Really? Those are my only options? Golly. It seems you think that every app store customer has to be a business analyst. Saying that my only choice to support the app store by ONLY buying $10 games, is, of course, ridiculous. So is supporting a product or business model I don't like. So is buying a $250 system I don't want just to make a statement. And I don't have to accept a blanket statement about high production value games that clearly isn't true. You may not have heard this, because it was kinda under the radar and all, but there's a game coming out next month called Street Fighter IV. Yes, yes, I know, major company, established franchise, etc. That doesn't change the fact that they made the game. I can't buy it for a PSP Go, because it's not being made. If there was no money in premium priced iPhone games, Street Fighter IV for the iPhone would not exist. And then there's Pocket God. Doodle Jump. Flight Control. All games that achieved success on the iPhone at a .99 price point. So don't tell me that little guys can't make money in the app store. You just have to a good product, good marketing, and yeah, luck. Any business venture is a risk, and the app store is no different. As for me, I'll buy the games I want, at the price they are offered. If that's a sale price, so be it. I'm a consumer, and I have no other responsibility to anyone other then myself, my enjoyment, and my wallet.
I dunno why, but I am reeaaally pissed at ngmoco... I don't like freemium. How about downloading the game for free and buying a license via DLC for the full game...
Those are your options if your motivation is to support high production value games on the App Store. Please don't read my responses as though they would be only personally aimed at you, I'm discussing the App Store market with anyone who cares to read the posts. As for being a business analyst, it's certainly not a requirement. But there are plenty of ridiculous claims, complaints, demands and whining going on which is very detached from the business reality of the App Store. It would help many to understand the bigger picture instead of whining about greedy publishers or developers who don't provide constant free updates to their $0.99 games. No, my statement was true if you are a consumer with the intention of guiding the App Store to be a marketplace with high production value games. If you only buy expensive games and your friends do too, it sends a clear message to publishers that consumers only want "quality stuff" and not "cheap laughs". If you spread your income across all pricing categories, and buy (for example) one $10 game but twenty $0.99 games, then publishers will obviously produce cheap laughs because there's more money to be earned there. You're assuming now that all publishers are all equally aware of the App Store market situation, which is not true. Different publishers are taking different approaches with their products, and learning their hard lessons separately. SFIV on the iPhone is not a certain indication that there's money to be made in premium priced iPhone games, it can just as well indicate that the particular publisher is evaluating how their games are selling on this market. It's important to note that ngmoco has been with the App Store from the very beginning. The other publishers may learn the same lessons in the next two years and pick up the freemium model then. Publishers are icebergs, it takes a long time to shift course. I have never even made such a claim. All my posts have been written from the viewpoint of what an iPhone gamer should do if they want deep, console-like gaming experiences and are willing to pay a higher price for them. None of my posts concern a consumer who's happy with the gaming experiences to be had from $0.99 games. As I've mentioned already, if more customers had been like you, this current "outrage" at freemium games would have never taken place.
ZB2 announcement soon-ish, Stair Dismount not being worked on now because we're all focused on ZB2, Cinnamon Beats is the name of Schrödinger's cat (Now returning the thread to its original topic.)
Wow, you people really hate freemium. I don't really get what the big deal is. I played Eliminate for a month or two before losing interest, just a few games most days. For that experience, I paid a grand total of $0. What's the problem there? I got a fun gaming experience, and it was paid for by the suckers who were willing to spend lots of money so they'd be better equipped to fight mostly the other suckers who were willing to spend lots of money. My gaming experience was fine, anyway. Mind you, it would suck if all games on the App Store were freemium, but having a few high-quality games that you only play for a short time period each day just adds diversity to the iDevice gaming experience.
I agree with Frand all the way, but I have a question. I think somebody said this before, but it wasn't answered. If the problem's piracy why couldn't they make Rolando 3 free with 3 levels, and make you buy the rest with DLC?
Unfortunately, in-app purchase is not foolproof. There are ways of online verification, but in general it requires placing a Documents folder from someone who bought the app in to yours. I'm not going to say how, but disposable DLC is - at present - the only way to stop piracy completely. Freemium is not the way to go, though. However, I know many people pirate the game, buy it if they like it, delete it if they don't, which isn't reflected in the figures. My wish as a developer is for Apple to create a new Fairplay v3 DRM, and enable time-limited trials, to make it easier to create lite versions.
They've had a free with DLC version of Rolando 2 out since November, so my guess is that it hasn't done any better. I also suspect the sales were low anyway regardless of piracy rates, simply because it never reached the top lists (or only very briefly). And what is to say that Rolando 3 would fare any better?
I think we discovered that there are many opinions on the topic and I don't that anyone of them deserve a facepalm (not really sure what it means) or a epic fail. Everyone is entiltled to there opinion.
This is a bummer . Rolando 1 is still my pick for the best iPhone game ever. I'm so pleased they at least finished it off with all the hidden levels before things went bad; I'm guessing this is also a big part of the reason why R2 has never seen its own promised hidden levels. It would be nice if they would at least sort out the massive plus+ cheating, and maybe do an update for R2 taking out the blatant "to be continued" nature of the ending .
Something that seems to be quickly forgotten in the arguments that spring up over ngmoco's change in direction is that ngmoco is a company run by extremely qualified industry veterans. Alan Yu, Neil Young, Bob Stevenson, and Joe Keene have all been involved in the gaming industry for longer than most TouchArcade forum members have been alive. I think they're more than qualified to determine whether or not the freemium model is better for their business than armchair experts on the internet. In other words,
No they did not. R3 was not canceled, it was taken back to the drawing board to fit into the freemium model. As said by Neil Young in the IGN interview:
Sign this online petition to try to get R3 to be made!!! (I didn't make this, someone on twitter did) http://bit.ly/c8GxtN
my new game too was hacked in 15 mINS !!!!! >.< so i think it was last game by our team -_- I think Apple Must make real protective system(firmware or chip).....
