We're mad as hell about iOS games that cost money, have ads, and/or any IAP at all.

Adam Seltzmon has bills to pay too

 

You should PM the Ravensword developer and let him know he could make more money selling it at $1.99. Maybe he'll cut you a slice in return!

 

right, because comparing a game that takes at least half a year to produce with complex coding algorithms involving multiple weapons/armor combinations, enemies, and locations presented in 3-D graphics to a one stage, one button, two week production is smart.

i'm aware that you're being sarcastic, and i enjoy canabalt as much as the next guy, but come on.

 

The only reason Samurai is $2 is because cheap people like you weren't willing to put down the original $5. It's not like the dev suddenly realized the error of his ways. He was forced to lower the price, and wasn't happy about doing so.

I can't believe people are really holding out on this game because it's $.99 too expensive . The cost of a candy bar.

To answer the OPs question, yes it is absolutely worth $3. It's an incredibly polished experience and you can't help but admire its refined simplicity. It's one of the few apps I play almost every day. If you're like me, and mostly play iPhone games on the go, it's perfect because you can boot it up and play a few games in only a couple minutes and feel satisfied.

 

Yeah, you're right. After running the numbers again I figure Ravensword is worth $5.99 AT MOST.

I mean it IS unfair to compare a game whose entire framework and engine was written by the developer (in 2 separate languages) to a game which uses a pre-existing 3D engine and scripting language.

 

the amount of languages used to code a game becomes irrelevant when the game that was coded is this simple, and is loved for its simplicity. the creator himself admits to how fast he pumped the game out. it doesn't balance out to being as laborious as a game like ravensword, or even other 2.99 titles such as underworld. trying to compare a game with wholly repetitive but stylistically simple 2-D sprites for one stage with single touch controls to a game with a lot of 3-D character/enemy polygon art, and textures for multiple towns/dungeons, on top of coding in the inventory system and the way it affects battling, multitouch controls with different options and setups, as well as an actual story with more than a handful of missions is, again, all pretty foolish. but keep on keeping on.

and knocking a dollar off of the price of ravensword in comparison to canabalt is also a joke. a dollar difference in canabalt is a third of the price. a dollar off of ravensword is more like 15 percent. and yes, therein lies a difference. but by all means argue that "a dollar is still just a dollar!" you'll just show how you don't fully grasp how the average consumer mind thinks.

 

Yes.

It is worth $2.99.

 

I'm glad we have people like you with such insight into the world and business of game development to explain things to people as inexperienced as me.

 

I see nothing wrong with a game going on sale to gain sales of people on the fence.

 

i'm glad too. when someone throws out such half assed overly sarcastic remarks like you have, somebody has to step in.

 

I'm just trying to ensure that we have a definitive and exhaustive debate to get to the bottom of the age old question of whether Canabalt is worth $1.99 or $2.99. Do we want to be responsible for someone only able to play 14 new games this month instead of 12? I don't want that on my conscience.

 

Yes it is but I was under the impression that there would be leaderboards by now (openfeint maybe ? )


Without leaderboards I won't play anymore..............Please add that option !

 

The dev should just make a lite version but limit the game to just one level and get rid of the checkpoints and the powerups and stuff like that. Also for the lite he can get rid of the plus or openfeint or whatever the game has currently. Oh wait a minute...

 

Eeenmachine, I want to be clear on something, for some of us it isn't about only being able to buy 12 games vs 14 games. Last weekend alone, I downloaded 28 games, the price ranged from .99 - 2.99, I even bought 2 programs that could make panographic photos, why, I wanted to see which one was better and didn't have a problem spending the $5 to get the best one. I have bought a few games for between 4.99 - 6.99, and was happy to do that. I like command and conquer, but there is no way I'd spend 9.99 for it, kind of funny since I own most of the others in the series and spent 30-40 for the disc.

Anyways to get back to your original question why is Canabalt only worth 1.99 vs 2.99 to me, and would I spend the extra $1 or what ever. As noted above I have no trouble spending money on apps that are "worth" it. To me the gameplay of canabalt is worth 1.99 MAX, I don't know what could be done to improve the gameplay, it is what it is. To me this game is similar to say little runner which I bought for .99, and I'm saying this game is worth at least 2x that.

One question I have for you is why have this game for FREE on the internet, yet expect to get more then 1.99 off from the app store? If you say the other is ad supported, that doesn't do any good as most people use ad blocking software to eliminate banner ads, well at least I do.

 

Where's Spungo Mcgee when you need him?