Rovio's 'Angry Birds Go!' Kart Racing Game Hits the App Store

[seamer]

Freemium is OK, since you know what you're getting in to.

Caveats:
Don't make me pay for the game + IAP
Don't make me pay for the game + Give me spamverts every level end/start
Don't give me push notifications that "my game misses me". That stuff seriously works?

 

[iVoid]

Super Mario Cart with Birds!

I have to say that while I still find Angry Birds fun to play and some of the levels are very challenging, they have been really milking it badly.

All the paid cheats and gimmicks (not to mention the nag screens trying to get you to use the paid cheats) lately have really been leaving me with a sour feeling when I play them. And allowing us to pay to get early access to the 25 days of winter levels...

 

[Salvor Hardin]

It's not even a fun Mario Kart clone because there are no randomized powerups to pick up which I suppose is to reinforce that you grind coins to upgrade to win races. Each bird has a unique powerup but you only get one free use of it per race the rest costs F2P spacebuck currency and you'll be very tempted to hit that button as you deal with the rubberband AI.

 

[mrsir2009]

Wow, they're really trying to suck this brand dry, aren't they... I mean, it looks like they're just making a generic kart racing game and slapping an Angry Birds theme on it in hope that people will go "hurr durr Angry Birds" and get it.

 

[Lukeyy19]

How so? You can play a game for free.

I WISH there were things like that when I was younger. We could rent games for $$$, or buy them for $$$. There were no free games on consoles or portables.

Because most of the content is locked behind paywall or has to be grinded for, you can't just buy a game and play through it normally and unlock stuff to keep it fun anymore, you get a game for free and either pay stupid amounts to unlock stuff or grind away for hours on end for new stuff to actually experience all of the game.

The problem is that nobody makes a freemium game because they had a great idea and vision for a game that they want to bring to life and share with people, they make it because they had an idea for a money making machine.

There's plenty of Kart Racers out there already, slapping Angry Birds on a genric Kart Racer and coercing people into paying for "coins" so they can upgrade their kart is just milking the cash cow.

 

[somethingelsefl]

Then devs need to charge more for their apps. I paid $10 each for the iWork apps, $20 for Omnifocus, $5 for iBank, $15 or so for 1Password. And those were just the iOS versions.

Good apps are worth the money and if devs won't properly value their work then nobody else will either.

Couldn't agree more. I've paid up to $30 for an iOS app and it was money well spent. Especially since I didn't run into paywalls or necessary IAPs when I needed it most.

 

[158274]

Then devs need to charge more for their apps. I paid $10 each for the iWork apps, $20 for Omnifocus, $5 for iBank, $15 or so for 1Password. And those were just the iOS versions.

Good apps are worth the money and if devs won't properly value their work then nobody else will either.

Hard to compete when so many people will just download a free app, even if it's crap compared to paid apps like Omnifocus and 1Password.

 

[cliffster82]

What are good kart games?

There are better kart racing games for sure on the app store.

Do you have any recommendations? I would like to have a cool kart style game for iOS.

 

[bilboa]

In fact, it's the only sustainable business model in a world full of $0.99 apps.

This isn't so. There are a fair number of really good games being released as premium games, that either offer no IAPs, or completely optional IAPs where the game is well balanced without buying IAPs. Check out Oceanhorn, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Warhammer Quest, Sine Mora, Skulls of the Shogun, Badland, Kingdom Rush, Shadowrun Returns, Fieldrunners, Anamoly, Iesabel, the Infinity Blade games, etc... I could go on and on. Plenty of other games offer much less annoying freemium implementations than this one, like Asphalt 8 or Plants vs Zombies.

It may be the case that freemium games can make more money, or that for some games it is the only way they could be competitive. But consumers can have some effect on this, by choosing what to buy also. Personally I won't spend any money on games like this one, partly because I just find the game mechanics so irritating, but also because I don't want to support a business model I don't like and don't want to see thrive. On the other hand I have bought almost all the games I listed above and many others which function as full games once you've bought them. I've also spent money on some freemium games that work in a less annoying way than this one. For example I've found Asphalt 8 to be very fun, and bought a car pack. For me timers are a big no-no. Once a game adds those in, I find it too irritating to deal with even if it would otherwise be a good game.

 

[bilboa]

Do you have any recommendations? I would like to have a cool kart style game for iOS.

Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing is probably the best. There's also Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D.

 

[charlituna]

I never ever pay IAPs for games, but that doesn't prevent me from enjoying them. So I can only play a little of Go at a time, I don't sit down with a game for any long periods of time anyway.

The constant pop up ads and faux ads and some dicey physics are more annoying to me

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Great. But I'm never using it. Any app that has IAPs doesn't even get a download from me. It is in my belief it should be boycotted.

I disagree. There are cases where IAP makes sense.

The trick with IAP in games is don't be greedy and have a way to play without ever needing them.

Take like candy crush. I know it annoys folks a lot but it does game IAP rather well. Yes it's a little annoying that they try to get you to pay every 10-12 levels once you clear the first 50 but they also have ways to get past those tricks without paying or even hitting up Facebook friends. You can win every level without buying boosts if you are willing to keep trying. And the whole five tries then you have to wait a bit isn't really a horrible thing.

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Then devs need to charge more for their apps. I paid $10 each for the iWork apps, $20 for Omnifocus, $5 for iBank, $15 or so for 1Password. And those were just the iOS versions.

Good apps are worth the money and if devs won't properly value their work then nobody else will either.

Some apps it just doesn't make sense to IAP. Unless you are going to do a one time remove ads thing. That way folks can try it for free and then buy it if they like it to get rid of all the ad crap.

Then again even in paid apps there might be times when IAP could be good. You mention iWork. What about folks being able to make templates, effects etc to sell for a plug in friendly iWork. There are companies like that for the computer version so why not for iOS. Same with iPhoto effects, iMovie themes, GarageBand Loops. Heck make iOS plug in friendly and see theme packs like the jailbreakers use. It could all be through the store so it has to be vetted etc

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Good content add-ons are also worth good money. IE, expansion packs or major updates.

Apple doesn't allow updates to cost money though. Either it's a sequel or an IAP - there's no easy way to say, "Hey, I have a new version of my app that doubles the number of features. I spent the last year working on it, please pay me again to update, or keep using last year's version."

Developers need to speak up on that topic. If they don't find a way to make a gat argument to Apple to change that rule then it won't ever change.

 

[TouchMint.com]

Developers need to speak up on that topic. If they don't find a way to make a gat argument to Apple to change that rule then it won't ever change.

Apple does not listen to developers one bit. It pretty much takes an uprising by users to get anything changed. You have seen the app store right haha.