I am unclear how you managed to insert PC gaming, something I didn't even reference by implication, into a "rebuttal" of my post, but, uh, good job? Regardless, citing the general "times are tough all over" anecdotes about gaming do nothing to counter my general point: there are very few games delivered on iOS at initial price points that could possibly economically justify gamer expectations and demands from the developers, which is why flexible pricing models are the rule and not the exception. No matter how troubled the gaming scene is across the board, iOS and Android represent the bottom of the barrel, dominated by typically regressive sales models where a small percentage of people fund development and server fees for the majority of "leeches". It's particularly head in the sand to pretend that mobile gaming somehow isn't radically different than the majority of notable games on consoles or PC. I didn't go out and buy the family 3DS units for Christmas because I was getting the same thing we could already get on iOS. I have nothing against freemium, heck, my most played game these past 4 months is a "free" game (that I've put $25 into ). However, the design of games on iOS is constrained significantly by the development environment and dominant revenue models. Sometimes the mean and lean competition yields some amazing gems, but until it yields an Animal Crossing: New Leaf or Fire Emblem: Awakening, it's not realistic to pretend there aren't major advantages for gamers looking for meatier fare by looking on other platforms. Someone is unfamiliar with this forum's typical reaction to these pricing model discussion threads; i.e. my statement had nothing to do with my views at all. These threads almost inevitably get locked and/or moved to the trash thread because, for a vocal minority, freemium is the equivalent of abortion, climate change, gay marriage, socialized medicine, and the films of Michael Bay all rolled into one hotly argued ball of bickering. Besides, that you started out using "vile freemium trash" as your term for a neutral monetization scheme says everything anyone needs to know about what sort of genuine discussion you were looking for.
