What do you think of Freemium games?

Kern007

Lurker
A lot of Android games are freeium now, they're free but you have to spend money for stuff in the game.
 

jerofld

Fixing stuff is not easy
It really depends on the model for me. If it's a 1 time payment for extra levels/zones, I'm fine with it. If it's for points that are expended to progress...I'm against it. I do not play games made by Glu anymore because of these practices.
 

Essex

Android Enthusiast
I generally hate freemium games. Like an earlier poster said, I don't mind paying to unlock more levels or to disable ads. I can't stand games that require IAP just to advance without weeks of grinding. I wish devs would charge an up-front fee for their games, but I suspect that the freemium model is more profitable...
 

Boriqua

Newbie
Im having trouble finding games recently that arent Freemium. Sucks! I'm also cool with paying for the game up front and paying a fee later for extra levels but ... you want a shotgun you have to pay for it or you cant go forward .. well that is bull. Just nickle and dimeing
Alex
 

ktchong

Android Enthusiast
I avoid them altogether. Unfortunately, "free-to-play" games have become the mainstream on Android, which is the reason why iPhone and iPad have superior gaming ecosystem.
 
I avoid them altogether. Unfortunately, "free-to-play" games have become the mainstream on Android, which is the reason why iPhone and iPad have superior gaming ecosystem.

Living in both "ecosystems", as you call them, I can nary tell a difference between the two in terms of pricing model preference. Right now developers are releasing on iOS first, certainly, and that would be an advantage, but that's about all I could point to.

Most freemium games are of little interest to me, but there are a few that I do enjoy. For some reason, I love Stardom, which is kind of embarassing. I've thrown them $10 in purchases not because I needed to (I already had done all there was to do in the game), but because I had enjoyed it so much that I felt good giving them some cash.

I also like Coin Dozer quite a bit. I know a lot of people get frustrated by the "energy refresh" model, but if a game is good it's probably the freemium model I have the most tolerance for.
 

shawn672

Newbie
I prefer to just pay once after testing the game, but I do play a couple Freemium games. You CAN play and do decent without paying any/much, but it's much more difficult and takes a lot longer. You're constantly struggling to keep up with others your level.
 
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