The App Store Race to the Bottom

For years, apps have gotten cheaper and cheaper on the App Store until they're now mostly free, making money in other ways.
Credits ###
Music:
"Constance" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons...

[@PolyMatter]

Don't expect weekly videos always - I try for weekly but won't ever publish a video that isn't ready, and some topics take more time than others. Next video, for example, will be a really big and exciting topic which is going to take some extra time. I think you'll find the wait is worth it though :)

[@tsudabyo]

PolyMatter I don’t expect anything but something to watch, it’s fine.

[@mranonymous2642]

PolyMatter like the channel, your like a technological, business and political version of kurzgesagt( not that like you copy him but your style reminds me of him). Anyway keep up the good work and best not to rush something for the sake of a deadline but rather upload it when it's ready.

[@JNSP-kk7py]

PolyMatter can you do a Video on false advertising please

[@cranberry7601]

Mr Anonymous for me he reminds me of CPG grey

[@mranonymous2642]

Mike the grate and other grates Yeah actually good point, I like the animated style.

[@classicpinball9873]

Trial apps used to exist.. it was called the LITE version of a paid app and nowadays they are non existent.

[@3dcomrade]

Classic Pinball minecraft lite and some more lite version good days 2008-2013 (im android but it started from app store)

[@killhimnotme9129]

Classic Pinball minecraft and foursaken media their games are the only ones i know with liet version forgot the other probebly

[@Gigli31]

Well im using wakeupbuddy lite. So some people still use it

[@PatrikKron]

I think the Google Play version of trial is the best one. You buy an app you believe will do what you what. If it does not fit you, you have 2 hours to return it without any questions asked. Preferably the developer should be able to choose a longer trial period if they think their app needs it (for example, you could not evaluative if a sleep tracking app is any good in 2 hours).

[@ilikeceral3]

I miss those. Also the in-app purchases only being ad-free versions.

[@paulson_huynh]

Worst part is that this shit leaks into AAA games

[@J3wuigi]

Other game developers: "If you pay us we won't need to exploit you" EA: "Play our game, which you already payed for, less by paying us for a crate that has a small chance of actually having anything useful in it!"

[@stasyspaulauskas3445]

it was valve who did it first though, and since it worked well for them its not surpise that greediest game publishing studio took it to themselves to see if it will work for them too

[@matthiasfreaked]

Deus ex anyone?

[@_____._..--_]

Paulson Huynh *_Pay 0.99$ to play again_*

[@stephencoffey4307]

Cameron Brown Well, TF2 is a different story. You can buy new weapons which are actually different than the stock weapons, but the stock weapons are perfectly fine and definitely playable.

[@shipwreck246]

You're marked as "creator on the rise" on the trending page. Finally somebody who deserves it!

[@VideoJames1019]

Shipwreck pp

[@hilal_younus]

Too bad, Now he mgrated to Nebula/curiosity stream , His YT Channel is just a place for him to shamelessly plug without Addressing the question or statement in the thumbnail/title

[@zojirushi1]

@@gucci5320 he stopped uploading business videos and now does more videos on countries instead oof.

[@ValStartaker]

I'm ok with freemium apps that just have like paying to skip levels or cosmetics (backgrounds etc.) but when they start making you pay for lives and shit, that's too far.

[@coolingheat5644]

AND PAY FOR NO ADS

[@alentadic7330]

@@coolingheat5644 no that makes sense, developers are not a charity and they need to make money somehow.

[@reeti5958]

@@alentadic7330 yeah, in starting days of my college I also thought that Ads are annoying and I shouldn't use them. But when my project guide asked me that how I will earn from my app, I realised that I didn't figured it out. They used the same wordings, "You are not doing charity, you need food to live."

[@BusinessCasual]

Weekly releases? Am I dreaming?

[@hasanal-timimi11]

Business Casual it brings tears to me eyes ;-;

[@anurgaprasad123]

I know this business casual guy from somewhere....

