[robjohnson]

As an iOS developer, I can say that I agree with the statement that this would be beneficial for non-game apps as well.

As for the strategy, I would highly recommend you read "Business Model Generation" if you want to flush out this idea a bit more. It seems like you're on the right track, but maybe need to clarify a few points.

Lastly, have you considered going with a monthly subscription based service? Possibly even tiered? I just think that you're more likely to get people to pay $10/mo (with the first 30 days free or something) than $99/year. For recurring subscriptions done easy, check out recurely.com.

[pixelate]

Thanks for the tip on the book, I'll check it out.

I considered monthly subscription and want to offer it in the long run. Recurly looks like the best solution out there, but it's also pricey when you're starting out and want to keep costs low.

I really went with the most simple solution I could come up with, which is one price point and Harvest+PayPal as a super cheap payment solution that does not require payment gateway and merchant account.

[wnight]

Flat and unlimited pricing can often be a problem. Flat means EA pays as much to manage all their game-press for all their games as an indie dev does for one.

Also, I realize you're keeping it simple now but have you thought about figuring out scarce resources (likely bandwidth) and charging based on that? Or, even just setting a threshold at which there will be extra charges. (1GB traffic/day or 2GBs stored.)

When I see a company offer unlimited deals I wonder how long they'll be able to offer that.

Looks neat, if I had a product being released it's stuff I know I wouldn't be as on the ball with as you now are. I'll sign up (even at current prices) if I release anything.

[pixelate]

Yes, I thought of pretty much every single possible pricing model, and I went with the simplest one I could come up with. Figuring out the price point and payment solution was the biggest hurdle that kept me from launching while the app was in private beta, and flat pricing meant and could keep things simple.

Even though an EA division would pay as much as an indie, I think the pricing is still very fair with effectively being less then 9 EUR / month and with the fact that I don't charge people if they don't want to renew after one year, but still keep the existent data.

[MrMike]

* recurly.com

See also: Spreedly, CheddarGetter, Chargify, Vindicia, Zuora

[lwalley]

Thanks for including Chargify.

--- Lance Walley, co-founder, Chargify

[MrMike]

Have you considered a Chargify Lite (or an HN discount =])... I'll be launching a SaaS product soon that will be $10/mo. Even your Launch and Start plans won't be usable since they'll suck away the early revenue (which curtails my ability to reinvest growing the user base).