Many gamers now look at the listing of a game in the store, and if there is an inapp purchases link and they see 100 of x, 200 of x, 300 of x where x is energy, credits, bux, dollars, street cred, or whatever just skip the game – even though it might have interesting mechanics. Just be brave and proud and ask for a subscription instead of hoovering money out of my pockets. It’s a black mark on the state of gaming in my opinion.
It’s a clear indication that the game is not made to have the most fun with, but to make the most money out of you by artifical limiting the experience. Where a subscription allows the same steady income without affecting the game experience. Just say no.
The fact that f2p iap titles sell well just proves my argument that “the game is not made to have the most fun with, but to make the most money out of you by artifical limiting the experience”. I didn’t say these games are not financially successful, because they are.
If the free2play games are so much fun to play, you’d expect to see a lot of sequels in the charts to build on previous success. In the top grossing list (which favour inapp free2play titles) there are no f2p sequels as opposed to 2-4 paid sequels.
So it seems the only way to get people to play your f2p iap title is to make it appear like a new experience by reframing the theme, from restaurant to club to bakery – or from vampire to gangster to army.
Is this because people get jaded from the f2p model?