[@nsasha96]

«Don't get used to that» :)

[@ibrahimrajab8729]

Business Casual 8

[@shuma3401]

Man got exited for nothing thought business casual was back only to see it was 3 years ago :(

[@DrunkGeko]

So, 2 years later not only this didn't got solved, it also bled into all other gaming platforms

[@flowcharts7987]

Paid games have ads and sponsors in them, as well as in game purchases... Could you have even imagined that 3 years ago?

[@john_smith_john]

lol you must be blind if you only now noticed this

[@DrunkGeko]

@@john_smith_john why do you feel the need to be like that?

[@flowcharts7987]

@@john_smith_john by paid games I meant games with a price tag of $60 or more. not $2 mobile games. Triple A games never used to have ads or in app purchases before.

[@ASKAI1962]

this is the most under appreciated channel ever. Keep it up man you are the best

[@ASKAI1962]

And i have to add a point, this is live example.. see a lot of garbage channels got millions of subscribers with deceive practices, "fake live giveaways", "clickbait", "fake news", while this one only has 32k. guys you like it ,subscribe it :D

[@PolyMatter]

Thank you

[@benchmarking6875]

*When you see a good comment but it is all ready 69 likes* sad commenter noises

[@xexpaguette]

@@ASKAI1962AAAANND Now he has more than a million!!!!

[@Kromiball]

@a Captain Disillusion!!!

[@TaranVH]

Pop in effect: The movie

[@tt0033]

I feel like I'm watching an ad. The animation is so good

[@twiddle10000]

Are you suggesting that ads have good animations???

[@neilchristiancalajate6747]

Games on appstores suck so bad nowadays... i miss the javagames of 2000s created for nokia s30 - s60 phones... those games are real gems!

[@bitrr3482]

Discord: Is freemium Also discord: doesn’t have ads Also also discord: They do have “nitro” that is paid but it’s completely optional

[@Skywarslord]

this is the kinda business we need. freeminum apps that let you have the full experience without paying for extra lives or currency. But still offering things that you can pay for and incentivizing them without being terrible about it.

[@room641A]

They might sell user data. Their ToS says it is not but one of their big investor is Tencent and there is absolutely no way of making sure if they are selling data or not.

[@diamonddemon7612]

Discord monitors every app you have open

[@creepercosheriff3444]

This is such a well animated video!

[@DMack6464]

And I have seen some shit animations.

[@Ponk_80]

it's people like you, that keeps me believing in humanity. great job, you earned a subscriber :)

[@yuxin7440]

Another reason facilitate this trend is Pirated software. There are always unofficial ways to get paid apps for free, and developers of these onetime paid apps will soon go bankrupt... But the in-app-purchase is incredibly harder to hack, making these developers survives.

[@DMack6464]

Lucky patcher works with nearly every app, it doesn't work on Rovio apps tho. Also, there's custom user made patches added to the LP database every week or so. I have one applied to my UC browser rn.

[@yuxin7440]

You are right, lucky patcher works for most one-time IAPs. But I am talking about those online games like CoC that require infinite IAPs, and lucky patcher can handle almost none of them because the data are encrypted and saved on servers. Even if you hack it, maybe using some mysterious tools from the dark web, you are still under the risk from being banned.

[@fahadus]

I'm a developer and I've seen my product showing up on pirate sites. Honestly, I do not think it's a big enough problem for a small developer to be concerned about. Most people who're pirating something would likely opt for a free product if you force their hands, they would not pay. The majority of mobile users at least don't get involved in piracy. A lot of them do, majority doesn't. Sure, if you're making millions and want to spend 10s of thousands of dollars to salvage 10s of thousands of dollars, would it even make sense then? I I don't think even the big guys are very worried about it, as they're moving towards subscription based models now. And if you think installing Ms/Apple/Google software puts you at risk (or turns you into a product, as per this video), you're kidding yourself if you think cracks are safe.

