IAP's and ads, and whether or not you would buy your own IAP's etc.

KevinCross

I want to apologize for all of the questions below. Was having a bit of a brain dump...

Do any of you add consumable IAP's in your games, even though you yourself generally wouldn't buy consumables in other games? Do you ask yourself if you would buy the IAP's you're adding, or have added?

I rarely buy consumable IAP's as I often see them being overpriced for what you get, especially by the bigger game companies that offer them. The IAP's I tend to buy are non-consumable ones like game expansions and to remove ads. I so hate ads!

That leads me on to another question... do any of you add ads in your games, even though you yourself hate playing games with ads? Ads jar me, especially the ones that pop up with videos every 10 seconds. Those tend to get instantly deleted from my device.

I don't think I would ever add ads in a game (I'm on the fence with this one). The ads that I feel work the best (for me personally) are the ones where you have to watch a video to get some coins, but not sure if that's something that can be done in GameSalad. I'll look into that another time if needed.

I did add consumable IAP's in the last game I released, but I would never buy them. Looking back now I definitely should have given one that more thought >.<

Do you put a lot of thought into how you monetize a free app? Do you try and build IAP's that you would buy yourself if someone else had made the game? Do you show ads, even if you don't like seeing them in other games and apps?

I'm no where near a finished product as I'm still just trying to get back into the swing of developing and finding something that I want to see through to the end, but I'm constantly thinking about the above, so wanted to hear your thoughts too.

The_Gamesalad_Guru

I'm thinking of going back to straight sale myself.

KevinCross

@The_Gamesalad_Guru said:
I'm thinking of going back to straight sale myself.

I'm considering this too. I'm happy to throw a squid or two at the App Store to download a game I've not played yet, based on the screenshots/description alone. I'd much rather do that then pay 1.99 for in-game coins that would just about give me enough to feed two cows on a farm once...

KnightStar

I've completely abandoned Ads and have really limited the use of IAPs as of late.

Ads just feel cheap and really detract from the game experience. I personally feel that if I can't make a game that someone would be willing to cough up at least $.99 for, then I personally have failed in making something worth while..

As for IAPs, they really need to be worth while - you see a lot of games out now that have a 'pay to win' functionality or worse, play on users laziness or desire for a quick advantage, oftentimes using questionable (in my opinion) motivations to get folks to cough up cash. If someone's going to pull out their hard earned cash for additional content or a golden goodie, it sure better be worth the $.99+ for which. As far as I'm concerned, I'm more interested in emulating Miyamoto (or any other great Game Designers) vs. emulating P.T. Barnum ("There's a sucker born every minute..").

All that said, it also brings up a second and equally important point of monetization. Unless folks are making games just as a hobby, etc., we developers need to consider how we're going to make our money back and perhaps eek out a profit. Folks need to weigh A) how much is their time worth, B ) how much time and resources have they invested in the game, and C) considering the price point being set for a Game, how many downloads are needed to both break even and then start making money.

And don't even get me started on Advertising and how to get any sort of awareness out there these days..

-- J

jamie_c

I've never used IAP's and probably never will because I hate them myself in other games. I have always produced two separate versions of my games one with ads for free and one without ads for sale. I have not made a whole lot of money to date but most of the money I have made has come from direct sale of the games.

KevinCross

Thanks for your thoughts guys. I was thinking that if I ever did finish a new game I would definitely go ad free again.

If I don't like ads it seems strange for me to add them in. I was going to add ads into my first three games but decided against it before I launched them.

I almost definitely won't be adding consumable IAP's either, not if I wouldn't buy them

I might have to adopt your thinking @KnightStar about failing if you haven't made something worthy enough to sell for $0.99 shrug it off, learn from it and better the next one.

I have to decide whether or not I create one IAP that unlocks the full game/expansions or have a price up front with no demo. Like I say I've purchased games before based on the screenshots and description and have never got all upset if I didn't like it.

It is just a hobby for me at the moment, so making money isn't really the goal. But of course seeing a little something in return for your efforts is always a bonus!

I quite like creating basic game mechanic templates so might start doing that again until I have a simple game idea that I want to see through to the end. Even now they seem to be downloaded more than my games on the App Store. That's rewarding in itself.

ant_lad

Shouldn't IAP be thought of by the app?
Multi-player needs them, as some always want a leg up. An RPG should have them, as some really want to spend $10 to get powerful stuff to blow through the game in 2 days.
Always remember that you have no idea what motivates an individual user.
Do some searches, there are some great articles about this

Lovejoy

I believe having a free game with ads and an IAP to remove ads is the way to go. Make the remove ads IAP at least $1.99 If the user chooses not to buy it then thats ok too. Since the revenue Chartboost makes adds up to a hefty amount as well.

Adding other IAP is always a good idea, something like visual IAP are an example, some users are willing to spend $$ just to change the way their character looks, not changing gameplay whatsoever which is a plus.

The main thing to worry about is advertising your game and getting it to as many people as possible. Having a polished game obviously helps too, but crappy games can work as well, crappy games can increase the chances of the user clicking a chartboost ad and downloading whatever game, essentially earning you money.

Here is a short example of the ECPM you get with chartboost, which i have found to be the best.

I will not be showing revenue since thats more of a private matter.

supafly129

I think IAPs and ads really depend on the type of game you end up building. Quick-play games like Crossy Road etc. can do exceptionally well with ads because the replay value is so high. On the other hand, most people probably wouldn't pay even $0.99 for a game like that up front because there are so many free alternatives to the endless runner genre.

I generally look at and study monetization strategies of games with similar concepts to whatever I'm developing, and then if it makes sense, I consider implementing it in my own game. Whatever you do, you just want to never force anything that will break the flow of gameplay and ruin the whole experience for the players.

BigDave

i dont do in-apps below $1.99 and try to add one luxury in-app too ranging between $9.99 to $14.99

if i can't sell ($1.99) in this the game it is not worth launching, or needs more work or is put aside

Chartboost and iAds are essential to my revenue stream even tough I slowly catch up with none-consumable IAPS and also set my focus there

A banner ad for google play and amazon would be another 320 Euro per month so I wait for that update..

Big games on average sell more in-apps on a higher price thats one reason why they can stay on the top positions within the store.
The more you can potentially earn per user (ARPPU) the more you can invest in user acquisition and that will decide the survivability of your game on the long run.