FAAD Lately!

Discussion in 'General Game Discussion and Questions' started by unbrokenchain33, Jun 20, 2010.

  1. unbrokenchain33

    unbrokenchain33 Well-Known Member

    Feb 22, 2010
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    on fire!

    Trenches
    Tilt to Live
    Skull Pogo
    Freaking Inkies
    Boostball
    iBlast Moki
    Hell Kid
    NY Zombies

    Amazing!
     
  2. Vovin

    Vovin 👮 Spam Police 🚓

    Nov 28, 2009
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    Yes - this FAAD website, as well as the other free app sites - are hurting more and more indie devs harder than anyone can imagine yet.

    Someone should stop this craziness.
     
  3. bballbeast76

    bballbeast76 Well-Known Member

    Apr 12, 2010
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    I'm not gonna lie. FAAD has been making me a bit mad right now. I'm starting to see games that I paid money for go free and the developers get bashed in the reviews. Although I sometimes get some cool free apps, I am aware that the developers are kinda being hurt.

    For example:
    Tilt to Live (was 4.5 star rating or higher since release) is now 3.5 stars. I can't stand to see One Man Left get bashed by a bunch of random 1 star reviews saying that one of the best apps in the app store sucks or is a waste of time.
    HellKid (was 4.5 star rating or higher since release) is now 3.5 stars. Same thing here, people complain that a great game is too hard or is repetitive or just type a bunch of random letters and give it 1 star.
    iBlast Moki now only has 3 stars. Are you kidding me.......

    And, I can kinda feel the pain of the indie developers out there now. I've defened FAAD before on how they can help, but in iTunes at least, the "help" they're giving developers who try their system isn't really showing up. It's hard to find a single app that has been featured by FAAD in the past month that has more than 3 stars now, and all of the apps were above 3 stars when they were featured.The FAAD motto should be, "give us money so we can make your ratings fall"

    Today, Freaking Inkies is free. A unique and fun game, it has 4 stars right now. Watch the ratings fall....thanks to FAAD
     
  4. henrylkr

    henrylkr Well-Known Member

    Jan 30, 2010
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    Dropped to 3 stars.
     
  5. unbrokenchain33

    unbrokenchain33 Well-Known Member

    Feb 22, 2010
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    ive also noticed this trend, its a shame. Maybe these games are losing money in the long run?? They should just put out an update when the price goes back up and the reviews will be more reflective
     
  6. Cifuang

    Cifuang Well-Known Member

    Mar 19, 2010
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    Well I'm sure the devs were aware that their ratings would go down as a result of FAAD... they must have a plan already.
     
  7. Crescent Flare

    Crescent Flare Well-Known Member

    #7 Crescent Flare, Jun 20, 2010
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2010
    I've always been sceptical about the whole 'free app a day' concept. I'm glad I'm not even considering this :)
     
  8. Vovin

    Vovin 👮 Spam Police 🚓

    Nov 28, 2009
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    #8 Vovin, Jun 20, 2010
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2010

    And this will hurt you most, if you're unlucky.

    Please let me explain you why the downward spiral for the indie devs already begun moving:

    lately, I heard in 2 social groups I am a member in, that more and more people are stopping to buy indie games. Not only there - read the threads of the games that went free because of FAAD's promotional website (as well as the other sites). Some are happy, but all the early buyers - and therefore: supporters - are getting more and more pissed because the games are going free faster and faster.
    Meanwhile, there are not only medium quality games - no, more and more high-class titles are going free. Look at the list and you're astonished. Sure, there will be games that will never go free and sell like hell (like Super QuickHook, for example), but most games are going to be free weeks - or even days! - after their release. FAAD has hundredthousand users or more meanwhile... and they only need to wish for a game to get it free eventually (indie devs, that is. Some people are wishing for major comp games, like from Gameloft - but that's just silly). Furthermore, more and more people noticing FAAD because of the sudden huge download numbers of some games and their "free"-status.
    Today - there are even games like PUZZLE QUEST and TILT TO LIVE or Freaking Inkies that are going free!

    So, what will be happening?

    Today, an indie dev releases a game. There are some die hards and first day customers, for sure - but there are also a lot of people knowing FAAD and the other pages - and these people had stopped buying most of the indie titles.
    Now the indie devs are wondering because they only get minor sales. But they need their product to be visible in the AppStore - high ranked, to get more and more sales.
    Outcome: they go to FAAD and letting them promote their game for free to get huge download numbers and become visible in the AppStore, not knowing, that FAAD is responsible for their minor sale numbers.
    The users know today: go to FAAD and wish for an app - and it is only a matter of time until they can have it for free.

    So, devs who aren't promoting their game on FAAD will have a hard time in the AppStore.

    I guess that ICS Mobile is not only knowing this - this is a nice plan indeed to tie the devs to their promotional services.
    More and more and faster each day, the downward spiral will turn and the indie devs will get hurt more and more by this.
    And even more: why should people buy games when they can get 4 free titles (or more) every day? After a few weeks, you have games you can play for months to come.

    Well, this is just a theory - but with a big grain of truth.
    Just look at the sale numbers of new releases. 6 -8 months ago, the first day sales were bigger than today. Just look at the frustrated first day customers and indie supporters.
    And the last point: a big bunch of games get lower ratings after having an appearance on FAAD.

    I don't know where this will end - but I don't see a good ending yet.
     