[@ETXAlienRobot201]

they're certainly not actually concerned with piracy the public is concerned with piracy due to their misinformation campaigns that use big scary numbers that cannot be verified. that on top of the fact that virtually every HONEST study conducted into this subject has revealed piracy has little to no impact, especially since pirates are the ones unwilling/unable to pay in the first place. however, great efforts are made to suppress information like that, and what effects it could have. they are however extremely concerned with their copyrights expiring. they again rely on misinformation to convince the public, and money to corrupt the politicians. Disney would have you believe that the second Mickey Mouse enters the public domain [where he belongs at this point] , that everyone's gonna make some mad dash to go making/selling movies/artwork of him and undercut their business. So, there's a concentrated effort to label people who makes COPIES as thieves; and those who want copyright abolished/lessened as lazy, uninspired, etc.... Firstly, probably no one who isn't already illegally using disney's 'IP' , or thinking about it, is suddenly going to do so because it became legal. They might take inspiration here and there, but that's about it. A few might use a handful of characters/locations or heavily reference them. Even in those cases, these individuals are quite happy to credit the original creators. The companies in China making all the bootlegged stuff will continue [as they already have done], the discount stores and everyone else will continue to import it. However, one thing will change : Disney won't legally hold a monopoly. The descendants of some long-dead artist/animator/etc... won't have to get off their lazy ass and make something new, themselves. the executives won't be able to milk the same old property like a cash cow indefinitely, because it becomes more risky and less profitable. all those ideas from the people who ACTUALLY DO THE WORK THAT they keep suppressing/ruining? that might actually have to acknowledge/respect those. isn't it terrifying? in fact, the subscription-based services are another attempt to protect their precious copyrights. especially streaming services, and also why proprietary EME was pushed into "open" web standards. the end-user has always been able to extract the data in a usable format, and they don't like that. they have control issues, among a host of other mental diseases. cracks depend on a lat of factors as to how safe they are. the generalization they're all dangerous/malicious is another scare tactic used by rightsholders but carefully reserved to be said by "reputable" security experts who also tell you a master safe is safer than a master password. DRM is nasty, too. a lot of people who actually PAID have reported DRM causing major problems, including data loss/corruption. in the end, it's about identifying which apps, legitimate or not, are actually safe. a big help is not going to that rather shady-looking website that never used to exist, and then vanishes months after. seems, however, mobile apps have that problem. i can't even play them, but i'm into ripping sprites, both for research and archival. honestly, people truly concerned about security/privacy just shouldn't touch the internet. [killing the plugins didn't solve that, either. it just enabled/encouraged HTML/JS/CSS to be abused.] no one really knows what any of these sites/apps are doing besides the developers. even the hackers/programmers, themselves, save for a small percentile who can actually reverse the code. but then by the time, they do, there's an update... trusting third-party code will always be risky, it doesn't matter what they say it does, it doesn't matter if it's legal or illegal. however, you can't generalize if it's safe or not based on its legality. a lot of questionable/shady/illegal programs are perfectly benign. avoiding being that product is next to impossible at this point without regulations [as if]. even paid goods/services, and not the 'cheap' ones, are used to collect data about the user. data is then sold, as in all other examples. while true the 'free' services are especially guilty, almost everyone is doing it.

[@nekdo_kavc]

@@ETXAlienRobot201 Great even if long comment.

[@martinkunev9911]

When you haven't used two apps, the only objective criteria to compare them by is the price. Users just do whatever is natural for anybody in their situation.

[@stoopidapples1596]

Wow, only watched about 5 videos, and this is some real quality content! I'm finally being able to fully understand things that I've been kinda thinking of for ages.

[@PolyMatter]

Appreciate it :)

[@luuketaylor]

Just found this video on my recommended (due to my interest in the mobile space) and was blown away at the quality and effort in this video. Watched a few more. Subscribed. Keep it up, I really hope your channel grows exponentially!

