| Cult of Mac

Nintendo legend says company should shun free-to-play games

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Apple
Miyamoto tries out a freehand sketch on the iPad Pro.
Photo: Apple

Were you worried that Nintendo was going to go down the free-to-play route with its games? Don’t worry: Shigeru Miyamoto has your back.

The legendary game designer behind many of Nintendo’s most iconic titles is urging his colleagues to shun the freemium business model for games.

New App Store section showcases non-freemium games

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Apple is now promoting
Apple is now promoting "Pay Once & Play" games on the iOS App Store. Photo: MacStories

Let’s face it: Freemium games and games with an inordinate number of in-app purchases are out of control on the App Store. To a certain extent, that’s understandable: Developers are hard-pressed to get anyone to download their games if they charge money for them, which means it’s all a race to the bottom. The only way to get any visibility is for developers to release their games free, then hope they can make money later.

In a refreshing move, though, Apple is trying to do something about its freemium problem, by highlighting “Pay Once & Play” games that charge players once upfront, then never bug them for more money again.

It’s A Race To The Bottom: Only 1 App In 10,000 Will Be A Financial Success By 2018

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apps

Photo: Apple

It’s possible to make a lot of money by writing an iOS app. In fact, the top iOS app makers each gross as much as $90,000 a day from their offerings. Yet despite these success stories, the vast majority of app developers are finding it difficult to make money on the App Store, and the bad news is, it’s only going to get worse, with a new forecast predicting that less than one app in 10,000 will make money by 2018. Woof.

FIFA 14 Now Available On iOS For Free

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FIFA-14-iPad

EA Sports has brought the controversial free-to-play game model to the world’s biggest soccer franchise in FIFA 14 for iOS, which is now available to download from the App Store — three days before the big console release.

The title boasts a whole heap of improvements, including a new and intuitive control system, online multiplayer, a game of the week feature, and the hugely popular FIFA Ultimate Team mode.

Pirate Legends TD Keeps The Cannonballs Firing With Waves Of Whimsy [Review]

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Let’s be clear: I love tower defense games. I’ve been a fan since the first time I played Desktop Tower Defense on Kongregate, I fell hard for Gem Keeper and Fieldrunners, and I carry a torch for Kingdom Rush.

Pirate Legends TD by Super Hippo Studios Limited
Category: iOS Games
Works With: iPhone, iPad
Price: Free

These are tough waters to compete in, especially with a free-to-play business model that needs to encourage players to spend real money to help fund the game itself. There’s a delicate balance in tower defense games, between too easy and too difficult.

Does Super Hippo Studios Limited’s Pirate Legends TD bring enough to the table, then, to stand next to these others?

It’s About Time: ‘Plants vs. Zombies 2’ Now Available In U.S. App Store

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Plants Vs. Zombies 2 was one of several iOS exclusives upon its launch.
Plants Vs. Zombies 2 was one of several iOS exclusives upon its launch.

You’ve been waiting for months and months, and it’s finally time. Plants vs. Zombies 2 is finally available in the U.S. App Store after a soft launch last month in Australia and New Zealand.

The download is free, but there are in-app purchases for certain upgrades and power-ups. But it’s not the annoying kind of freemium like Real Racing; you can play through the whole game just fine without having to buy anything. We’ll have a full review up soon.

So what are you waiting for? The sequel to one of the best iOS games in history just came out. Get downloading!

Source: App Store

‘Infinity Blade II’ Gained Almost 6 Million Players During App Store Giveaway

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Infinity-Blade-II

When the App Store celebrated its fifth birthday last week, Apple made a number of top iOS apps and games free. One of those was Infinity Blade II, and it was the first time the title had been given away since its release in November 2011.

So it’s hardly surprising it was a massive success. In just seven days, the sword-fighting action game had attracted 5.7 million new players, with 1.7 million of those getting the game on the first day the promotion went live.

Android Piracy Outnumbers iOS Piracy By 14:1, Driving Devs To Freemium-Only Model

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We’ve heard before that piracy is just killing Android developers. It’s such a wide scale problem that some devs are finding little incentive, between piracy and fragmentation, to actually release their games on Android.

Sadly, the problem doesn’t seem to be getting any better. Another developer has just released details on the massive problem they are having on Android with app piracy. How bad is it? Piracy on Android outnumbers iOS piracy by fourteen to one. Woof!