As Apple’s App Store grows and more publishers seek recognition, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company is set to highlight ‘premium’ games priced at $19.99, reports said Thursday.
The action is viewed as yet more confirmation traditional game publishers see the Apps Store and the iPhone and iPod touch as new vehicles to reach customers.
Athough the move would allow big-name games to stand-out from the $0.99 apps, the move is being criticized for a form of red-lining. The new ‘premium’ games section would be limited to large publishers, such as Electronic Arts.
“This would exclude the burgeoning independent scene,” according to one report.
In a related development, Apple has dropped its all-or-nothing conversion of DRM-based purchases to the copy-protection free iTunes Plus format. In the past, iTunes users were forced to pay $0.30 per tune to convert their entire digital music collection, rather than on a song-by-song basis.
The change means the “Buy All” button has been replaced with a “Buy” button for each song, according to Ars Technica.