[@PolyMatter]

That's so kind of you! Thanks man

[@mossytime349]

Some games, whem you tap to watch an ad to get a reward, it plays an ad that doesn't give you a reward, but you think it's the ad for the reward so you don't skip it, only to find out you haven't really pressed the button (acording to the "laws" of the game) and now you have to watch another ad (the real one) to get your reward

[@happydr_]

I love mini metro

[@SaadPlayzs]

Watch out guys! This channel will be the next big channel for sure!! KEEP IT UP MAN!

[@Xx_BoogieBomber_xX]

This needs more views. Everyone with a phone, hopefully.

[@kacperpiotrowski7239]

For most my life I thought competition is good for everyone and that the invisible hand can make some of best decisions. Now my confidence is shaken.

[@lavaslice]

As a game developer is hard to survive without freemium, As you say google play and appstore have 99% more preference to feature your game with a freemium model, i wish this was different but i have to pay my rent

[@seycon91uh]

Creator on the rise and I can see why, you just got a new sub mate.

[@elli6220]

I gotta say, I just found your channel, and I love every video!

[@pheapkim978]

All your videos are so well explained and logical. I always new this but couldn’t of said it or explained it any better

I like that you featured Mini Metro, it really is a great game! I was actually playing it back during the desktop beta phase.

[@horrendousaurus810]

man your videos are awesome, keep the amazing work comin!

[@TheGreenPig321]

I recently reinstalled bad piggies. It’s ridiculous how many ads are played that I had to turn on airplane mode

[@blazingblaze250]

Bad piggies sucked after the new updates.

[@friedkeenan]

It's amazing that in so small a span of time we acquired apps and such, and then gave away our privacy to avoid paying a few dollars. The world truly is remarkable

[@camillo4308]

It would be really hard to reverse freemium seeing that there are many teens and children without a way of paying online.

[@zbz1536]

As a developer, I find this video highly relatable, I feel that it is becoming increasingly difficult to shine in the AppStore. It seems like there is just too many apps clogging the store. Although I think it will be difficult to get Apple to promote paid apps as opposed to the in app purchase model because Apple takes a 30% cut from both paid and iAP, so they will push whichever that generates more revenue.

[@sergodobro2569]

Meanwhile android pirates: paying for a game? Never done this...

[@eltostado3304]

Great video! I really hope you grow to be huge!

[@dexter64270]

It is kind of disappointing that many people are not willing to make a one time app purchase yet they'll buy a single order of french fries for that same amount.

[@room641A]

and then there is just me over here chilling with my 100% free and open source system

[@mossytime349]

Ads in games just tap them selfs sometime. One day I was playing a mobile game and watched an ad to get a reward I didn't touch the ad while it was playing nor when it finished. I was gonna press the x button but before I even reached out to press it I got transfered to the appstore, Without even touching my phone, I was just looking at my phone that was laying on my bed!!

[@blackkraken2857]

Your videos are a pure gold

[@Kuzushii]

For a video that released THREE YEARS AGO this is still accurate, even more so today. I just want some good quality mobile games, not some weird copy of hex a gone from fall guys, they’re literally copying other people’s games at this point and I’m sick of it

[@VoltSnipingDistrict]

This channel will get huge trust me

[@ichamsakkar4249]

Wow that is literally what is happening right now, you predicted the future

[@reimarpb]

that is also what was literally happening in 2017. It has been happening for years and it hasn't gotten better since then.

[@baricus2410]

