Better to also show average $ people spend on in-app purchases, to see how much those "free" apps REALLY cost.
Better to also show average $ people spend on in-app purchases, to see how much those "free" apps REALLY cost.
It's always been there, if you scroll down and see "Top In-App Purchases".
No, the lawsuits weren't about people losing thousands of dollars, because the parents didn't actually lose any money. Everything was refunded as soon as they asked for it. The lawsuit was about people where kids purchased things for a dollar or two and the parents didn't spend time thinking about how they could get the money back.
It's always been there, if you scroll down and see "Top In-App Purchases".
...or it should say "You should play with your kids instead".
Pretty sure that simply refers to the app being a universal one (applying to iPhone and iPad).I highly approve of the move. That + icon was anything but obvious before. Wait, what did the + icon mean?
Good to see Apple attempting to deal with the recent issues of kids racking up massive bills on their parents' iPads - although don't get me started on why the kids had the password in the first place!
Even if this is just a way of Apple saying "We're not giving you a refund because there's clear warnings that there are opportunities to spend money within the app and it's not our fault."
Again, that's what they do now. It is not what they did when the lawsuits (which they settled btw) started years ago.
I think it's a shame that race-to-the-bottom prices for terrific creative work, coupled with shameless and greedy abuse of IAP by some developers, has given a bad name to what can be the best system for all:
- Get the app for free. It's limited (demo/lite).
- If you want to buy, you don't need to download a second app! Nor lose your progress. Just upgrade.
- Developer only has one app to maintain.
- Even with a paid game, IAP is a great and fair way to compensate developers for adding level packs or further content.
I despise consumable IAP (and also pay-to-win), but one-time purchases of things that have real value and took talent to make? Like full games and major add-on content? Things we've always paid for even before iOS existed? For them it just seems like a convenient option: do it in-app instead of buying a second app. But a game that uses this convenience will be stigmatized by people not paying attention and saying "all IAP is bad."
And even some games with consumable IAP are great fun: they're balanced so that you don't need the consumables. Jetpack Joyride etc. (Nor do I necessarily always object to a subscription model for a game: it does give me pause, but I realize that some games have ongoing server and moderation costs.)
.................
I like that idea. Make some distinction between a crazy IAP money-grab and simply using IAP as a convenient way to foster conventional and optional transactions.
There will still be lazy parents who let their kids buy in-app stuff and then plead ignorance to apple. Well they are ignorant.