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Show HN: Tired of mobile games with IAP and ads, I made No-Bullshit Games

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131–140 of 269 posts

Re: Show HN: Tired of mobile games with IAP and ads, I made No-Bullshit Games

#132
post #109

I would like to build an app that's a series of games, that are all related. I want to use the freemium model, with a one-time payment. No ads, no subscriptions; once you pay, you own the entire game. What's a better model for this? A single app with a one-time IAP; or two apps, where one is free with no ads or IAPs, but there's a link to a separate paid app with no IAPs? It seems there's no way to distinguish easily…

The App Store does list the possible IAPs on the page, so if I see "Full game unlock: $3.99" I'm fine with it. Others may look at "offers IAP" and be turned off< I'm afraid I can't speak for them, but the "demo with IAP unlock" seems like the best of both worlds to me.

Re: Show HN: Tired of mobile games with IAP and ads, I made No-Bullshit Games

#134
post #109

I would like to build an app that's a series of games, that are all related. I want to use the freemium model, with a one-time payment. No ads, no subscriptions; once you pay, you own the entire game. What's a better model for this? A single app with a one-time IAP; or two apps, where one is free with no ads or IAPs, but there's a link to a separate paid app with no IAPs? It seems there's no way to distinguish easily…

the obvious downside is to the consumer. For apps with IAP, pricing is almost always confusing. You often have to dig through comments. 2, IAPs don't allow the family account to work. I love buying premium games and having them work on all our family's phones.

Re: Show HN: Tired of mobile games with IAP and ads, I made No-Bullshit Games

#135
post #76

Honestly, I wouldn't mind ads if they weren't so obtrusive. a simple ad on a loading screen isn't the end of the world to me. What's annoying is trying to tap a tiny 'x', unskippable video ads, ads that try to fingerprint my device, ads that slow down my machine, ads with volume, time limiting play unless you buy an IAP (when there's no option for just buying unlimited time for a reasonable price) I want game devs to…

I want devs to be able to make a living too, that's why I have ad-supported games on the list, as long as you can disable every single ad with a payment. What I hate is devs seeing me as a wallet to wring as much money out of as possible by preying on my addiction/impulses.

I love to see games that have one-time payments to permanently remove ads. This lets the creators provide a free-ish demo, but also may provide some residual income. It also allows players with less money support the creators.

Re: Show HN: Tired of mobile games with IAP and ads, I made No-Bullshit Games

#136
post #105
post #50

I echo the others here, Thanks! I have young kids and we let them use tablets on long trips, vacations, airplane rides. Finding games for them is impossible. They are too young to understand when characters, levels, items are locked. It seems like every 2 minutes they get stuck on some ad screen with a hidden X. I just want a game that when I pay $4, I get the full game. It doesn't even have to be a big, intensive ga…

If you’re in the Apple ecosystem, Apple Arcade is pretty great for this. Every game on it is an actual game, no IAP or ads.

Sorry to be snarky, but if they were on the "Apple ecosystem" they wouldn't call a tablet "a tablet"...

Re: Show HN: Tired of mobile games with IAP and ads, I made No-Bullshit Games

#137
post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Too bad it's not targeted towards gamers :)

What do you mean?

I've taken a look at their launch list and it's 90% casual stuff with very simple mechanics that I'm not interested in.

My main entertainment has been video games for more than 30 years so I either need a story, complex systems i can mess with or maybe a reflex challenge.

Edit: Say, where can I find a complete list of the games they offer? I just checked their page and they seem very secretive about it. Another sign that it's targeted at parents buying something for the kids to shut them up :)

Re: Show HN: Tired of mobile games with IAP and ads, I made No-Bullshit Games

#138
I feel this is a google/apple problem. They need to celebrate and advertise premium games more. Instead, we're stuck in a world where most games are fremium with tons of ads or IAPs, or subscriptions..... It sucks to be a gamer.

I've seen some games that are on both Switch and Android. The Android one has ridiculous IAPs, and Switch is a one-time purchase. I get that it isn't the developer's fault. Premium games don't sell well on Android. But it sucks none the less.

Remember how Angry birds and Cut the Rope used to be good? Now they're a disgrace, full of video ads. And for most of them you cannot pay a single fee to remove.

Re: Show HN: Tired of mobile games with IAP and ads, I made No-Bullshit Games

#139
post #50

I echo the others here, Thanks! I have young kids and we let them use tablets on long trips, vacations, airplane rides. Finding games for them is impossible. They are too young to understand when characters, levels, items are locked. It seems like every 2 minutes they get stuck on some ad screen with a hidden X. I just want a game that when I pay $4, I get the full game. It doesn't even have to be a big, intensive ga…

Perhaps you'll find GCompris interesting: https://www.gcompris.net/index-en.html

It's free as in beer, as in freedom, and as in ad-free.

Re: Show HN: Tired of mobile games with IAP and ads, I made No-Bullshit Games

#140

This is why I’ve embraced Apple Arcade... it’s inexpensive and no games have in app purchases or ads it’s great

Too bad it's not targeted towards gamers :)

There are games of just about every type on Apple Arcade. There aren't a ton of competitive or "deep" games, but there were hardly any of those on mobile anyway.
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