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How Game of War makes more than $1M a day

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Re: How Game of War makes more than $1M a day

#21
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can play it, but to compete well you need to spend money. Pay to win, like any other game. So no, it's not good. It's based on wallet size, not skill.

Is there any competitive simulation game for mobile that is not pay to win? I'm looking for something along the lines of League of Legends business model.

[deleted]

Re: How Game of War makes more than $1M a day

#22
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. I think these games teach its players harmful life lessons too. They're rewarded for spending the most money (like GoW) or for showing up (like an MMO). That's not how you get good at things in real life. I've been a (relatively serious) gamer since I was a kid. My parents always thought it was a waste of time. But I think I learned more about dedication and growth playing WC3 than I did playing sports. I def…

"They're rewarded... for showing up (like an MMO). That's not how you get good at things in real life." It really is though. If you show up every day and put in the work, you WILL get better at whatever you're doing. That's also something your colleagues and the people who surround you appreciate, see Cal Ripken, Jr. for example. He wasn't an outstanding player, but he didn't miss a single game for 16 years, he showe…

In competitive games (UT, Quake, CS etc.) you get better by playing and critical analysis of your and your enemie's playing. In WoW, you get better through, more or less, mindless grinding. At least so mindless that you can pay peons to do the work for you, so you can enjoy your level 100 character.

Re: How Game of War makes more than $1M a day

#23

Does no one here play arcade games? Okay granted In-App purchases are generally more than 25-50 cents or the 1-2$ it costs these days at your local AMC, but I don't think it's disappointing in the slightest (and pretty predictable if you look at gaming history) that many people prefer to throw a few bucks a week at a casual game vs. spending $60 on something that might sit on the shelf. Though, I'm more a Clash of Cl…

As a sample, how much do you spend on Clans? It seems hard to find people who will admit they make in-app purchases.

I play simcity buildit and I'm not tempted to buy things, I find it a challenge to get by without purchases. I can imagine as time goes by that games will get less playable without the purchases.

Re: How Game of War makes more than $1M a day

#24
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can play it, but to compete well you need to spend money. Pay to win, like any other game. So no, it's not good. It's based on wallet size, not skill.

Is there any competitive simulation game for mobile that is not pay to win? I'm looking for something along the lines of League of Legends business model.

Vainglory

Hearthstone is also a good one if you're more into CCGs. Prime World Defenders has gotten me lately too, though that's just a single-player game.

Re: How Game of War makes more than $1M a day

#25

Is it good? Article is silent on that. Not one screenshot.

Does it matter? It's compulsive. That's why whales will spend $40k of money they don't have on in-app purchases.

I got the impression the whales can afford it. I'm sure there's counter-examples, but I'd imagine the "whales" are just very wealthy people, generally.

Re: How Game of War makes more than $1M a day

#26

Is it good? Article is silent on that. Not one screenshot.

Nope. The graphics are overly intricate and look messy on small screens. The UI is incredibly cluttered and has distracting animations you can tap to spend money. The game is essentially about optimization, spending resources to get more resources and hopefully make your numbers higher than other players' numbers. That kind of management game can be fun, but when the most powerful resource you can spend is real-world money, it's little more than a spending competition.

Re: How Game of War makes more than $1M a day

#27

Does no one here play arcade games? Okay granted In-App purchases are generally more than 25-50 cents or the 1-2$ it costs these days at your local AMC, but I don't think it's disappointing in the slightest (and pretty predictable if you look at gaming history) that many people prefer to throw a few bucks a week at a casual game vs. spending $60 on something that might sit on the shelf. Though, I'm more a Clash of Cl…

As a sample, how much do you spend on Clans? It seems hard to find people who will admit they make in-app purchases. I play simcity buildit and I'm not tempted to buy things, I find it a challenge to get by without purchases. I can imagine as time goes by that games will get less playable without the purchases.

same thing here. I played some PvZ2 without buying anything. A pity, I would have easily paid 7$ for it as a full game(I know I must be in a minority though). The new content pack (beach themed) seems to focus on arcade like experience where you need to pay some credits in order to advance. At that point I just stopped playing.

Re: How Game of War makes more than $1M a day

#28
post #2

"in-app purchases" no surprise here

I have some experience with game development and that is essentially the only way you can make money on the app store these days. If you charge more than the minimum (which may currently be zero) you will have no chance of getting into the top 10, so no way to make your money back. With in app purchases you can also make a lot more money from your whales, rather than charging everybody 10 usd - it doesn't quite solve the consumer surplus demand curve issue, but it does help.

And the gaming industry is such a bad bet financially (I am pretty sure the industry overall loses money) that you have to make as much as you can.

Re: How Game of War makes more than $1M a day

#29

Is it good? Article is silent on that. Not one screenshot.

Does it matter? It's compulsive. That's why whales will spend $40k of money they don't have on in-app purchases.

There is a reason at least one the really big casual gaming company allow you to deposit checks to get in game currency - because the really big whales are in the middle east and that is how they like to spend their money.

The people spending 40k can afford it, don't worry - and they might as well use the oil money for something.

Re: How Game of War makes more than $1M a day

#30

Does no one here play arcade games? Okay granted In-App purchases are generally more than 25-50 cents or the 1-2$ it costs these days at your local AMC, but I don't think it's disappointing in the slightest (and pretty predictable if you look at gaming history) that many people prefer to throw a few bucks a week at a casual game vs. spending $60 on something that might sit on the shelf. Though, I'm more a Clash of Cl…

As a sample, how much do you spend on Clans? It seems hard to find people who will admit they make in-app purchases. I play simcity buildit and I'm not tempted to buy things, I find it a challenge to get by without purchases. I can imagine as time goes by that games will get less playable without the purchases.

I have spent a total of £15 on it, in around 18 months.

I bought 2 builders near the very start. Then I got frustrated with slow progress about 12 months ago and hit buy on some gems to speed things up.

The first purchase I never regretted.

The second I regretted almost straight away and promised myself never to buy/spend anymore. I got a brief glimmer of a future filled with regret looking at how much I would pouring into the game regularly and decided to not walk that path.

I still play occasionally play (been on TH9 for a long long time), but it's pretty much open it in the morning, collect elixir/gold, refill traps & xbows, donate troops to clan members, spend anything I've accumulated (probably once a fortnight now). It's more of a habit than anything and frankly one I'm glad I don't spend any money or serious time on.

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