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iPod touch Will we ever see lower priced apps?

I

iperson21

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 17, 2010
129
0
Im sorry if there was another forum area for this, but i was wondering, do you guys think that we will ever see $0.69 or $0.49 or even $0.29 apps?
i think that some developers that have 99 cent apps would love to reach to customers to make it more affordable to have more apps. I realize 99 cents isn't very expensive, but if you want to buy like 10 apps, it starts to add up, especially when some really good- in depth apps like NFS and Gangstar are like $5-$7

please share your thoughts on this.
 
iperson21 said:
Im sorry if there was another forum area for this, but i was wondering, do you guys think that we will ever see $0.69 or $0.49 or even $0.29 apps? i think that some developers that have 99 cent apps would love to reach to customers to make it more affordable to have more apps.
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I think $0.99 is the smallest amount that makes sense when you consider that credit card fees, and developers, have to be paid. People who can afford a device that costs hundreds of dollars but won't buy a $0.99 app won't buy a $0.29 app either. They should stick to free.

There are many things in this world that I can't afford. So I do without.
 
emptyCup said:
\ People who can afford a device that costs hundreds of dollars but won't buy a $0.99 app won't buy a $0.29 app either.
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true, but still, lets say you finally save up all your birthday money, and you finally have enough to put in for a previous-gen second-hand iPT. Now, think of how little apps you can afford.

True there are free apps, but how many times can you play the 5 levels of a game?

lets say you buy 10 apps.
gangstar 6.99
tetris 2.99
madden 4.99
doodle jump 0.99
veg. samurair 0.99
flight control 0.99
iPark It 0.99
GV Mobile + 2.99

so for only a couple apps, you've spent quite a bit, $23 for a little piece of >300MB software.

( i do realize madden is a little over and that the prices may not be all correct)
so for people like me who don't have a credit card, that iTunes Gift card could get wiped out pretty fast until your next birthday or christmas.
 
app costs should be measured in utility. if you use a particular app 10 times a day, how much is that app worth over the lifetime of use? if it's not worth it to you, don't buy it. the developers make more money off free apps and ads than $.29 apps if you ask me.
 
I don't mind the $0.99 and $1.99 pricing for the apps since they are a lot cheaper than those on a standard computer. It is to me a very comfortable price point.

However, since apps generally do not come with evaluation versions, it is very hard to judge if the apps means my needs or not. I know there is description and screenshots but some comes apps just do not live up to its advertisement. It also does not help that Apple does not offer returns or refunds for those apps.

I know some apps comes with lite versions and I appreciate that and would certainly like to see more lite versions out so I can find out what I am actually buying.
 
If they were to enable returns, I think it would make sense to make it un-returnable after a week, or few days or so. That way they keep people from playing a game, just to return it.
 
iperson21 said:
Now, think of how little apps you can afford.
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Ok, time for some "fatherly" advice. As the Rolling Stones said in a song, you can't always get what you want. Get used to it now, because it will be like that through out your life.

Now, like others have said, I don't think that we will see prices go lower than $.99. So if you have limited funds, then you have to choose wisely in picking your apps.
 
Apple keeps 30% of the cost of the app.

At 99¢, you only get 70¢ (technically 69,3¢). At 49¢, you only get 34,3¢. You'll have to sell a lot of fart apps to make money (the developper account costs 100$). And at 29¢, you get a whopping 20,3¢.

99¢ is dirt cheap. Cheaper than almost anything money can buy nowadays.
 
liamkp said:
If they were to enable returns, I think it would make sense to make it un-returnable after a week, or few days or so. That way they keep people from playing a game, just to return it.
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Yes, I do not mind that. Probably 24 to 48 hours may be sufficient for me as if there is any major issues which would occur or if I do not like the apps, it would show by that time.
 
Considering that some app buyers are gamers, the prices are pretty low. You're getting full-fledged games like Chaos Rings for 8.99 and retro content around the 5.00 mark where the minimum price for a digital game on the PSP is 9.99 (which is mostly old content) and can go as high as +49.99.

There's really only one exception in the App store where the game is above the 20.00 mark, and its really not a game per say.
 
Less than 99¢? Really? Angry Birds, Flight Control, Flick Fishing, Doodle Jump, F.A.S.T., Sim City, etc.

