Best known for its massively successful game Doodle Jump, iPhone developer Lima Sky has also released a varied bunch of always paid for apps, ranging from kids' game AniMatch to viral apps such as iBubbleWrap and the Flags Fun series.
We caught up with co-founder and artist Igor Pusenjak, to get his take on the potential changes arising from Apple's decision to enable free apps to include paid for micro-transactions.
Pocket Gamer: How significant do you think the ability to charge for micro-transactions within free games is?
Igor Pusenjak: This is huge on so many levels. Starting with the way it will change the rankings of the apps, since many of the Paid apps could now become Free, to the ability to expose the in-app purchases to a much larger audience.
Of course, there's also a possibility players will now be expecting a free trial for every game or app
How significant do you think the ability to submit one binary which contains a combined free and paid app is?
The whole concept of Lite apps on the App Store is basically a workaround for not having a way to offer trial versions of the apps. This should make the upgrade experience more streamlined.
How significant do you think this change is in terms of stopping iPhone app piracy?
It will certainly help.
How do you think this will change the Free, Paid and Top Grossing charts?
That will depend on how many developers switch their Paid apps to Free. It could have a significant impact, specially on the Free chart.
On the other hand, the developers of the apps that are top of the Paid chart may be reluctant to release a Free version as this would mean losing their ranking. And, of course, this is all assuming Apple leaves the rankings as they are now.
Do you plan to release free micro-transaction supported games ?
We're certainly exploring that possibility.
What do you think are the implications in terms of ad-supported free games?
Ad-supported free games will now have more competition in terms of the rankings, but there will always be a market for fully free ad-supported apps.
Thanks to Igor for his time.
You can find out more about what Lima Sky is up to on its website or via Twitter.
Feature
Contributing Editor
A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon is Contributing Editor at PG.biz which means he acts like a slightly confused uncle who's forgotten where he's left his glasses. As well as letters and cameras, he likes imaginary numbers and legumes.
Top Stories
News
Jun 7th, 2024
Week in Views - The hunt for the new Star Wars game, Xbox goes handheld, and cats versus monsters…
News
Jun 7th, 2024
Week in Views - The hunt for the new Star Wars game, Xbox goes handheld, and cats versus monsters…
News
Jun 7th, 2024
Metacore's Teppo Soininen: “Anybody who has put a game into soft launch knows there’s still plenty of space for f*ck ups.”
Events
Tribeca Games Festival 2024 | North America | Jun 5th |
Xbox Games Showcase / [Redacted] Direct | Jun 9th | |
PC Gaming Show 2024 | Jun 9th | |
Steam Next Fest: June 2024 Edition | Jun 10th | |
WN Conference Istanbul 2024 | Jun 11th | |
GamesForum Hamburg 2024 | Europe | Jun 11th |
ESI London 2024 | Europe | Jun 13th |
Indie Dev Play 2024 | Europe | Jun 14th |
Popular Stories
as
Feature
Jun 3rd, 2024
May 2024 mobile game charts: Brawl Stars peaks, Supercell rises, and Dungeon & Fighter Mobile’s big China launch
Feature
May 29th, 2024