Before I begin, I just want to say I have found your videos both entertaining and informative and I thank you for making them. As for why I am commenting. . . I think you have made a very clear picture of the problem facing the current App Store and Play Store. You provide an accurate description of both the issue and, in your other, more satirical view on the state of mobile gaming, displayed a wealth of knowledge on how these game can exploit the user worked. Furthermore, most of the suggested fixes you offered, while a little hard to achieve, would help push the price of applications back to sustainable levels. However, I cannot help but disagree when you say that free trials, or demos, as I usually refer to them, would help sell games. If a game has a demo, then there are only a few possibilities: A good game with a good demo, a good game with a bad demo, a bad game with a good demo, and a bad game with a bad demo. While this is obviously a binary simplification of quality, it should suffice to demonstrate why demos do not usually lead to a growth in game sales when all is considered. A good game with a good demo to match will likely sell, but as companies have looked, the difference in the demo being there usually is minute as, since the game is shown in various other ways such as press conferences and game play footage, people will already know the game is good. When a demo is bad, even though the game is good, this will cause a loss in sales, as those who would have enjoyed the game had they bought it will be turned away by the demo's quality. If a game is both bad and has a bad demo, it will also lose sales as people are turned away by the demo. The only scenario in which a demo will lead to a significant increase in sales is a bad game with a good demo. In general, when developers, both indie and AAA, look at the numbers, it will be rather likely that a demo will hurt their sales. As such, the development time needed to produce such demos is used improving the game itself. Demo's are not on the app stores today because there aren't payed games. They are not on the app store because they are nowhere. PC, console, and mobile all have very few games with demos as it is simply not the smart business decision to make. This is demonstrated by the fact that both the App Store and Play Store both have ways to give free trials or demos. They are simply never used, because developers have come to realize that, with the current habits of consumers, it is simply the smart business decision to not produce a free trial as it will most often cause a loss in sales. -Baricus P.S. I based the majority of my argument off of the Extra Creditz video on the topic of game demos. If you want a more in depth (probably better written) take on this argument please look to their video.

[@artistaroundtheblock2047]

The sad thing is that I can not afford an app at all.So I always(sadly) push for freemium.

[@Aethed]

...remember me when you get famous.

[@andrewidfk]

Your Videos are really well made. You should be bigger, but KZbin doesnt want to recommend smaller youtubers.

[@kirkjohnson8719]

Trial apps do exist but they are hard to notice. You have to read the description and some of them will charge an insane amount like 50 dollars a week

[@josephsharkey6126]

Don't call it a grave, it's the future you chose.

[@vids5374]

Preach the gospel brother. If you are not paying you are the product. Your personal information shall be gleaned. And sold and resold. No matter what you think is actually going on. I love it when the clerk at the counter tells me we don't sell your personal information. She is a $2 f****** clerk LOL

[@drone_better7757]

This is a very good video, thank you for explaining it to everyone so clearly, but there's still one thing about the App Store which Apple has been drawing attention away from; Gambling apps. They can steal money from users, because they know on a subconscious level that they'll lose it all and it isn't worth it, but they can get a 'high' from winning a SUPER MEGA HUUUGE WIN JACKPOT. And as you mentioned in another video, Apple wants them to do this, to get as many users as possible hooked on gambling. I've wrote a letter to Tim Cook about this, and how it's damaging users, economies and Apple's image.

[@biplabkumarghosh6300]

Alternative title: Polymatter can't get enough money from ads, please pay to watch

[@42billybob]

The market actively selects for it because developpers aren't required to disclose when they're selling personal information (at least not without forcing the user to read through 200 pages of liscencing agreement).

[@Ponk_80]

finally someone who dares fight the narrative. great to hear people are waking up, i have tried to spread this message for many years now, but people don't want to listen, and say that it's always been this way.

[@bartslepecki3780]

Your vids are so beautiful!

[@inkoalawetrust]

A digital thing that isn't completely free is a thing i can't afford.

[@lyricvega5998]

I play a lot of free apps but they don’t use shady practices at all. They have gachas and you’re not guaranteed the cards you want so you can pay to use the gacha to get a card you want. It’s sort of like gambling, so if you don’t get what you want you’re tempted to pay. But I pay for these apps to support the developer so they can continue making the game great

[@naveenkumark587]

Love your videos man

[@andrewa254]

Naveen Kumar K please change your profile picture

[@naveenkumark587]

Mcfrizzle Hizzle can I ask why?

[@andrewa254]

It's confusing me

[@ronniejanuszki]

This is not solely an App Store problem (- plus, the App Store ALWAYS had freemium applications). Freemium has been around since gaming. The pay-to-win concept is all too familiar in popular games today, like Minecraft and Clash of Clans, but also back in the day with FarmVille and other Facebook games.