I paid 99¢ for those off the top of my head. I haven't had any credit on my account for quite a while. I mostly played GB games when I was jailbroken. But the way I see it is that the iOS devices have the best, BEST, games for the price. Go buy a nintendo DS. It can't do half the things, hell 80% of the things a touch does. Some games are good on it, the graphics aren't as good, the prices are a lot more. There are great games on iOS - I'd much rather have my ipod than a DS.
 
eddy2099 said:
Yes, I do not mind that. Probably 24 to 48 hours may be sufficient for me as if there is any major issues which would occur or if I do not like the apps, it would show by that time.
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I was thinking more along.... 72. That would be completely sufficient for many more people.
Abscissa said:
I'd much rather have my ipod than a DS.
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Keep in mind that the DS Games have much more data and are typically played more. And they can be resold.
 
iperson21 said:
other than ads, they make money off of their apps?
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They may implement a donation button on their website or in the app itself. I don't know about iPhone/iPod Touch apps, but some successful Mac/PC freeware do reportedly have a decent financial return in the form of donations.
 
Some DS games are very short, I can think of many examples. There are some apps that are probably of better quality than some DS games, on the other hand there are quality DS games but kind of hard to find them unless you shop online or the stores in your area aren't filled with games like the Imagine series or petz like the shelves in my area.

No matter what you are losing money when you resell a DS game. I have done it enough to know, even when I buy the game at the most rock bottom price I can find. You will still lose a few dollars per sale. The money that you lose is equivalent or more than what apps cost on the app store. Plus its a lot of work to buy and sell DS games that way, and its hard to get the lowest price you can possibly find for a game. With the app store I eliminate all of that.
 
Anything less then 99 cents is not feaseable for developers. Apps are very difficult to make, require a lot of time and money generally, as well as experience.

For example, the game I am working on requires some beefy software. Here is my hardware and software costs alone for game development. Me and one other guy are working on this, and since I own all of the equipment I'll list it below:

-Mac Pro in my sig: $6k + $2k for monitors.
-Macbook Pro in my sig: $3000 + $800 for monitor.
-Apple developer fee: $99 per year.
-Maya: $3500
-Photoshop CS5: $695
-ZBrush: $600
-Corel Painter: $400
-Wacom Intuos BlueTooth w/ Art Pen: $1000 (I have two tablets and two art pens)
-Unity 3D iPhone license: $400
-Logic: $500
-Virtual Instruments from EastWest: $6000
-Storage: $3000
-USB Keyboard Controller: $800
-iPhone 4G: $300
-iPad: $830
-iPhone 3Gs: $300

and many other odds and ends.

Grand total: $30,225 (unless I missed something). Granted iPhone games aren't the only thing I make but the equipment and software to make decent titles is a hefty investment.

Granted you can cut corners and do stuff for less money, and use cheaper software but you have to balance between cheap software and efficiency, and sometimes you don't get a choice (most industry standard programs only work with other industry standard programs, like Maya and Photoshop CS5).

For a developer to make something that pays these kind of bills and make a profit requires charging more then 99 cents most of the time.
 
iperson21 said:
true, but still, lets say you finally save up all your birthday money, and you finally have enough to put in for a previous-gen second-hand iPT. Now, think of how little apps you can afford.
Click to expand...

You have to remember too, most app buyers and Apple product owners, aren't exactly in the "saving birthday money" age bracket. If you're over 20 and saving birthday money, you got issues!

And also, theres thousands of free apps, cant get cheaper than free kid!
 
chrono1081 said:
the game I am working on requires some beefy software. Here is my hardware and software costs alone for game development. Me and one other guy are working on this, and since I own all of the equipment I'll list it below:

-Mac Pro in my sig: $6k + $2k for monitors.
-Macbook Pro in my sig: $3000 + $800 for monitor.
-Apple developer fee: $99 per year.
-Maya: $3500
-Photoshop CS5: $695
-ZBrush: $600
-Corel Painter: $400
-Wacom Intuos BlueTooth w/ Art Pen: $1000 (I have two tablets and two art pens)
-Unity 3D iPhone license: $400
-Logic: $500
-Virtual Instruments from EastWest: $6000
-Storage: $3000
-USB Keyboard Controller: $800
-iPhone 4G: $300
-iPad: $830
-iPhone 3Gs: $300

and many other odds and ends.

Grand total: $30,225
Click to expand...

seems like overkill to me and seriously unnecessary for a 99 cent app.
 
sineplex said:
seems like overkill to me and seriously unnecessary for a 99 cent app.
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Yeah but if he sells, 60,000 copies, then who's laughing? he'll make money, and keep making apps, and make more money, he's a business in himself obviously, kudos to him!
 
sineplex said:
seems like overkill to me and seriously unnecessary for a 99 cent app.
Click to expand...

For iPhone its overkill, but I do other things besides iPhone dev. Having good software though does greatly speed up the process and let you crank out titles much quicker, which can lead to more profit. The Maya, Unity, and Photoshop combination is great for games on iDevices but the others, like sound are necessary (and expensive) too.
 
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