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Re:Super Mario Run by kbenson on Friday December 16, 2016 @11:30AM (#13194366)
In-app purchases are not inherently problematic, it's when they are used as a core mechanism to play the game that they become a problem. I have no problem with in-app purchases to make things easier, or let people skip levels when it's not a direct competition between players. That might even induce some developers to actually put some challenge into the game. The problem is when it's not just challenging, but nearly (or actually!) impossible without the in-app purchases. Then we're talking about a bait-and-switch, and that infuriates me as well.
Re:Super Mario Run by thinkmassive on Friday December 16, 2016 @09:07PM (#13198705)
Mobile Strike is awful about this. I have strong feelings about that game in particular because I rarely play games, but this particular one got me to try it (probably due to a massive marketing campaign) and then I ended up spending far more money and time on it than probably all other mobile games I've ever played combined. After all that I realized I didn't even enjoy it, and soon they came out with new upgrades, which was enough to make me realize I should never play it again and consider the time and money already spent as a learning experience.

Now I stick to puzzle games that provide a large amount of enjoyment relative to the cost. The Room series is phenomenal.

Re:Super Mario Run by joslin01 on Friday December 16, 2016 @12:38PM (#13195039)
I'm not trying to be pedantic here or unnecessarily argumentative when I disagree and say indeed, in-app purchases are inherently problematic.

They open up pandora's box and allow game devs to focus on superficialities to increase revenue (such as a bonus level, ways to skip level, etc..). Were the playing field completely even -- no in-app purchases -- gameplay would necessarily have to win out and people might spend more time reading mobile game reviews.

When you can be angry bird and get on the top grossing list for a long, long time because you got in-app purchases, I believe it skews the data and as a result, many are poorly informed as to which game truly is the best.

Re:Super Mario Run by kbenson on Friday December 16, 2016 @01:17PM (#13195379)
> allow game devs to focus on superficialities to increase revenue

But you've defeated your own point by using the word "allow", which while it it accurate, illustrates why it's not inherent. It's not inherent because they aren't forced to. Is it likely? Sure. Are the incentives all screwed up? Sure. But it's possible to use in-app purchases in responsible ways (such as purchasing future "episodes" of more story driven content, extra level packs, etc as long as the core game provided "enough"[1] content).

1: Which is entirely subjective, and I submit that some people that would have been completely happy with content delivered as is without the ability to download more for cost interpret the situation differently when they see extra content available.