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by quietplatypus 4078 days ago
Do you think there is still the chance for a well-made, expensive up front iPad game (we are talking like $10 to even $30) to make it based on word of mouth from hardcore gamers and Gamespot/IGN/etc. ? I know that the ecosystem itself optimizes f2p, but still.
2 comments

Games which target iPad first inevitably make design and marketing compromises that harm their other platform performance & experience - whereas games which target other platforms then are adapted can typical make far less painful and less compromising changes (which can work against them or for them).

Yes, it is possible but not easy - look at for example Shenandaoh's Desert Fox / Battle of The Bulge). But I don't know if that is a long term model for success. $19.99 is the highest price point you can set for a game and then you are competing with things like FMC2015 or Xcom (heck, you can get GTA San andreas for $6 or so - is your game better than GTA?!?) which are full PC ports. Clever developers will I think make a game for more established platforms, and if successful port to iPad for additional revenue. The iPad has millions of active premium gamers, but a tiny number compared to any non-portable system.

Well I just bought space program manager, got many more before and will pay ten bucks for prison architect, even more for tiny trek or if ever rimword would get a porting

Fact is all iOS categories and ratings are useless to me, mostly rubbish game built for freemium and with loads of marketing wind behind get visibility on the store, while real games get buried and I've had to follow third party website just to even know their existence

App-store-sarcasm-on: Oh, the curated library of applications and games is failing? You have to resort to 3rd party sites to actually filter things?

At this point App Stores are nothing more than extremely expensive anti viruses for all the applications installed. We'll see on the long term if giving up so much control is worth it for a security scan :|

given the many malicious app that pass trough, I guess not.

anyway, even steam has given up, but at least they added curators before opening the early access floodgates