iOS Games seem to get income in these categories: Ads: The game is free but you are forced to watch advertisements FTP: The game is free but you have to pay for certain "extras" Paid: You pay for the full game Free/Paid: You are given the first stage(s) for free and you need to pay to play the full game FTP/Ads: The game is free. It offers "extras" as purchases. It also forces you to watch ads. Sometimes the ads are voluntary, but offer ingame currency. Paid/FTP: You pay for the game...But it also offers ingame purchases Which model do you like best? Personally, I am ok with every model except when the ads happen too often or are intrusive. Also, paying for a game only to find ingame IAPs is annoying.
Ads: The game is free but you are forced to watch advertisements If the ads are too constant and/or long, then that's a turn off FTP: The game is free but you have to pay for certain "extras" If the extras are cosmetic, then bonus! However, I am a bit painfully aware that this route probably doesn't get them as much $$. If it's for extra content, then I don't mind, as I got to try it out for free, and money goes to the devs Paid: You pay for the full game Not too shabby, although these tend to be pricy (for iOS at any rate). I waited until the Final Fantasy titles were discounted ($4 to $11 after 33% to 55% off sales). Free/Paid: You are given the first stage(s) for free and you need to pay to play the full game I did this with Super Mario Run*. I'm a Nintendo fan, so for $10, it was a no-brainer (Android since none of my iDevices have cellular, and that game requires internet connection, even for SP). FTP/Ads: The game is free. It offers "extras" as purchases. It also forces you to watch ads. Sometimes the ads are voluntary, but offer ingame currency. This may bug me, as quite a few games these days remove ads even if do at least any minimal IAP purchase. Paid/FTP: You pay for the game...But it also offers ingame purchases Ascension: Chronicle Of The Godslayer (now Asc. Deck Building Game) is the digital version of the physical card game. The base game used to cost $5, but is not free. Still, I gladly paid that, and the expansions (via IAP) as they got released. Which model do you like best? For me, it needs to be considered on a case-by-case basis, as each category can be done right, or done wrong. Last but not least, I'm biased in where I really do have enough games to last me a lifetime. Or a year. I have 1 to 3 games/IAP where I'll insta-buy when they come out, but that's pretty much it. * for Android