[@sosasees]

Yes, I support this practice. I don't download free games, but I bought Minecraft. And I will not download Minecraft Earth because the ,,Free" Pricetag makes it suspicious, even though the game is made by the same company. I have also paid for Pro versions of a few of my other favourite apps.

[@Snaily]

I have never paid for a single in-app purchase. Every single penny I've spent on games on mobile has been on those with none in the game.

[@wow-wordsofwisdom8892]

You deserve 10 mill subs

[@trimmtab]

Good video and channel in general, although a few remarks on this one : no developper is "forced" to switch its app to "freemium", most of the time it is quite wanted in the first place, especially with the psychology behind micro-transactions, far more lucrative than à 0.99$ price-tag (to which you subtract apple's selling platform fees). Now some developers keep publishing paying apps (not free/no freemium I mean... with a single price-tag), and it's a good thing, as you mention. Freemium is only popular because of the many people buying into it, and as you said, it makes the whole thing nothing but less qualitative.

[@envienby]

Things were better back in the good old days

[@polaris911]

The problem is why pay for an app that I might not use or like? Every app needs to offer some kind of trial, and app stores should support this feature. There's a reason shareware was a hit in the 90s. Give them a taste, and they'll want more.

[@MrGeocidal]

I would gladly pay a dollar or two for an adfree version of an app I want to use from the Play Store. The trouble is, a lot of the time there isn't a paid version of the app available.

[@Gerpar_]

As a Developer I feel filthy making Freemium games, but at the same time I try to limit the ads that are shown as to not annoy the users, since I'd still rather make people happy than try to make as much money as possible.

[@OfficialMazLi]

You earned my subscription

[@dinocruz53]

I think fighting against free is a doomed battle

This guy truly gets it.

[@ishpeeedy]

*Damn!* This guy has really good quotes

[@yuuka11]

Talk about the horrible clash Royale that App Store still features

[@arfn1973]

Yeah the problem is the premium also give this buy thing for thing using money scheme too.

[@Amansingh-vg4nn]

The Freemium Model:- - Ads that you may accidentally click. - NOT their product but you are becoming the Product - They trade for USER DATA (much more precious than anything) - They will make you pay otherwise Like Referrals, Watch the ad at least for 30 sec, link you Facebook/Insta account to unlock other benefits. Hope You find it useful!!!

[@Ryuuun]

Honestly sell whatever they have about me, I would still take that $9.95 a month moviepass

[@RodyDavis]

I deal with this every day as a indy crossplatform developer

[@nkboon1234]

i rather pay good money for a premium app that has good dev support than get a free app littering my screen with ugly ads

[@iDunnoMC]

MINECRAFT IS STILL SURVIVING WITH LIKE 2 BITS OF FOOD LEFT

[@cheatexp]

What I do is get an app then delete it five minutes later (mostly.) so I don't mind freemium when it's like "you can get these by playing the game normally, but if you want you can buy it." instead of "BUY THIS for an EXCLUSIVE item that you can't find anywhere or use until level ###"

[@eagles2249]

You got featured on the creator on the rise part of trending you going to grow a lot

[@brodym.3547]

Mobile Developer here, I think I can speak for the entire industry (minus, perhaps, KING or EA which make more money than they would because of freemium existing) that we don't like the freemium model. It forces us to roll the dice with our work, and it's even riskier when your products use a server you have to pay for. Personally, I never include micro-transactions, as I feel they can deceive the user and can offer an unfair advantage to those with more money. Instead, I simply allow the option to watch an Ad, while having the occasional pop-up and banner while in-between screens.

[@3dcomrade]

Brody M. And basicly supercell is base based game makes your base always attacked for makes you pay for it

[@HowToMakeMobileGames]

It will never change. There are just far too many game developers out there. And it doesn’t suit the app stores to change their model, why should they. This is why I don’t make games anymore

[@anonymousanonymous4775]

I paid for Windows, my data was sold. I paid for an Android phone, my data was sold. It doesn't matter how much we pay them we will still have our data sold.

