Nintendo's mobile efforts not being typical mobile-F2P titles is a mistake
- Thread starter sanstesy
- Start date
TimeEffect
Member
Make core gamers pay for it
Then make it f2p down the line
Then make it f2p down the line
Team Filler
Member
Revolting OP. What the unwashed masses of "f2p-or-bust, I don't care if it's basically gambling" want is not what I want in Nintendo games.
Tathanen
Get Inside Her!
As mentioned by others, devaluing of game software is something Nintendo is fighting actively against. I understand the market is accustomed to a kind of pricing model, but Nintendo in this market at all is already a miracle. They won't be compromising their core ideals for a quick buck.
Permanently A
Junior Member
If they make a Pokemon gacha game the world will actually grind to a halt. Can you fuckin imagine the obscene amount of rolls someone would pay for a rayquaza or a greninja?
Some people like paying more for less I guess. This whole thread idea is awful and is actually the opposite of pro consumer.
More_Badass
Member
(Some) consumers. Many people on mobile don't want that. Considering that indie devs like Fireproof and Ustwo have sold millions of copies of their games, and this game is already topping the Top Grossing list (with a single $10 IAP), I'd say there's an audience
Top Grossing is the apps with the highest total revenue (price x quantity sold + revenue from in-app purchases).
Astral/H3X
Member
Either you're saying that significant numbers of people either kept uninstalling and reinstalling the app, or that people downloaded the game without owning it...
I... don't really think either case is true.
Watch the reviews and wait some weeks. And I already said it will make them money but the opportunity cost & overall opportunity on their brand will be huge by staying behind an atypical "pay-wall".
Fireproof and Ustwo are not games from the Mario brand. The audience is so much bigger and as a result completely different and that's why this disconnect exists. I addressed this in the OP.
Smiles and Cries
Member
The Nintendo tax. Gonna deal with it.
He's not wrong per se you know. Whether you like it or not, this is the mobile market. It's an utter nightmare. I think I've read studies that showed people would rather sit through ads once in a while than pay even the tiniest amount of money in a mobile video game. That's just how it is.
Trojan
Member
Let the free market play this out. Maybe what Nintendo is doing ends up being a shrewd strategy in the middle of F2P and traditional games. Maybe Nintendo totally cocked-up the pricing model and is losing a ton of customers. We just won't know until that data is available and reviewed.
But for what they're offering at the price is more than reasonable, OP. They have no obligation to follow the traditional F2P model and de-value their brand.
But for what they're offering at the price is more than reasonable, OP. They have no obligation to follow the traditional F2P model and de-value their brand.
Sword Of Doom
Member
Those in the pricing threads who said it was too expensive were totally dismissed for reasons such as "finally fantasy games are expensive and they do ok". But they didn't realize that those games are not targeted towards the audience Nintendo is targeting. When you look at the most successful games, they're f2p and even pay to win
elkniwcire
Member
OP is right. The reviews in the app store are relatively low for an iOS game. Many people feel like Nintendo is trying to trick them by letting them download for free, then asking for $9.99 to unlock the full version. Many others just straight up think $9.99 is too much.
Could have been better to either go full on F2P or to offer it at $9.99 upfront, instead of this weird hybrid model. We get it as gamers, but the mobile audience doesn't. They aren't used to this.
Could have been better to either go full on F2P or to offer it at $9.99 upfront, instead of this weird hybrid model. We get it as gamers, but the mobile audience doesn't. They aren't used to this.
Worthintendo
Member
The answer is to offer both, have a full unlock option like we got and then a micro-transactions mode for those who think the high price is too much.
Kinda like they do for the Streetpass games on the 3DS, you can either buy them one at a time or buy the whole lot at a slightly reduced price.
Kinda like they do for the Streetpass games on the 3DS, you can either buy them one at a time or buy the whole lot at a slightly reduced price.
I think that's a slippery road though. Pokemon is a franchise for all ages including children. Gacha systems are basically gambling.
It's going to be a nightmare for them. It'll be full of children using their parents cards to do gacha rolls, and I think it would definitely stir up a controversy among the media.
Team Filler
Member
Just because people want something for free does not mean they are entitled to it. This sort of thinking is the absolute worst.
I can't think of a better way to push away my loyalty (and money along with it) more than to engage in the same practices as the most wretched of f2p gacha-heavy games.
PorygonVandal
Member
I really think Nintendo didn't offer 9.99 upfront just to let the players try the game first instead of making them spend money on a game they may don't like
They are.
CountAntonius
Member
One will kill the other. Whales are the bread and butter of this and an unlock all option eliminates them completely and negates the entire point of microtransactions.
elkniwcire
Member
The game is free to download, but then asks for $9.99 to continue past the 3rd stage
OrbitalBeard
Member
This could be solved if Apple allowed demos.
Sword Of Doom
Member
It's business so it doesn't matter what people are entitled to or not. It's money left on the table for Nintendo
Also, this pricing issue with Mario Run extends to the console space as well. Nintendo does not discount their games in a market where that is what consumers are used to. Sure they have started doing it, but they're discounting games after 3 or more years. I wonder if they keep their high pricing for games, how that will play out it's the Switch
Looking at the proportion of one-star reviews on the App Store, I'd say it's definitely not a vocal minority of casual mobile gamers complaining.
michaelius
Banned
Distribution model is perfectly fine and fair- what isn't fine is price asked for endless runner.