  9. jak56

    jak56 Well-Known Member

    freeappaday is in effect a downwards spiral.
    the appventcalendar was a fun and cool experience, as it seemed like a once in a long time experience, but if it does come around this year, i wont really be bothered for it. i havent payed much attention to freeappaday tbh.
     
  10. Cifuang

    Cifuang Well-Known Member

    Mar 19, 2010
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    What Vovin says is very agreeable, everyday I feel more and more paranoid about buying indie games because of this movement, and stick to higher up publishers like Activision and Gameloft.
     
  11. jak56

    jak56 Well-Known Member

    super quickhook isn't in the top ten anymore.:(
     
  12. Vovin

    Vovin 👮 Spam Police 🚓

    Nov 28, 2009
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    No only you - I can easily include myself getting suspicious at buying new indie releases and I have word from 12 other TA members that they've stopped buying most indie games and are waiting for the games to become free.
    Which is only a matter of weeks or even days.
    FAAD hurts indie devs already and they will continue hurting them for their own good.
     
  13. Vovin

    Vovin 👮 Spam Police 🚓

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    #13 Vovin, Jun 20, 2010
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2010

    Oh, well - then there might be a chance to see this on FAAD soon. :rolleyes:

    No one of us sees the vast extent of these free promotions yet. But it is too new yet. But just wait... soon, a lot of indie devs may have insufficient funds to produce more quality games.
     
  14. APP-MASTER-360

    APP-MASTER-360 Well-Known Member

    Apr 12, 2010
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    The main reason people go with FAAD is because they hope to get more and better/improved ratings. I have to agree with most people here. The players are making use of someone made specially for them and making devs feel bad about really good games. The least a person could do is give 4 stars if it wasnt that good but say thanks for paying $600 to have it free.
     
  15. Vovin

    Vovin 👮 Spam Police 🚓

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    #15 Vovin, Jun 20, 2010
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2010

    Well - then you are one of the exceptions.

    The reality? Easy: a huge bunch of spoiled brats downloads the game for free after people who really care for the game bought it and rated it good.
    They played it for five minutes, see that it can't be compared to N.O.V.A., GTA or Chaos Rings and delete it, giving it an 1-star-rating.
    I watched that happening quite some times right now and it's FAAD's fault, to a point.

    Three buddies of mine made very god statements, so please let me quote them:


     
  16. iTouch.lover22

    iTouch.lover22 Well-Known Member

    Jan 19, 2010
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    I think the problem with the low ratings is to do with people's mindset towards the apps. When people buy anything, they always have a higher standard for it simply because they've paid money for it and want to justify their decision. When an app goes free, people don't think as highly of it. There's also the problem with people who download it simply because it's free, and when they don't enjoy it they leave a bad rating. When it's a paid app, they wouldn't have downloaded it because it doesn't appeal to them, and thus the ratings better reflect the actual game. FAAD is a great website, but the implications of having an app go free might undo the extra publicity.
     
  17. Vovin

    Vovin 👮 Spam Police 🚓

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    #17 Vovin, Jun 20, 2010
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2010

    This, but not only:

    after a few months, some of the people are fed up with games by now.
    They download 3-4 free games each day, if they haven't any of them already.
    But they didn't have time to play most of the games for more than an hour a day before the next 4 games go free. There are some pearls which become fogotten quickly, just because of the sheer mass of free games each week. If you haven't all of these games, that'll be 28 games! Sure, some repeat or appear on all promotional sites, but there were weeks where I counted more than 20 unique games!
    Now tell me: how can people appeciate these free games? Simple answer: they can't. It is just too much.

    In the first time, I also downloaded nearly every game. But after a few weeks, it was more than I can ever play.
    I played most of the free games for a few minutes, quit them, deleted them and started playing games I paid for. That was the time where I first noticed how wrong the system works. And the losers are always the devs.

    Sure, ICS Mobile will come up with his usual success stories about very happy developers earning their asses off (but I don't really believe this) and also: what is with the indie devs that don't participate in these promotions. Most of them are screwed somehow.
     
  18. Crescent Flare

    Crescent Flare Well-Known Member

    #18 Crescent Flare, Jun 20, 2010
    Last edited: Jun 28, 2010
    $600,- to show up on freeappaday, are you serious? I would rather spend this money on banner space on for example, Touch Arcade.

    Developers think that quickly lowering the price of your app (or making it free) doesn't hurt, but it does. It gives an unstable expression to your customers which encourages them to wait for the price drop. This will continue to hurt these developers for most (if not all) titles they release in the future.
     
  19. Vovin

    Vovin 👮 Spam Police 🚓

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    #19 Vovin, Jun 20, 2010
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2010

    600$ up to 1200$. Most of the fees for promotion. Some games are promoted for free. Don't know the criteria - but it's a strange system. There's nothing about it on the website.



    More worse, sales stagnate when you raise the price after a sale. Ask Flickitty. He can sing a song about that.



    Maybe bad karma? ;)
     
  20. SirAwesome

    SirAwesome Well-Known Member

    May 20, 2010
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    There is definitely some good points made here. I was thinking of buying both Inkies and iBlast but they went free. However one point that I didnt see mentioned was the fact that in iOS4 the popup to rate an app when you delete it is removed. I hope this should help as you don't delete apps that you enjoy (normally). So hopefully just because Tilt to Live wasn't exactly what they thought it should be, it would require more effort on someones part to leave a bad review. I duno my 2 cents (who would ever leave a bad review for tilt to live though :) ).

    Maybe ultimately getting the app noticed by the public is more important than the short term negative reviews to the developers ?
     

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