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No buying once is not a pre internet idea. I take it you were not around in the 90s/ early 2000s. The internet was around long before app updates. The reality is that the modern App Store era (post 2010) has given us unfinished products, apps and games that “ship” with loads of bugs and filled with tons of updates and micro transactions. Before the App Store developers had one shot to get it right and that’s it. And guess what? Most stuff worked pretty well. Including early apps in the App Store. Because they were in the mind set that they had to get it right.

If the norm is to release half baked products then everyone is gonna do it. Apple is guilty, AAA game devs are guilty. Things are infinitely more complex than they were 20+ years ago but instead of allowing for more time, the quality suffers. It’s a garbage mind set . The psychology now is that they‘re enhancing the game or adding things to the game ….yeah ok. Imagine if your favorite movies and books started getting updates to make changes….oh wait. That’s actually starting to happen.
I’m in my 30s and you said exactly what I mean.

“Because they were in the mind set that they had to get it right.”

Before the internet where you could release a half baked game with heaps of patches you had to get it right!
 
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Red's first flight? After years of being launched from a slingshot, he finally decided to spread his wings and fly solo!
 
Don't give a single dollar to these cynical buggers and 99% of other "mobile gaming" casino sharks.

These evil bustards care nothing about gaming and about fun. They care only about your jewel purchases.

Instead, do your gaming on real gaming platforms by Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. Pay for your games, and never buy gems coins jewels or other casino buggery tokens.
Yes I've gotten games I love on Steam for free or a few bucks. Some with no IaP. Some with IaP but not required to get anywhere. Even the higher priced ones like CiV and Disgaea, I play plenty to make them worth it.
 
Buying once really is a pre-internet idea. You used to buy a game/item/software from a store and that was it. That’s how it shipped.

With the internet we got spoiled at little with free updates and new features during the transition.

But it really doesn’t make sense for developers to do this, outside security and bug fix updates. Why work for free after the initial purchase? Or how long should said purchase give you.

Microtransaction and subscriptions make so much more sense for companies and they’re so lucrative cause they lower the cost of entry for people who may not have had the fund for the bigger upfront cost. The removal of the other option is what annoys me (let me buy outright at a deal price with say 5-7 years support).

The really crappy part in all of this is the deliberate abuse by making half baked products and seeking what should have been included originally.

Don’t get me wrong I hate microtransactions but a good game that I can buy and expansion for $10 for is great!

A game that is half built trying to force me to buy the expansion for $10 is a rip off.
I started with Everquest with no expansion, and saw how the IaP changed.

At first it was just the game + sub with nothing making you better except stuff in game or your group. Then the junk came when people started auctioning high level chars, but at least that was outside the game. Then the store came and the free sub with paid tiers to give you benefirs. The only thing I buy within reason is permanent fast travel. Never cosmetic and absolutely never loot boxes. And the first I remember people being upset about DLC for was when Dragon Age came out, and the next day there was already paid DLC. Why wasn't that in the base game??
 
I’m in my 30s and you said exactly what I mean.

“Because they were in the mind set that they had to get it right.”

Before the internet where you could release a half baked game with heaps of patches you had to get it right!
What stank about this though is you didn't know about bugfixes and patches. This happened to me with Alternate Reality where there was a bug where you couldn't transfer a character from City to Dungeon, or two overpowered enemies called Long Arm of the Law wiped the floor with you. Much later I read there was a way to contact them for a bugfix disc :(
 
I mean, the market is giving them all the clues and they still say no. If you need to rename Angry Birds Classic to something completely unrecognizable because it's taking away focus from you micro transaction games... THATS THE MARKET TELLING YOU THEY DON'T WANT YOUR MICROTRANSACTION GAMES.
 
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I almost bought the full Affinity suite when they were having that discount at the start of the year, simply to have apps I can use for various tasks for years to come and no subscription BS to deal with (why pay a monthly subscription on apps I could go months without using?). Unfortunately the discount expired, but I'm on the lookout for another one at some point.
The full Affinity suite for a C-Note was a sweet deal. For that you got all three apps on three platforms (Mac, Win, iPadOS) Previous version I paid $150 just for the Mac apps another ~$60 for the iPad and never bothered with my PC.
 
Sadly I guess this proves the Free-to-play microtransactions model is far more successful than a pay-once model. Going to go buy the classics app now before they decide to pull it altogether…


EDIT: turns out I already bought it and forgot lol
A stat about 6 years back showed that 86% of the profits on the mobile markets are via free-to-play game. Sad to hear, but I just didn't see consumers paying $20 to $50 per game, on a regular basis (which is what would be needed at minimum to circumvent the model we have now)
 
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A stat about 6 years back showed that 86% of the profits on the mobile markets are via free-to-play game. Sad to hear, but I just didn't see consumers paying $20 to $50 per game, on a regular basis (which is what would be needed at minimum to circumvent the model we have now)
Precisely. Show me a market willing to pay $20 -$50 for a mobile game, and then a business might be able to exist around it. But it doesn't. Same goes for all other forms of software. It is simply not sustainable (let alone profitable) without ongoing revenue.
 
