster. Well-Known Member

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    ^You pretty much just described Off The Leash (used it since it's fresh). It's definitely more tedious than what I like in my casual games. I'd rather pay a buck or two and not have to worry about grinding. It's also a lot harder than one would expect at a first glance--seems like time runs out fairly quickly even when you do avoid all the obstacles--not hard just more difficult than expected.

    Spice Invaders can be completed without IAP and is relatively fun. However, it's another game to chalk up to being tedious/monotonous.
     
  19. awp69

    awp69 Well-Known Member

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    #19 awp69, Feb 8, 2012
    Last edited: Feb 8, 2012
    I can see what you're saying with Off the Leash. I got the 2X coin IAP partly because I was enjoying the game and thought I'd support the developer. I also got it partly to help unlock items. But even with the 2x IAP, it's still pretty steep to unlock things.

    I still enjoy playing the game, but the "missions" do get fairly challenging to get and the gameplay doesn't change much so it may turn into tedious "grinding" at some point for me as well.

    Your example of RPGs is also a good one. I've found a few RPGs (which I opened a thread specifically about this) where it really does get to the point of tedium grinding to get to a level where you can get back to the story. I'd rather pay a higher price one time for a game with gradual increases in difficulty to progress in the main story. Especially in an RPG, you may not want to spend hours and hours grinding, but you also don't know how many times you may need an IAP to get another life.
     
  20. GoofyJmaster.

    GoofyJmaster. Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, I like the overall game too, and I've gone back to [play occasionally but it seems like it'll be quite a while before I'm able to buy anything. Like I said, it's also harder than i expected. The game jumps up pretty high in difficulty pretty soon after you start playing. The fast rate of difficulty progression is too high for a pickup'n'go game, so it has left me a bit frustrated. I've also been experiencing crashes, and they always seem to happen when I've made it somewhat far.

    Yeah, western RPGs are the only ones that really provide a comfortable level of grinding. Hell, some of the grinding is fun. The asian RPGs (or lack of RPGness) usually introduce the tedium.

    Plus, the OP wanted long games. He'll definitely find that in RPGs; grind or not.

    *I must've missed your thread. I'll look for it.*
     

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