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Where have all the iOS games gone?

minotaurproject.co.uk

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Re: Where have all the iOS games gone?

#181

Post by intoverflow2 »

chongli wrote: post #171
iofj wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually if that's what you want I'd advise you to buy a windows 10 tablet. They run old (and gog.com) games and come with decent mouse emulation and actually last 4-5 hours on battery. Taking games like Spelunky on a 400 gram tablet with you for on the train/plane is nice. Even something like Civ 4 is playable.

Just curious: how the heck do you play Spelunky on a touchscreen? That game is hard enough on keyboard or gamepad, I can't imagine playing it on a touch screen with any degree of success.

Actually bought a Vita specifically for Spelunky, plays beautifully the D-pad is probably the best I've ever used (and I've owned most handhelds/consoles)

TxK, Persona 4, Binding of Isaac, etc were the icing on a great cake.

Re: Where have all the iOS games gone?

#182

Post by intoverflow2 »

xufi wrote: post #132
profeta wrote: post #65

history will look back on this iphone era we are living as the second dark age.

Agreed, I do feel there could've been much better games made on the phone. For example, I remember Nintendo was about to make a push to bring its old classic Gameboy Era games /Gameboy Color games to the phone to no avail

Would you have been happy to pay $5-$8 per gameboy/gbc title?

Yeah didn't think so, but Nintendo DS owners are.

Re: Where have all the iOS games gone?

#183

Post by iwannayoyo »

makecheck wrote: post #114

I recently tried for about 10 minutes to find a game that met my criteria, using the iOS version of the App Store. I wasn’t asking for much (at least, so I thought): I wanted a game that could be purchased once (no In-App Purchases), and I wanted a particular category. The search was practically futile; every single match was In-App Purchases. I even decided to stop caring about the category and it was the same. The…

For what it's worth, if you click on the "games" button on the featured apps page, then look around for "buy once and play", you can find a collection of games without in-app purchases. I know that doesn't fix the overall issue, but it helps a bit.

Re: Where have all the iOS games gone?

#184

Post by intoverflow2 »

ino wrote: post #177
makecheck wrote: post #114

I recently tried for about 10 minutes to find a game that met my criteria, using the iOS version of the App Store. I wasn’t asking for much (at least, so I thought): I wanted a game that could be purchased once (no In-App Purchases), and I wanted a particular category. The search was practically futile; every single match was In-App Purchases. I even decided to stop caring about the category and it was the same. The…

There are games like those you're looking for but they use In-app purchases (IAP): Games with ads and that are incomplete, where you purchase the "complete game with no ads" with a single purchase. So it's like a demo that you upgrade to full version. The problem is that because there's no "demo" functionality in the app store, they get labeled as games with IAP which turns many people, me including, away. Before IAP…

> The problem is that because there's no "demo" functionality in the app store, they get labeled as games with IAP which turns many people, me including, away.

This would make no difference, people would just play the demo then move on to the next game. There are 2,000,000 apps in the store.... if your title is any good someone will clone it and put a free version up anyway.

Re: Where have all the iOS games gone?

#185

Post by zelos »

sleepybrett wrote: post #99
Blaaguuu wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm guessing he is referring to the Xperia Play https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xperia_Play

He's not. He's shipping on the Vita. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Minter TxK (PlayStation Vita, 2014)[43]

Sony gave it away 'free' as a PS+ title for subscribers as well, I don't know what affect that had on his income.

Re: Where have all the iOS games gone?

#186

Post by intoverflow2 »

NEDM64 wrote: post #149
onion2k wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So the reality is that even if you're a semi-famous developer who has a practically guaranteed revenue and media coverage from your fans, it still isn't enough. You need to make a game that competes on quality with the studios that spend $millions on their apps. Thats not a very promising proposition to anyone considering making a game.

> You need to make a game that competes on quality with the studios that spend $millions on their apps. No, for example Crossy Road or Flappy Bird made some good money with a minimal team and minimal investment. Not $millions like those studios, but also the creators didn't spend $millions in marketing and assets. > Thats not a very promising proposition to anyone considering making a game. Risks. That's why most peo…

> No, for example Crossy Road or Flappy Bird made some good money with a minimal team and minimal investment.

Could describe a lottery ticket win the same way.

Re: Where have all the iOS games gone?

#187

Post by ascotan »

It's sad. You don't need to see income metrics to support this, just look at the quality of the games. I'm an avid consumer of iphone games and the quality of them has been getting worse and worse.

Really neat and creative games seems are gone and we're left with 'Qbert' and 'Bejeweled' clones being recommended as 'featured games'. Most of the great iOS shops seems to have left the market or have been drowned out in a sea of 'crapware'.

It seems that to be successful in this market you need to go back to advertising. Apple makes it very very hard to sort crap from quality, so you have to get your brand/name out there.

Re: Where have all the iOS games gone?

#188

Post by andybak »

CmdrKrool wrote: post #120
andybak wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. I hope a few people reading this know who the hell Jeff Minter is and why he's worth listening to. (PS Jeff - if you're listening to. A new take on Llamatron would make me a very happy man)

One of those iOS games was in fact a new take on Llamatron: http://minotaurproject.co.uk/Minotaur/minotron.php It's very good :). If it's not on the store anymore I hope you find some way to get hold of it.

Ah yes - I actually played it when I had a borrowed iPad for a while.

It's essentially a port though. I'd love to see what Jeff would do with the Robotron format 25 years after his previous attempt.

(This makes me wonder why - given his love of Williams arcade games - Jeff has never tried a take on Defender...)

Re: Where have all the iOS games gone?

#189

Post by intoverflow2 »

freehunter wrote: post #128
themartorana wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Milked" is seriously loaded. AAA console games cost $60 and up - do you know how hard it is to get a paying freemium user to even $10? Yes. There are people that spend thousands. They also spend thousands on $60 AAA games as well. The idea that players get "fleeced" is ridiculous. Spent $15 on Candy Crush, a game that you spent months playing? That really doesn't seem like a lot to me. Edit: I should acknowledge tha…

There's a difference between Clash of Clans and GTA V, though. There is nothing on any mobile platform that can compete in any way with any AAA game made in the last 10 years (the most advanced mobile game I see is GTA:SA, which came out in 2004 or KOTOR which came out in 2003). Hypothetically, if someone spends $60 on Candy Crush and $60 on a AAA console release, the Candy Crush developers are seeing a much more mas…

> But the minute I see "buy more gems for $1.99!", I delete the app

Why not just play iOS games that you buy outright without IAP then instead of downloading the "free" trash that makes money then getting upset when they try and make money off you.

Re: Where have all the iOS games gone?

#190

Post by douche »

Someday, we'll realize that games on a tiny, fiddly touchscreen with no tactile response, is kind of a stupid idea. I would much rather play games on my dusty old Gameboy Color than struggle with a phone.
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