Famassu said:
Most smartphone gamers don't pay for their games (especially on Android devices) or wait for those 0.99-1.99$ sales. As the prices go up, the number of people who buy those games diminishes drastically. While 5-10$ games might get more common and more people might actually start paying for them, I don't see the next step (15-20$) - which would probably be required to get some bigger budget non-downport exclusive games to smartphones - becoming too much more common or that popular with smartphone gamers. I mean, 10$-15 is the limit for a lot of people for much bigger (& better) downloadable PS360 games (some don't even like to pay much more than that for retail games), what makes you think smartphone owners would pay those kind of prices?
This is probably correct, which worries me. iDevice/Android gaming is popular due to the convergence of convenience, tech, and price point. Upset that balance, and I can totally see the landscape changing.
I just made this post in the iPhone/iPad thread in response to the newly released FREE Battlehearts, Bumpy Road, and Sword and Sorcery content:
Cromulent_Word said:
I personally think that there's too much focus in the iOS market on heartlessly milking cash out of consumers, rather than respecting them and generating good will through mutual support like you see (indie) dev's doing on Steam, and to an extent on XBLA & PSN. The rad dudes at Simogo have been pumping out HUGE free updates for Bumpy Road because they want their supporters to continue to support. It's good business via being cool, rather than good business via business-first approaches. Anywho, i could blabber on about this, but in the end i think theres real business/financial reasons for studios like Capy/Superbrothers to look out for supporters first.
Sure, there was a chance #Sworcery could have charted a bit higher... but the only way to do that was to give the middle finger to the same people that supported us from day one.
I'm so torn on this subject. As a consumer, I totally respect the service of free updates in order to garner strong relationships. However, this is an age old debate (which is the same with XBL and PSN DLC). I recently sent message to the Battlehearts guys that I would've gladly handed over a dollar for the additional two character classes and balancing done with the most recent update. I can't think of too many Battleheart fans that would not. Had the update come during the game's most hyped period, I believe that the cash-for-content follow-through would'v been much higher.
If developers give me a complete game and I pay for it, I'm fine. Every bit of additional content really is icing on the cake and deserves monetary compensation. It's a trickier situation with something like, say, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 because who knows if specific characters were purposely withheld just to milk the audience into a second purchase.
Games like Sword and Sworcery, Bumpy Road, and Battlehearts appear to be complete and confined experiences that are already priced at damn near give-away values. Therefore, I always feel guilty whenever these devs choose to give away content - especially when they don't need to.
As for more selfish considerations, there's an understanding and agreement between consumer and producer that with monetary exchange comes expectation. When developers charge for content, our dollars say that we want more, and our monies fund that development. When devs give away stuff for free, you can only say thank you and take what you can get, when you can get it.
These dirt-cheap, but increasingly richer experiences, have to be subsidized somehow. Hypothetically, isn't the alternative twenty dollar point of entry on iDevice/Android gaming, or even worse, even crazier FREEMIUM models where we're headed? I fear that if content is continually given away for free, and/or repeatedly dropped to 1 or 2 bucks, not only is the expectation that quality games should COMPETE to be as gutter cheap as possible, it removes our (the consumer) obligation to support quality product when it hits the appstore instead of waiting for the discounts.
I'm just worried that this ecosystem - as much as I love it - will be short lived if consumers are continually spoiled by higher quality games being forced into lower price ranges while the EXPECTATION of FREE continues.
There's a heated debate in this other GAF thread about the legitimacy of 40.00 games on traditional handheld gaming platforms.
Currently, iDevice/Android gaming has hit this incredible sweet spot with impulse buy pricing. Higher tier HD titles usually fall under ten bucks with the rare Japanese exceptions going for just under 15. iPhone retina versions are usually about 50% less. When holiday sales hit, hot games plummet briefly to giveaway dollar deals.
My biggest fear is that gamers will begin to condition themselves to wait for holiday sales. The cost of entry is already so darn cheap on so many good games (COMPANIONS is only 6.99 and it's such full game!), that I worry that this behavior pattern of free for the sake of fostering goodwill, as well as indistinguishable pricing between crap 99 cent games and GREAT games, will not only kill incentive for developers, but bring the whole house of cards falling in.
What do Devs think, or am i worrying about nothing?
