Better to release at .99c then drop to free?

Discussion in 'Public Game Developers Forum' started by flathead, Jun 13, 2013.

  1. flathead

    flathead Active Member

    May 16, 2013
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    We're getting close to launch and we're pretty much set on the freemium model but after seeing the potential of releasing at .99c then dropping to free, picking up all of the aggregator sites that look for this, this may be a better idea.

    Any thoughts?
     
  2. If you don't mind stealing your early adopters then sure, go ahead. Does wonder to a reputation but you may get picked up by aggregators.
     
  3. sink_or_swim

    sink_or_swim Well-Known Member

    Feb 4, 2012
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    don't have any words for this.
     
  4. flathead

    flathead Active Member

    May 16, 2013
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    Why are you posting then? If you think its a terrible idea, why not say it? You're contributing nothing
     
  5. flathead

    flathead Active Member

    May 16, 2013
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    How is this any different than other companies doing the same thing? Do you think less of them for going free?
     
  6. I sure do. It's ripping off the players to release with a price when the app is intended to be freemium or adjusting a paid app to be freemium post-release. No question about it

    There's also a whole world of difference between having temporary sales or setting a lower price/having it free without changing the game a long time after release when the game sales are dead and what you're proposing. Don't take my words for it - have a look on threads when that kind of crap is done and see how players are thrilled about it.

    It's up to you though. Sure it's a shrewd short term money move if that's what you want to hear. On the other hand if your app is any good it'll get picked up by review sites, Apple may feature it in new and noteworthy and players will share their experience with their peers without having to resort to that. And you'll end up doing great with a clean slate for your next game's release.
     
  7. flathead

    flathead Active Member

    May 16, 2013
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    A well thought out response. I completely understand where you're coming from.

    The problem is there is an enormous risk of simply releasing your freemium game and hoping. There are games that are exceptionally well built and designed, good games that never go anywhere. They get a few thousand downloads in the first week and then stagnate. We've seen it over and over. If you don't have the marketing budget its very difficult to have that break out success. There are the stories of games simply being submitted and going viral, sure, but they are the exception, not the rule.

    So you're left with two options, coming off in a negative light but with a significantly higher probability of success or, most likely, no one knowing you or your games exist.

    Its not as easy as you make it seem when you're competing with enormous companies and 6 figure marketing budgets.
     
  8. AlienSpace

    AlienSpace Well-Known Member

    May 28, 2010
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    You have to be more specific about what the before and after pricing models will be like. Are there no IAPs before and then you add them when it goes free? Does the game have less non-IAP functionality after it goes freemium? What happens to games that were bought as paid, do they lose functionality when it goes free, and have to pay again for IAPs to get the stuff they used to have?
     
  9. Not saying it's easy, I'm a dev as well and know very well it's not a "build it and they will come" market, but you can come off and do just fine even without having a 6 digits marketing budget if you monetize well and promote your game actively while spending your dollar smartly.. as long as your game is any good. Figure out what your game brings on average long term per install and work your marketing around that then reinvest your income and so on. There's no magic recipe, what worked for me might not work for you.

    You might also want to have a look at how many of the top 100 grossing games have pulled your launch tactic on their players to see if it's a good idea.

    Good luck.
     
  10. Living Legend

    Living Legend Well-Known Member

    May 30, 2013
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  11. MidianGTX

    MidianGTX Well-Known Member

    Jun 16, 2009
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    You'll be frowned upon by people who notice, such as our humble community here... but if you're planning to drop quickly then most App Store customers probably won't understand what happened.

    Personally, I think it's such a short-term deal that it's barely worth bothering with.
     
  12. ns804apps

    ns804apps Well-Known Member

    Nov 19, 2012
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    I personally would steer clear, yes you do get a spike from dropping to free from paid with all the sites, but the trade off is many lost customers who supported you and tried your game at first for a price. The idea that you make a good game and apple and the review sites pick it up and you will be rich is wrong. You need to market and spend your money wisely rather than use this tactic. My opinion anyway.
     
  13. Rubicon

    Rubicon Well-Known Member

    Feb 22, 2011
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    Concur with everyone else. You say that your marketing budget is for shit, so all you have to try and grow a user base is good will.

