I don't know if I would agree with you on that. I've heard a decent number of iPhone gamers, and journalists particularly, asking for deeper gaming experiences from the App store, and I think that sentiment rings even truer on the iPad. But I do think it's interesting what you say, and I would like to see some hard data on exactly what types of games iPhone and iPad owners actually want. I'm going to try posting a poll into the gaming section to see what kinds of responses it gets. I know it won't be foolproof, but it'll be a start.
I feel that the current trend of "I won't pay more than $1 for an app" has to stop. I am not a developer. I am a gamer. I have purchased hundreds of apps since my first in July of 2008. I admit that the .99 cent bargain price has resulted in the purchase of quite a few apps. However, looking at the apps I use every day, very few of them are ".99 bargains". In fact, most of those bargains are sitting in limbo on my computer as a warning that I should be more careful in what I purchase. When I bought my iPad I was relieved to see that prices looked a lot more reasonable. I had zero problems with spending $10 on Plants vs. Zombies for the iPad (after all, I spent $20 on it through Steam). I feel that the developers are short changing themselves when they are selling high quality games for less than $5. An example is "Angry Birds". Why is this a .99 app? I have personally spent hours playing this and would have been happy spending much more for it. I feel that I've ripped off the developers! That being said, I don't like the idea of spending an additional $15 on an "HD" version of a game that I had already purchased for $10 on my iPhone - especially when there is no additional content. I would be happy to pay the additional $5 to upgrade (maybe through in app purchase??). In addition, I am not okay with ads in apps I spend money on, unless said apps are inexpensive, high-quality games (see my "Angry Birds" example above). I think a lot of the problems with these high-quality games getting overlooked may be the fault of us gamers. We aren't doing our part to rate these games. I have been very lazy in rating most of the apps I use. I check out the forums and reviews here on TA to see what people have to say before I purchase apps. I've stopped reading the reviews on iTunes because most of them are 1-star hate mail stating that the app was "too expensive" or didn't do everything in the world for a buck. (Not to mention the atrocity of "rate upon delete".) We would be doing ourselves a favor if we rate highly the games we love. This is something I will be better about from now on. I know that I'll get ripped apart by the bargain hunters that feel that if games are more than a buck, then they'll jailbreak and download it for free. But, I love playing games on my iPhone/iPad. I want to see these talented developers succeed. Due to my busy lifestyle, I spend far more hours playing games on iDevices than on my PS3, 360, Wii, PSP, and DS combined! I hate that my console of choice has been the butt of "all it can play are crappy iFart games" jokes. I'd love to see a sequel to "GI Joyride" or "Hook Champ". I'd love to see what new things indy developers can create with these amazing devices. We gamers need to wake up and realize that these incredible games are worth far more than a Value Meal. If we don't, there will soon be nothing worth playing in the app store.
First of all, I'm really glad how this thread has turned into a healthy discussion. Lots of great insights, tips and info we can all learn from! I used to have a business model revolving around my company when I first ventured into the iPhone app market. Now I realize that I should instead have a separate business model for each product I release and not just my company in general. Will it be a paid app? Paid app with in-app items? Freemium model? Before I release a new title I always ask myself this--do I prefer a single customer who buys my game and gives it a nice review, follow me on twitter, subscribe to my mailing list and evangelize my game to others or settle for ten customers who will buy my game in a heart beat w/out any of the icing above? My game's price will always depend on my answer to this question. I usually end up working hard (for months) on a quality title and releasing it on a price (a little below) I feel its worth rather than an app I can finish in a week or two and sell right away. As I mentioned previously, what I'm after are "serious" customers and not just the profit (of course we still need this to survive). I firmly believe that as soon as my customer base is established, the profits will come in after. After all, huge companies like EA, Gameloft, etc. must have started as a small company before they got to where they are now, right? Of course, your price will still depend on how you view things--the market, the whole industry, your competition, your marketing strategy, your product costs--and this is just my point of view.
@Buzzly: Thank you for your inputs coming from a gamer's perspective! Its gamers like you where we get our inspiration from.
In most cases, the development cycle for upgrading screen resolution is not much of an issue. Most developers (including myself) have much higher resolution art assets to back it up. Of course, there might be problems in the process but in general it is not that hard. As well as this, I am an experienced developer myself - I know about the difficulties of development. Yes, it can be frustrating to price your app lower than you think it is worth, but cheap greed has very few excuses.
Oh, I'm basing my comments on that too. I often see the top charts containing games like GTA, NOVA, Modern Combat, etc. Anyway, I posted the poll a few days ago. It's obviously not going to be conclusive, but I think it's certainly indicative. Distilled, 70% want more DS/PSP/console-like games on the iPhone, while 20% want the quick, pick-up and play type games. http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=51741
