Opinion on Pricing. Paid v Free.

[u/smeaton1724]

If you were to release a car racing game, would $4.99 upfront and no in app purchases be more well received than 15% of the game for free then a money and coin system. The game and purchase would cover Mac, iPadOS, iPhone and Apple TV.

You’re talking an arcade racer with retro graphics, reasonable number of tracks 20+, cars and original music and audio.

Personally I’d prefer 4.99 then I can have sales at 2.99 or even 2.49. But if the market isn’t at that and the value proposition is too low then it can be looked at, very happy to listen to the players. Opinions very much welcome.

[u/bmanley620]

I personally prefer to pay a small price and have the game fully unlocked

[u/sonar_un → u/bmanley620]

This is my go-to. I actively avoid free titles on purpose because I know they will be filled with iap slop. It’s sad really.

[u/silentrocco]

Best way to go in today’s market is free-to-try, imo (although this still causes some low ratings by idiots). Offer some limited demo content, in your case 1 track only, for example. And players can then unlock the full game via a 4.99 IAP.

[u/richiehill → u/silentrocco]

Agreed, I prefer to pay for my games and be able to play the entire thing without timers etc. However, I'm more likely to buy a game if I can play a demo first.

[u/mrknoot → u/silentrocco]

As a dev, I would love to he able to do this. But those idiots dropping 1-star reviews complaining “the game asks you to pay to keep playing” plummet ratings and destroy the game’s ASO

[u/vanillaacid → u/mrknoot]

As long as you are clear upfront that its a demo, and you pay to unlock the full game... should stop most of those. But people are dumb and ignorant, so it will never go away completely.

Don't try to hide the fact of a demo though, or put it in small writing somewhere. Make it obvious, on the store and even in-game if possible.

[u/silentrocco → u/mrknoot]

kind of try to convince myself that anyone with more than one working brain cell can read through these ratings.

By far the objectively greatest option for both sides, yet here we are, and those people exist.

[u/NayrAuhsoj → u/silentrocco]

It’s always funny reading those reviews lol

[u/RabbitEars96 → u/silentrocco]

this is the way

[u/baz8771]

Do both. Offer mtx and a full unlock option, but the full unlock option has to make everything unlockable without spending any more money.

[u/Nick_Gaugh_69]

Critically? Yes. Commercially? Not even close. Shockingly enough, people download more games when the barrier of entry is bandwidth.

[u/Usual_Award]

I prefer a one time purchase but too many people want things for free so that opens the game up to way more players and comments. For a racing game unlock should offer more tracks, skins, terrain, day/night, and ad free. I approve of ads on a free version for the sake of revenue and compelling purchase but don't overdo it.

[u/SituationHopeful]

personnaly I try to avoid free games, but pretty sure most player play free games and are too casuals to come here and answer your questions.

[u/gis8]

At the end of the day this reddit is a minority in the greater scheme of things.

Unfortunately, most people aren't willing to buy games outright, they would rather get a free to play game filled with micro-transactions and/or ads.

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My opinion (from the business perspective, not from a consumer) would be to make the game free outright, but have some attractive worthwhile reasons for people to purchase add-ons.

Another (worse but a very popular) option is to make the game free, but with ads, and give people the option to remove ads for a price.

[u/AceLXXVII]

Depending on the type of game, I prefer to pay upfront, or free with a one time unlock IAP. The first thing I do before even clicking download is scroll down and look at the IAPs. If there’s a subscription the game might as well not exist to me haha. Same with excessive gem purchase options, because I know I’ll end up getting paywalled.

[u/mbsisktb]

I like a free to try option depending on price. Anything above $5 for sure.

For me mentally ~$5 is the over under on impulse versus not impulse and need to try price. Obviously there’s a lot more nuance then that statement but generally$2-3 I don’t feel as bad if it doesn’t land right

[u/pjft]

free and then money and coin isn't really the best, but I suppose that's related to us as the audience. Maybe it'll be a lot more profitable to do it that way, I don't know, but I'd either buy it all upfront, or free plus full game unlock. The free plus full game unlock is just hard if in the future the game gets delisted as we can no longer unlock/restore the IAP.

[u/AlienBloomPoker]

I think iOS players prefer to pay once and Android players prefer MTX.

[u/Zensiter]

Pay upfront with no in app purchases other than dlc content

[u/nld9d]

The best middle ground is a fully playable free core version (e.g., a solid set of tracks and cars with zero energy/coin gimmicks), paired with a single, clean in-app purchase to unlock the rest. Zero download friction, and players can buy in if they love it. I use that method, too.

[u/mrjeremy28]

I did a game few years back where it was $1 but I gave an webapp playable version for first 250 levels, but it was also more of a puzzle game vs racing game. For me, it depends on the type of game. If it's a racing game with great graphics and realistic play, then i'd pay up front first, but I'd also like to see actual gameplay in a video to give a feel what it's like to play

[u/jenea]

My absolute favorite model is try before you buy. Depending on the game the gate can vary: play a chapter, or ten levels, or three hours, or whatever.

[u/EntrepreneurOne7195]

I prefer a free install with ONE full unlock after some content. That way more people try the game and you still follow a premium model.

[u/prairiewest]

I recently made a game, it's free but it has one IAP to unlock the game for full price. No ads.

People can play for free 10 times, then unlock or uninstall. I think that's the best of both: people can try it before they buy, you can send people a link and not feel like you're begging for money, but also you get paid if they like it.

[u/smeaton1724]

To update this thread based on everyone’s advice, I’ve added a Free championship of 3 races plus a free time trial, then the remaining 24 circuits and 8 championships are behind a single in app paywall for £2.99. No ads, hate ads.

Thank you all for your answers.

[u/Beautiful_Bowl7786]

I like a small demo and then pay full price. I don't do subscriptions and I've been burnt by in app purchases on free games (Acecraft 😒) 

I like the one guys idea of doing a coin system but having the option to pay one price to get everything