You know what is making me happy, the trend of freemiums and flappy birds clones seems to be shifting a little. Great, awesome games like Monument Valley, Botanicula, Kiwanuka, Biosis, Last Inua, and many more are releasing. The future is bright.
The games industry has a long-standing trend against creativity and innovation. Clones and sequels have always been, and will always be, prevalent because development is investment and investment requires a certain level of safety to be sustainable. ... and people continue to address this as a developer/publisher led trend when it's a consumer led trend, driven by the purchases iOS gamers are making. As a notes I'll add that a single business model has been dominate in the industry for the last thirty years, the publisher model. Just thought this belonged here.
I agree (Despite you playing/praising a fair few flappy bird games !), recently theres been some real quality games coming out on iOS. Games i can show non-iOS friends who then see it and think 'damn didnt realise you could get that type of game on a phone....' etc
I only play some flappy birds games cause sometimes it seems that 1/2 the threads here are flappy bird clones. Some are cool like that street fighter one. Show anyone Leo's Fortune, and they will be shocked how good it is.
Not all publishers push for lowering a game's value, but all freemium models (except for free + game unlock or remove ads) diminish a game and hurts IOS gaming in general. Free and cheap brings in sales and downloads, which leads publishers to favor cheaper or free games, which means more free and cheap games flood the market, rise up the charts, which means more people download and buy those games...it's a self-perpetuating cycle I don't really think you can place so much of this on the consumer. They buy IAP because it's there, it's prevalent, it's the norm. It's the norm because, as numerous articles and developers like Fireproof have said, that's what publishers and investors think mobile gamers want, that's the angle they push, and muddle the waters for developers who want to release premium, IAP-free games And as for the gaming industry being against creativity and innovation, maybe so with big budget AAA gaming, but I can easily list hundreds and hundreds of indie games on all platforms that are unique, creative, offer innovative mechanics, or explore interesting themes and narratives. Many have been very successful.
I don't like freemiums, $100 inapps, wait timers, always online, etc. So simple cure is, to stay away from those games and get some good recommended Indie or Console like games with mfi and hdmi. There are many great games out there whether new or old. Unpossible was awesome three weeks ago, then played Botanicula, then Leo's Fortune, and this week Biosis. Even some free games with ads like Dextris were awesome. So why worry about inapps, just ignore them and freemiums and flappy junk!
Too naive for my taste but I offer an assortment of small rebuttals... It is a cycle, and to some degree self-perpetuating, but it both begins and ends with what consumers purchase. Publishers and investors think that's what mobile gamers want because that's what mobile gamers buy, simple. The same stands for clones, hot genres, sequels or whatever-likes. Not all publishers but many more than not. The antagonistic relationship that many many developers speak of is well documented. The games industry, under the publisher model, is against creativity and innovation as a general stance, this is firmly established. Creativity does exist both in major development and indie development but for the thousands of creative titles in existence there are hundreds of thousands of sequels and shovel-ware titles released, again from both established developers and start-up's. Also, much of the 'creative development' exists solely to find and milk an untapped source; think of Assassins Creed, another ill of the publisher model supported by what gamers actively demonstrate that they want with their wallets. The industry is a very complicated beast and sufferes from a variety of ills but to lay blame anywhere other than the end user is a wasted thoughtless argument. Agreed. Why worry? Just avoid and get used to it because your in the minority and gaming has been mostly garbage for decades. Good thing there's a thirty year backlog to enjoy, so start enjoying.
I'm too naive, I think you're too cynical. Got nothing but awesome games to play and awesome games to look forward to. Distance, Hyper Light Drifter, Gods Will Be Watching, and many others
That is the spirit! Avoid the constant flamewars about inapps and flappy clones. Avoid freemiums and bait and switches. There is so much better in life than worrying about junk and argueing about it. It is up to us, as consumers, to change the market. Sure, our voices are small, but we can make a difference by spreading the word on good games, and use our wallets to determine what we want. I am optimistic, that we can make a difference.
This recent article succinctly articulates the concern I have when I see IAP in a game http://www.pockettactics.com/news/ios-news/weekend-price-drops-state-love-trust-edition/
That is why I just play awesome premium games (or close to it) on ios lately. Just recently, so many awesome games. Unpossible Leo's Fortune Botanicula Uncanny Xmen Biosis Monument Valley 4444 Blek Kiwanuka SXPD OTTTD Globosome Intake Hyper Square Suited Up Table Tennis Touch Axl & Tuna Wayward Souls Rolling Zimro Last Inua Flutter David AngerForce Third Eye Crime Dextris Plax Bezircle Superfrog HD Hazumino Lethal Lance 2 Bit Cowboy Aliens Drive Me Crazy Darking Adventures of Fate Small Chronicles 1-path Elarooh Kosmik Revenge Awesome games. All recent games that make me happy. So who needs freemium garbage or flappy bird clones. Maybe almost everyone in the world loves them, but I sure don't.
Addicted to the recent release 99 Bricks. I think the developers should be commended for switching from F2P to premium. From the Upcoming thread: Now that I'm totally addicted to this game, I'm so happy they went this route and I don't have to be interrupted by ads or timers or whatever other freemium elements were in the game. I've played for over three hours and for me, to play that much of a single IOS game in one day when I have new games in my Steam backlog, is rare. I think that's a testament to how they shifted gears to polish the gameplay over monetization
A great article found by Funem over in the Sky Force IAP thread: http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/LukeSchneider/20130626/195077/F2P_Do_or_Do_Not_There_Is_No_Try.php Written by the developer behind Radiangames on his experience making Bombcats