$200 CLUB
56 posts
Yep, just re-upped....but if I am going to buy them than I am only doing the boatload. Better price per donut, they will be used. No point in wasting $10 here or there. Plus if I set aside $10 per week I have enough for my next boatload in 10 weeks, about the time I will run out if this continues as it has.
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Sure.
But he does have a point in that the game-designers target you
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/appsblog/2011/jul/26/freemium-mobile-games-whales
They put this content out, people sink $100, $200 on it, and for that reason they have little interest in charging say $10 or $20, because people doing this who are willing to pay $20 will often spend $200 too. So that's what they go for.
And yeah that's bad news if you want to spend only moderate sums.
Key takeaways for me:
1. avoid paying for freemium games unless the scope is very clear (e.g., pay $5 to unlock all content, $3 to remove ads, something like that, NOT $10 for x in-game gold, because if you go for that the developers will always try and hit you up for more)
2. if you do play freemium games without clear pay scope, don't spend any money, because the economics of it inevitably dictate that there are only two real entry points - $0 and $200. Anything in between is just ****, because the developers know they can hook the $200 users, so they won't be impressed by your $20.
The whales do harm moderate users, because their aggregate revenue is higher, in fewer transactions, than the moderate users, the moderate users can't afford to play.
Truth is Tapped Out is a great game without the premium content, so much free stuff there. But paying for stuff is never going to make sense, because of the whales.
As for the in game designers, well they are targeting everyone, not just the "whales". That is why I say to this day Ralph will be a premium character, they would be stupid not to make him one, way too many people will buy that little *ucker.
Agreed, for a free game they offer a ton of content, in a way I think that is how they get away with ****, I mean charging so much for the premium things
Help the economy...
Ahahhahahha. :twisted:
Actually, the article claims that this is good news for the majority of players: This model appears to benefit more than it harms if people wish to play for free, they can since the developers make enough of a profit to continue offering freebies. Or am I misreading the quote?
I don't see a benefit to everyone because freemium has significantly lowered the quantity of AAA games like Infinity Blade, Dead Space, Fifa 13,etc. in the store. Not everyone likes or plays FarmVille style games. These are generally played by casual gamers who don't really play on an Xbox or PC. I don't like them either but I was attracted to this one because Ive been watching the Simpsons for 20 years and its a good time waster during tv commercials!
I'm not saying spending $5 or even $10 here is bad but $100 and upwards? EA and the others obviously encourage this otherwise they wouldn't have an option of $99 for donuts and smurfberries. Little kids especially cant resist buying smurfberries and donuts. Donuts=playing more=fun. A kid will make this conclusion very quickly haha! It is funny though whenever I get a free donut and Homer says "Mmm premium currency" haha.
When I got my iPad I first spend $50:$30 on the iWork apps (keynote, pages, numbers), $15 on the ti ba-ii plus calculator app and $5 on GarageBand. With that I can edit my finance work, have my financial calc on me at all times and plug in my guitar with irig to record ideas when I'm traveling. To me that was a rational purchase. All that value with half the cost of a boatload.
It's good for the 90%, but bad for the 8%, IYSWIM. The 8% who might want to spend $10 or $20, total, are nudged out by the 2% who are willing to pay $200+.