[@user-pi3fh9cp5m]

Great video. Glad I subscribed.

[@scikick]

That may be true for people in the first world - after all 5 or 10 dollars can only buy you a cup of coffee. It's a whole different matter in other countries, India for example. 5 dollars is quite expensive for an app, you can do a lot with 5 dollars. We'll happily tolerate ads.

[@Kabbinj]

Or... you could... Not sell user data, not force ads on users, but rather reward players for watching ads, and sell "helpers/cheats" for the users which want an advantage in the game (and sell cosmetics). There are many examples of games where a few payes for everyone, and the rest gets a completely free experience (with the exception of using user data internally to improve the game experience). I am a developer of games of such design, and it works out fantastic, with millions of users and a huge revenue.

[@guan-hanchiu5831]

That is just universal humanity.

[@brendansmith9677]

Imho paying for software is difficult to argue for. You are basically paying for a string of 1s and 0s. You are paying for a number basically. I know that software engineers need to make a living, but it's really hard to justify paying for a number.

[@notnilc2107]

Konata Chang joins the race!

[@christianbro2]

Freemium is why I dont play any game which is free at first just to end up playing less and paying more.

[@doublextreme360]

This is why I've bought pocketcasts 3 times now (android, ios, web) because it's a good app!

[@Quagthistle]

The problem with "Pay once, play forever" games is that they tend to never get updated, and bugs never get fixed. At least, with freemium games, if a developer stops updating, their money tends to dry up, and players move on to a new game. Plus, many people can't afford to pay for games, so Freemium games are their only option. It's very similar to the debate over F2P vs Subscriptions MMORPGs. The subscription games tend to have better and more honest communities, it's true, but the F2P games have exponentially larger player bases, making them more active and interesting for many players. I'd personally prefer freemium games (largely because you can't know if a game is well-made until you try it, and I don't want to pay to try every game when I only like and play for more than a week about 1 in 20 that I download).

[@_wheat856]

I think that freemium gauge should be red on both ends, yellow above the reds and a green in the middle because that better represents your point

[@stupidw33b52]

Sure, a free trial would be nice, but the market is an unstoppable force. Trends only get better when the government takes their hands out of something that didn't need them

[@oopsy444]

Actually demos and free trials make less than those who don't. For so many reasons

[@Carenthir3831]

this explains very well the problem with facebook

[@yuxin7440]

Sadly, this trend is inevitable because people are always greedy and most people are not smart enough to realize the indirect way those free games are exploiting them... Of course, there are some ways that officials like apple or google who take charge of their store can do: stricter rules and regulation make app store a lot better than google play. But since these officials are profit-driven and well-aware that in-app-purchase has bring them more profit, they are unwilling to stop the trend...

[@vrabiealexandru2755]

Yu Xin Im using cracked premium apps ans free apps but not pay, the only game I truly get exploited is clash royale that I play once a dya in the mornjng for like 15 mins Hehejheh

[@yuxin7440]

See my another comment. Cracking IAP is a lot harder than getting a paid app for free. Especially IAPs in those online games, which are almost impossible to hack. But it is those online games that exploit us the most.

[@MakotoIchinose]

The main offender of this is Play Store. Paid games will bought less, even as little as $5, in Play Store. That's why Play Store is littered with freemium lootbox centric games, and don't forget social media for spreading the salt bait to others. This led indie devs with intention of printing money instead of those who make for labor of love, to make things even worse with ridiculous rip off with insane amount of ads, same game with different sprites, and half assed Unity asset flip.

[@BlenderDumbass]

This is why linux and free software are the best

[@azminek7154]

I already avoid freemium apps. They either riddled with apps to the point where they can't fulfil the purpose I download them or the most important features are behind a paywall anyways. What I avoid even more, is paid apps with in-app purchases. If I pay for someting, I want full functionality.

[@HotBlasterBot]

Hey, that's a great video! I'll be sure to share this in the (hopefully) most non spammy way possible! Keep up the great work!