    When you pull a bait and switch on the only people that supported you, and quite deliberately, where do you think that good will is going to end up? And once it's gone, that leaves you with zero further options - for this game and the next one.

    Most of us small devs start out with very few cards to play compared to the big boys. Burning those cards yourself is more like a suicide pact than a marketing plan.
     
  14. mr.Ugly

    mr.Ugly Well-Known Member

    Dec 1, 2009
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    hmm.. the devils advocate here, but didnt halfbrick do the same thing with jetpack joyride.. it was a dollar at start with iap and some weeks later they droped it to free forever
     
  15. Rubicon

    Rubicon Well-Known Member

    Feb 22, 2011
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    Isle of Wight, UK
    Not quite the same thing, but some companies do seem bullet proof. Better to make sure you're one of them first. :)
     
  16. ns804apps

    ns804apps Well-Known Member

    Nov 19, 2012
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    Many have done it but many people break the law and do unethical things daily so you are right it has been done. I just prefer not to go that route unless it is for a short term sale. I have thought about going the other route starting Free then charging and then dropping back to Free I have not researched yet if you can do that but you would get the same effect of the various sites picking you up. I can say this my first app which was not the greatest and I set it from .99 to Free downloads went up day one by 100% by day 3 they were right back to where they were when I started. The issue was that with the increased downloads I only gained about 10 new actual users.. That was my experience and for my game which was not a big draw kind of a gimmick game.

    So personally the spike is not worth upsetting supporting customers for a few added users. It takes more than downloads to grow your community you need active users. I would rather have a game with active users than a high download number.
     
  17. Mene

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

    Mar 18, 2012
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    Please don't. Its like slapping your early buyers in the face and it discourages people from paying for apps.

    Make it either paid or freemium.

    As a gamer I prefer paid, especially if theres no iap.
     
  18. Greyskull

    Greyskull Well-Known Member

    Dec 13, 2009
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    Fort Lauderdale
    He said it without saying so many words. It was a complete response; I unserstand and agree with his sentiments fully.
     
  19. kioshi

    kioshi Well-Known Member

    Apr 9, 2011
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    The problem IMO is that if you're already set on the freemium model, it will look unethical to the buyers.
    I have a lot of freemium games and spent some IAP on some, but I'd get real angry if I buy a game with grindy freemium mechanics.

    Players even feel betrayed by games that aren't freemium and go free too fast (like Scurvy Scalliwags which is an excellent game and I don't regret buying, but it went free in a week likely because of poor sales since it really doesn't have the usual freemium grind like others, say Subway Surfers which I have played to death and spent money but it certainly has the usual grinding expected from a free game - as great as SS is, I'd have felt ripped off paying money for it in advance and likely wouldn't have bought any IAP)
     
  20. nocanwin

    nocanwin Well-Known Member

    Jun 11, 2009
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    #20 nocanwin, Jun 17, 2013
    Last edited: Jun 22, 2013
    I burnt a lot of goodwill setting Cubed Rally Redline from paid to free, but I probably nuked myself by turning on ads. I had chartboost integrated just to do occasional cross promotion, but I decided to turn it on when I decided to keep the game free.

    Even though Redline was one of Touch Arcades top arcade games of the year it's numbers were very small after being out for 2 months. About 3k downloads. When I switched it to free, which was only meant to be a temp price drop, I got around 800k downloads in a week.

    This is where I think things get grey. It depends how you define morals and ethics, but morally, was it ok for me to switch the game from paid to free, NO! Was it ethical? Kind of, 26,600% more people got to play the game and didn't have to pay a dime.

    For me, morals = golden rule, ethics = greatest good

    If this is your strategy I think you need to make an effort to protect and reward your early adopters. You should be upfront and tell them that this is your plan. If they're excited about the game then they'll pay to get it early. You should reward them for their purchase. Give them a bundle of coins, loot, something in exchange for what they paid. Most importantly, flag them as an early adopter. That way if you ever need to turn on ads then you can disable them for anyone who paid. Unfortunately I bumbled my way into this strategy. If I had to do it again these are some of the things I would do different.
     

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