Just going to vent about my experience browsing not just the iOS app store, but the Android as well.

It's all just god damn misleading bull**** to trick players into playing their games. Now, I understand there is really no such thing as a "free" game and that somehow they are going to expect to get money, but my anger is not directed at games that market themselves as free and compensate with ads and such. It's not directed at games like Graal that are free to experience, but with cash shops or paying to save time. Nah, those games are okay. I expect that when I download a free game.

No, my problem is with BS marketing that uses FREE to trick potential browsers into downloading their game. Now in order to save time, my experience browsing apps now consists of checking "In-Game Purchases" to make sure it doesn't include "Chapter 2" or "Full Game."

What the **** ever happened to the word "DEMO!?!" Why can't you just be upfront about the fact that the person downloading the game is not going to experience the full game? They're getting a DEMO of the game. That's what they're getting. I grew up playing games on demo discs, downloading demos on the PC. I knew what the hell I had. However on the app markets that's no longer the case. They don't want you to think you have a demo. They want you to think you're getting a full game, only piss you off when you play and 5 minutes in you get slapped with "BUY THE FULL GAME NOW."

**** you. If I ever make a game and publish it on the Android market I may charge for it, but I'll be god damn sure if it costs then I'll also upload a version with the most obvious demo title ever.  

Listen dude, everyone wants to make money. And who said you HAVE to buy the next chapter? If its so good and it gets you hooked then why can't you spare a couple of dollars to go to the hard working dev team.  

Posted by Era News

Listen dude, everyone wants to make money. And who said you HAVE to buy the next chapter? If its so good and it gets you hooked then why can't you spare a couple of dollars to go to the hard working dev team.

That's what *demos* are for, not misleading titles. He's trying to say he doesn't mind demos and paying for games, but he hates how developers don't make it clear that a demo game isn't labeled a demo. It's misleading.  

Posted by Talon

That's what *demos* are for, not misleading titles. He's trying to say he doesn't mind demos and paying for games, but he hates how developers don't make it clear that a demo game isn't labeled a demo. It's misleading.

Example of this?

I've had no experience with the android market but I know apple is extremely good at keeping scams off the App Store, and even if you get scammed you almost always get a refund. That's just my opinion.  

Can't think of one right now since I haven't visited the App Store in months, but imagine this: Zenonia 17 is released and it's free. You download it, get through the first main quest, and it prompts you to either pay or upgrade to continue the storyline.  

Posted by Era News

Example of this?

I've had no experience with the android market but I know apple is extremely good at keeping scams off the App Store, and even if you get scammed you almost always get a refund. That's just my opinion.

It's not a scam, it's just misleading consumers. No one is losing money, but it's just an annoying trend.

One of the more popular apps I remember downloading was Angry Birds: Space. It only lets you play the first few levels, but you have to pay to play the rest. It wasn't obvious in the description that it was a limited version, and in fact states it has ads(implying it was free, but supported via ads like games like Draw Something Free). Nah, everything after the first 10 levels you have to pay to play. It doesn't even have an in-app purchase to give this away. You simply have to download and play until it pops up and tells you that you need to pay to play the rest of the levels.

Examples like this pop up all the time as I browse the apps. They simply use the word "free" instead of "demo." No, a game with only 10 levels with the rest locked away via purchase is not free.  

Posted by Dusty

It's not a scam, it's just misleading consumers. No one is losing money, but it's just an annoying trend.

One of the more popular apps I remember downloading was Angry Birds: Space. It only lets you play the first few levels, but you have to pay to play the rest. It wasn't obvious in the description that it was a limited version, and in fact states it has ads(implying it was free, but supported via ads like games like Draw Something Free). Nah, everything after the first 10 levels you have to pay to play. It doesn't even have an in-app purchase to give this away. You simply have to download and play until it pops up and tells you that you need to pay to play the rest of the levels.

Examples like this pop up all the time as I browse the apps. They simply use the word "free" instead of "demo." No, a game with only 10 levels with the rest locked away via purchase is not free.

Ummm it clearly says "10 levels"  

He's talking about the titles of the games, putting it down there in the info doesn't make it too obvious.  

Posted by LavaClaw

He's talking about the titles of the games, putting it down there in the info doesn't make it too obvious.

But!!!! But!!! Ugh I got nothing u win.  

The same thing happens on WP but every XBL certified game on Windows Phone Market, (if the game is even halfway decent it is) has a "try" feature. On every single game. I'd like to see that on the other mobile OS's but it's unlikely.  

I hear you out on this, but there are some games on the appstore... like say Angry Birds, they have a lite version of it. A "Lite" is like a short version of the game, to see if you like it, like a demo.  

I hate it too. I never know if it's a free app of the day or if it's a trial for a game. I have not only lost faith in free games, but games that cost money as well. The more games I see released nowadays they are offering special bonuses to have an advantage in the game. Take Halo 4 for example. Buy Diritos and Mountain Dew and get Double EXP! Buy the Legendary Edition to get all the classes before they're released for other players! Pre-order from here, here, and here to receive special armor! What the hell ever happened to good old unlockables for everyone? Okay, I'm done ranting. Just thought I'd add that along with your post.  

This can be very annoying, is definitely why I have come off browsing in the App Store. Perhaps try using toucharcade.com when your browsing, it's an amazing website for iOS.  

Posted by Dusty

It's not a scam, it's just misleading consumers. No one is losing money, but it's just an annoying trend.

One of the more popular apps I remember downloading was Angry Birds: Space. It only lets you play the first few levels, but you have to pay to play the rest. It wasn't obvious in the description that it was a limited version, and in fact states it has ads(implying it was free, but supported via ads like games like Draw Something Free). Nah, everything after the first 10 levels you have to pay to play. It doesn't even have an in-app purchase to give this away. You simply have to download and play until it pops up and tells you that you need to pay to play the rest of the levels.

Examples like this pop up all the time as I browse the apps. They simply use the word "free" instead of "demo." No, a game with only 10 levels with the rest locked away via purchase is not free.

You can blame the high rate of app piracy on Android and iOS for this.
They wont market their games as free or demo because they really arent free or demos in the developer's mind. Sure it may be free to download which can be misleading but you may still have to pay to get a full experience as well as major advantages are also in favor of those who pay.
Its just something you have to assume nowadays when browsing for apps.  

Don't they use "lite" as in Demo in the app store, or did they stop using that?