A Revolution for Gaming against Freemium (Editorial)

[Macktion]

Happy 5th of November! Traditionally this day is for a call to action, and I give you one here: Let us put a stop to the spread of the Freemium model!

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Too Long Didn't Watch: On Black Friday, uninstall any Freemium game. If we do this together, and Devs see a sharp increase in uninstalls, maybe we can send the message, and halt the Freemium model from getting any worse.

Help spread the word! I am using the tag #EndFreemium, feel free to use it as well. Share and embed this!

What do you think? Am I crazy, or can this actually work?

 

[liftedplane]

I think it's a great idea, sadly it probably won't do anything.

freemium is garbage, and yet somehow it caught on.

I'll do this, we just uninstall them and DO NOT reinstall

it's like the gas price walkouts, don't buy gas on such an such day... then the companies raise the price the day after, they make more and we look like fools.

 

[Macktion]

And then there were TWO!
I think you are right, in that there are unintended consequences to actions, but our distaste for the model is not accurately captured by us just 'not buying' or 'not installing'. Its hard for them to get that info till the company goes under. That is why, I think, indie devs are floundering in and around this climate. Big companies can make it work even at very small profits, because of diversified income, but Indies just... can't.

But in this burgeoning movement, we should all try and make it better. I agree, uninstall and stay away is a good way to keep from getting gouged.

 

[Ollie]

I'm with you on this. I would much rather see a full blown paid game than a freemium version that wants to nickel and dime me to death. I simply won't play them anymore.

 

[justin82]

i am with everyone else on this rather have paid games that don't link to FB .. so tired of game request..i think i finally have them all shutdown.

Problem is that i have no games to uninstall ..

 

[liftedplane]

there are wonderful ad based games out there that have special offers like Quell memento etc. some companies do it properly... others are just money grabbers, I have a friend who spent a couple thousand on facebook games... I couldn't believe it when they told me... I definitely lost respect for said person.

I've bought a couple of coins here and there on some of these games, I used a bot in Kingdoms of Camelot because... why not... played for 2 years before I got bored, the only possible way to win was either buy EVERYTHING, play all the time (impossible) or bot... I chose to bot.

I won't support those games anymore though. I'm completely done with them

read this

This is what Candy Crush Saga does to your brain Dana Smith Science The Guardian

we may not be able to beat freemium, it's quite literally a drug to some people.

 

[dgstorm]

South Park agrees with us: South Park skewers freemium games

 

[Jonny Kansas]

I'm torn here. I really am.

I get that they want money for their efforts.

I like to support devs that create apps and games that I enjoy.

I'd like to pay once for a game and be done with it, unless they release a major update package or something for some pocket change that's optional.

I guess I lean more towards feeling like the OP here though. I'm having this issue with Angry Birds Transformers right now. I refuse to give them money in their new freemium model, but I also like to get into a game and play for an extended time when I have the time. They're not allowing this with the model. You have to wait to upgrade, heal, for new levels/challenges to open up, but you can spend gems to make anything instant. Which is ok if you have them, but we all know how easy they make it to get gems at first, and how incredibly ridiculous it is to try and earn them later.

Ok. In the course of typing my post, I'm no longer torn. I hate the freemium model. Take my few dollars and stfu. Haha!

Leo's Fortune is a good example of a game that could've done the freemium thing, but inistead charged a slightly more premium price, which I paid willingly and have been enjoying, even though the levels raise my blood pressure something fierce.

As for uninstalling the games, I have to agree with @liftedplane. "Revolts" like this never have the desired effect. The "don't buy gas day" thing is a great analogy.

Devs have been using this model more and more because it makes them money. That's what they want. We'll occasionally see some purists who just want to build something awesome and break even, and I think Macktion is on to something when he suggests that Indie devs will and have had trouble competing, but I don't see the market changing any time soon...

 

[Jonny Kansas]

I do, however, appreciate the option to watch an ad in exchange for doubling my take on a level. Obnoxious, but it's 20 seconds or so where I can set the phone down, take a break, & gain more coins for doing nothing.

Sent from my Note 4

 

[Macktion]

I have to interject by saying how much good conversation is coming out of this. I think the potential for unintended consequences is real, and we need to be careful about it, but I think that with the recent video from South Park, there is great cause for hope of this gaining traction. As much as I would like to think so, my ability to get the same traction as those guys with their #Freemiumisntfree episode is... well, just not at the same level.
Ill be back with a part 2 in an hour (busy day!).

 

[Macktion]

So, I did not wind up coming back very quickly with my part 2. (technical Difficulties) But I have one for you now.
It became problematic to engage some people on this issue, mostly because I think that a lot of people have never considered the other side of the equation: the strain it puts on developers. I have read quite a few who have written about it, but I thought I could do a follow-up video. Its not done in my usual style, so I hope you will forgive that.

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