karl
March 20th, 2013, 05:31 AM
Freemium games aren't 'evil', nor are they the only future for mobile developers
Have you played Ridiculous Fishing yet? It's marvellous fun.
Released for iOS last week by Dutch developer Vlambeer, it's a new mobile version of their 2010 web game Radical Fishing, and involves hauling fish up from the depths, flinging them into the air and then shooting them.
It's ridiculous, but marvellous. It's also a paid game. You pay your £1.99 on the App Store – $2.99 in the US – and you get the whole shebang. "Buy the game, play the game," as Vlambeer puts it. "No additional costs, no hidden fees."
This, it's fair to say, is proving a talking point. As are comments by the developer in a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) interview over the weekend, suggesting that developers "shouldn't be scared to charge $3 for a game" on mobile.
"A direct result of the whole race-to-the-bottom in prices is the prevalence of free-to-play on iOS - it seems to be a safer bet. But since its almost impossible to do free-to-play in a non-evil way and without sacrificing the elegance of your game design, we'll prefer to charge $3," they explained.
Full story here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/appsblog/2013/mar/18/free-to-play-games-perspective
Have you played Ridiculous Fishing yet? It's marvellous fun.
Released for iOS last week by Dutch developer Vlambeer, it's a new mobile version of their 2010 web game Radical Fishing, and involves hauling fish up from the depths, flinging them into the air and then shooting them.
It's ridiculous, but marvellous. It's also a paid game. You pay your £1.99 on the App Store – $2.99 in the US – and you get the whole shebang. "Buy the game, play the game," as Vlambeer puts it. "No additional costs, no hidden fees."
This, it's fair to say, is proving a talking point. As are comments by the developer in a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) interview over the weekend, suggesting that developers "shouldn't be scared to charge $3 for a game" on mobile.
"A direct result of the whole race-to-the-bottom in prices is the prevalence of free-to-play on iOS - it seems to be a safer bet. But since its almost impossible to do free-to-play in a non-evil way and without sacrificing the elegance of your game design, we'll prefer to charge $3," they explained.
Full story here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/appsblog/2013/mar/18/free-to-play-games-perspective