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There've been some incredible games on iOS with reasonable one-time purchase fees and no microtransactions. Monument Valley is one example that didn't cost anything close to $59.99.

No one said that a mobile game would have to cost $59.99 to fund its development. The problem is that nowadays when everyone is used to free-to-download apps because of the greed of large companies, it becomes harder for a smaller developer to charge an initial price and still have a sizable user base.
While this is true, the other side of the coin is that for every Monument Valley out there, there were plenty of other games that don't make it. As in they couldn't even make enough money to get back the $143 per year required to break even on the iOS App Store (after Apple takes their 30% but, but before taxes).

Also worth pointing out that consumers are to blame as well. If we could collectively stop buying these games in enough numbers, then the companies would shift their paradigms. But, that ofc. wasn't the case. A podcast mentioned that whatever we think "premium pricing" is, it would have to be 5x as much in order for us to perhaps avoid the f2p fate we have today. However, I doubt people would be willing to pay $20 go $50 for mobile games. :\

Not paying those crazy Squaresoft Mobile prices. But I used to like when games were either free or 99 cents for a lite version, and the only transaction was the full game. Then I could try for a low total cost instead of sifting through of freemium garbage today.
Some of the games aren't too shabby. Tried (but never beaten) Final Fantasy 4 and Final Fantasy 4: The After Years on iPod Touch 5 and iPad Air (1st gen, from 2013) and had a lot of fun with them. IIRC, prices range from $13 to $25 apiece, but you can always try to catch some sales. They can be as low as $3 off, to 50% off. People complain about MTX... well, put some of your $$ where your mouth is, and buy a premium game from time to time (I suppose [shrug]).
 
Don't give a single dollar to these cynical buggers and 99% of other "mobile gaming" casino sharks.

These evil bustards care nothing about gaming and about fun. They care only about your jewel purchases.

Instead, do your gaming on real gaming platforms by Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. Pay for your games, and never buy gems coins jewels or other casino buggery tokens.
I got a Switch as a gift a few months back, and already way ahead of you there! My original plan was to do annual subs on Apple Arcade ($45 per year at Costco). However, when my free trial ran out, I ended up putting it on hiatus (didn't have the time then due to work and travel). Found some other games to keep me occupied in that meantime (Android and non-AA iOS), which ended up being enough (although don't get me wrong, I do miss AA from time-to-time). Another nail in the coffin was my 9th gen ipad is only 64 GB of storage. It's something that could've been managed, but I just didn't want to deal with it then. The Switch came much later. I still use the iPad sporadically, but nowhere nearly as much.

I have been buying some "premium games" FWIW, like INKS, Slice & Dice, and Isle Of Arrows. There's a good # of indie titles to keep mobile gaming a nice gaming platform. You just need to wade through all those awful ones.

Ever since micro-transactions started becoming the norm on mobile games, my interest in mobile games has plummeted. I even used to play Angry Birds way back in the day! Most mobile games today are just stupid, no innovation, just getting players to the micro-transactions as quickly as possible.

On the other hand, I can't blame the game makers if so many fools are willing to give them money little by little. I just don't understand the thought process behind the players/addicts. Waste $1 at a time, to get what exactly in return? At least with gambling addicts there's the miniscule chance of winning actual money, but mobile game addicts? Beyond all hope.
I would still be wary about actual gambling. Since "the house always wins", you should be gambling only for entertainment. Winning is merely a bonus. You want to make money, do that at your job, or some other similar endeavor.
 
I have a confession to make. I play Angry Birds 2 and even have made some purchases on the game. They really do suck you in, especially if you have some gift card balances and want to advance. I didn't know Angry Bird Classic (Is that the first ever game?) was a thing.
I did dabble in a few f2p mobile games myself...
--Plants Vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time
--Castlestorm: Free To Siege (you know it's bad when the game title is telling it's free to play :D. My suggestion is to pick up the Stea or console versions for $15, before any sales, to do away with the premium curriencies)
--Bloons TD 6

... I can post my experiences about these in more detail upon request.

The fact that you bought it and forgot kind of illustrates the problem. People pay for mobile games once and expect developers to keep maintaining it indefinitely. I’m not a fan of the IAP model but no one would buy these games if they actually charged the full amount upfront.

This isn’t sustainable especially compared to PC/console games where games are regularly sold for $50 where it would be possible to build in the cost of maintenance and updates.
IAP shouldn't be automatically evil. It's the MTX for "gems", and other in-game consumables that are designed to really heavily get you to buy these is what I loath. If a indie game wants to charge extra money for more content, I'm fine with that. For example, the extra level pack for both Monument Valley 1, & 2.

Yeah the thing is software will always eventually cease working or be incompatible.

I just wish these companies made outright for X time still available.
I think 'X' time nowadays is about 5 years? I wish that figure were higher, but it's been "good enough" for me. I learned one day that when some businesses buy PCs from Dell, they pay millions of dollars in service contracts to Dell to ensure they'll have support for some longer haul. So Dell would be under contract to maintain a supply of parts and services for a certain set of hardware. They can make clear out and make them obsolete, lest they get fined heavily. However, the vg isn't willing to pay those sorts of costs.
 
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