As phones and tablets began to get better processors and more powerful internals, mobile gaming began its ascent as an actual platform that was actually beginning to make its mark in the gaming market. Mobile gaming was in its infancy, but developers saw potential in mobile gaming, and began to make games that (at the time) were pushing the boundaries of what to expect on a mobile platform. Developers like EA and Gameloft attempted to bring console-level experiences to phones and tablets, and for a while, some games delivered on those experiences, but now? Gaming is taking a turn for the worst.
Back in October of 2009, Apple announced that developers could now introduce In-App purchases into free apps, which before was exclusive to paid apps. It seemed like an interesting concept at the time, but that was 5 years ago. One of the first triple-A games (sort of) to be launched on iPhone and Android was Modern Combat: Sandstorm by Gameloft. This was a FPS that attempted to fill the niche for players looking to play Call of Duty on-the-go. This was originally $6.99 at launch and In-App purchases were not heavily used at the time. It was fun that you paid a premium price for, was devoid of ads, and featured no IAP’s. Nowadays, you’d be hard pressed to find a game that doesn’t feature IAP’s.
Many games released in the last year or two are games that feature such language in their app descriptions as “this game is 100% free with optional in-app purchases” or “free-high quality gameplay” “optional purchases”, etc. But why is this so? Many developers will release a game that looks incredible, has stunning graphics and fun gameplay; but don’t be fooled. This is a greedy tactic used by developers that are just in it for the money.
One of the ways developers can not force, but rather heavily encourage gamers to spend real money on their fun free-to-play game is the use of an energy system. For example, Injustice: Gods Among Us for iOS uses an energy system. You can play a few rounds that cost a certain amount of “energy”. After you use up all your energy, you are forced to wait a set amount of time before your energy recharges or you remove that time by buying a pack of energy.
What’s worse is when developers create a premium game, or a game that you have to pay money for in order to buy, and then offer heavy IAP’s. An example of this would be the recently released Lego Marvel Superheroes: Universe in Peril. This game received poor critical reception and criticism from fans for being a cheap port of a PS Vita and 3DS game that is heavy on IAP’s. The game costs $4.99 to buy and then features almost a dozen different IAP’s to buy more characters that are $1.99 a pop. Why would anyone buy a game and then be forced to spend even more to unlock different parts of the game?
Fun free-to-play games aren’t always awful money grabbers. Some such as Dead Trigger 2 are heavy on encouraging players to spend real money by making the game tougher where you almost have to buy better equipment and guns, but you don’t HAVE TO. Games like Dead Trigger are gorgeous, addictive and you can just replay them and just essentially farm money to buy new guns. While yes, sometimes IAP’s seem tempting, are you really going to spend $5 for some more gold you could earn just by playing anyways?
Then there are games like Candy Crush, one of the most popular (and addictive) games on the app store. This game features an energy system like before, but encourages players to spend real money on more energy and more levels. Candy Crush is not alone, fun, cute little games like this that are wholly deceiving dominate the app stores top charts (see below). Anything usually with “farm” “heroes” “saga” “free” “Kim Kardashian” or “dragon” in the title of the app is bound to feature IAP’s and be free-to-play.
Now, not every game in the app store is like this. Some developers see that fans don’t want these types of games. Marvel recently released Guardians of the Galaxy: The Universal Weapon for iOS and the first words you see in the app description “NO IN-APP PURCHASES AND NO INTERNET CONNECTION REQUIRED TO PLAY”. This is awesome to see developers defying the norm of what has become mobile and wanting to deliver games that people will pay once for and can continue to enjoy without an energy system or throwing real money out the window for virtual items. Another game that will do just this is the soon-to-be released Modern Combat 5: Blackout, which is a premium FPS from Gameloft that will not feature any IAP’s at launch. This has made many fans not only excited for the game that they are spending their money for a quality game and won’t have to spend any more in order to get more out of the game.
Now, what’s the whole point of all this? Is freemium gaming killing mobile gaming? In a word, yes. Too often are developers forgetting what gamers really want: fun games. Gamers don’t care about paying money to buy a game, heck gamers spend $60 bucks for a new console game, but gamers care when they have to spend money and then even more to fully enjoy the game. Developers seem to be blinded by the thought of money by taking advantage of consumers. What people want are fun gems (free or not) that don’t burn holes in our pockets and can enjoy for as long as we want. That’s the point of gaming right? It’s nice to see that not all developers are blinded by money and want to deliver fun, new and exciting experiences for mobile gamers, which is a rapidly growing market as many people own a smartphone or tablet by now and have access to these games. I hope games in the future will get better and will not be money grabbing, poor excuses for games that are meant for nothing more than to abuse consumers.