I got that impression, too. It was basically try to game and if you like it...pay to buy it. I don't see anything wrong with that.
Tathanen
Get Inside Her!
I do think it's a marketing failure. Charge the money, yes, but the way they've done it is clearly coming off as deceptive to a segment of the market. I wonder if there's a quick fix there, selling it for ten up front with a separate demo, or what.
elkniwcire
Member
Yep. Never understood why they ban demos.
DigitalScrap
Member
Which is something I can't fathom. I really don't understand how people will pay $700 - $800 for a device, but then want (or even expect) everything to be free on it. So much so that they will complain and scream bloody murder when someone asks them to pay for something that had a lot of work put into it.
Of course, I'm pretty much old now, and I'm starting to understand what that means. lol I can honestly say that I truly don't understand anymore. I guess I knew this day would come, but I'm only 44. I always thought I would be like 60 before I really began to feel disconnected.
It isn't really an endless runner per se.
Could they have not just made it free to play with an in-game charge for the rest of the game? I remember that's how Capcom did some of their stuff didn't they? Or was it different on iOS?
OrbitalBeard
Member
There's nothing wrong with it, but it's a model mobile customers aren't used to. Apple should allow developers to release demos. So, there'd be two Mario Run apps on the store - a free demo and the full, $9.99 game.
This is exactly what Super Mario Run does.
From what I'm seeing people aren't necessarily upset that the game is missing microtransactions, but the fact that it's a demo with a gotcha of now pay us $10 to continue playing. Nintendo should have probably had a separate demo as well as the full version to prevent confusion.
Team Filler
Member
I know this is everyones favorite label, but I feel it's true in this case: it's entitled-millenial thinking and it is absolutely the worst.
Tathanen
Get Inside Her!
That IS what they've done.
More_Badass
Member
No, they are used to it. Free games with a single unlock have been around for years. Paid games are common too; they get highlighted every week and often get top billing as Editors Choice.
The price really doesn't matter. For example, this same uproar and anger and the flood of 1 star reviews happened when the Monument Valley devs charged $2 for an expansion
A $10 runner would be just as disappointed and earned as much anger. $10 is the $60 equivalent on mobile, the category where you find FTL, Bioshock, Final Fantasy, Baldur's Gate, RPGs and bigger strategy games, board game adaptations, and so on. You won't find a single runner or platformer there.
$10 from the start would likely result in "I paid $10 for this?" reactions, rather than "I have to pay $10 for this?"
elkniwcire
Member
This is exactly what they did. However, many people giving bad review had no idea there was a paywall of $9.99 coming when the download is free. There is no warning. It just looks like any other free game on the App Store to most people.
Fallout-NL
Member
Yeah, this is probably important to remember.
I'm pretty sure I've played other games on mobile that are the same way. What Nintendo is doing isn't new in the mobile market.
Milly Osworth
Member
OR, let's hope Nintendo can try to change how people view games on their phones. Free is bullshit, nothing is free.
I may represent the minority, but keep that F2P shit out of my Nintendo games. Pokemon Shuffle and Badge Arcade are about as much as I can stomach.
That's pretty much my attitude about mobile in general. I'll support premium titles or free-to-try games like Smash Hit and Alto's Adventure, but games that are designed to nickle and dime players and are full of ads can go to hell.
That's pretty much my attitude about mobile in general. I'll support premium titles or free-to-try games like Smash Hit and Alto's Adventure, but games that are designed to nickle and dime players and are full of ads can go to hell.
I see, I guess that's understandable. They probably should have mentioned it.
I'd agree with you but I also feel the mindset that games on mobile HAVE to be free or super cheap is incorrect. I actually agree with Nintendos stance that games have become too devalued. Something like Super Mario Run IS a 10 USD experience and ... if you don't want to pay for it you don't have to.
Nintendo isn't simply trying to make a mobile game here , they are trying to make THEIR mobile game. At prices they feel the product is worth.
It might not work but it's worth a stab in the dark. Also - in the future , they could just as easily bring out a match 3 game that IS a total garbage typical mobile title that's free to play ... to a point anyway.
My own biased opinion is that if people want better games on mobile , well they need to learn to pay money for them or they'll forever be stuck with trash.
Nintendo isn't simply trying to make a mobile game here , they are trying to make THEIR mobile game. At prices they feel the product is worth.
It might not work but it's worth a stab in the dark. Also - in the future , they could just as easily bring out a match 3 game that IS a total garbage typical mobile title that's free to play ... to a point anyway.
My own biased opinion is that if people want better games on mobile , well they need to learn to pay money for them or they'll forever be stuck with trash.
OrbitalBeard
Member
It's definitely not new, but it's pretty rare, particularly in the modern mobile era.
Captain Europe
Member
Isn't Pokemon Go F2P as well? I haven't bought any Pokeballs or whatever tho.
Wait...doesn't it say there's a $9.99 unlock on the left side of the screen? Games that have a pay option always have it listed on the main page for the game/app. There shouldn't have been any sticker shock here.
CountAntonius
Member
Nintendo already has F2P bullshit in their games though. Those Amiibo cards in animal crossing are very much f2p level bullshit.