1. #1

    Trials Economics: in-app purchases

    Frontier's bundle prices seem insane to me.

    The latest Red Bull bundle is $27.99 for a skin and a bit of in-game currency. If I purchased a similar bundle once a month (which seems like a reasonable bundle release rate) I'd blow over $300 this year on a single ad-supported game! Not gonna happen.

    If similar bundles were priced at $2.79 I might consider. My purchase threshold is not much higher than that unless something really special was on offer.

    Any guesses on what % of players buy the bundles? I guess RL must be doing ok, otherwise the bundle prices would be lower. No doubt this is closely guarded Ubi/RL information.
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  2. #2
    CagBall's Avatar Senior Member
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    It's like casinos. No point worrying about the average user - you need to go for the whales.
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  3. #3
    xitooner's Avatar Senior Member
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    Originally Posted by Sardius77 Go to original post
    Any guesses on what % of players buy the bundles? I guess RL must be doing ok, otherwise the bundle prices would be lower. No doubt this is closely guarded Ubi/RL information.
    If more than 0.15% of gamers buy them, they are keeping pace with the industry:
    http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertco.../#369087c61ad8

    I agree with your "insanity" assessment. But Whales are not like you and me; we may have that disposable income too but they are quite willing to spend theirs on things like those bundles, even though a little math would show it really doesnt help them progress that far.

    A long time ago (before the Donkey/Agent/Stallion/KTM) we worked out the "cost" if you bought the gems/money from RL to max the main 9 bike upgrades... it was about $480 dollars I believe. Some people do it (shudder)
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  4. #4
    Nice article, xitooner. Personally, I think a lot of the fun and entertainment (besides all the glitches and BLEEP) comes from the journey of the progression of the game. Sure, getting 500k gems or millions of coins would be great and really help out with the game play, for me it has made me better. I have figured out strategies and tricks when racing a track, and it sure helps getting through a stressful day at work!
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  5. #5
    To me, free games are similar to street performers. I'll stop, listen for awhile, and if I like what I hear, I'll toss them a couple dollars. They don't force me to pay - but I chose to because I enjoyed the show.

    In the same way, I've chosen to spend some money (about $35 over two years) on this game. Usually, if they created a really fun event, or I've been enjoying setting new records, I'll put some money towards a bundle. The highlights for me in the last year have been trying to beat a xitooner ghost (it was next to impossible, heh) and watching carteclem's YouTube channel while trying to emulate his racing techniques.

    I'm more likely to buy a bundle if the game has been operating smoothly for the last couple months... I chose to pay because I've enjoyed the show. And while I love the concept of the KTM rally, the execution of the event has been keeping me from enjoying the show.

    BTW, one big reason for making an in-app purchase is the removal of all ads - I never see ads in game unless I want free gems. I'm pretty sure an IAP does this, so I certainly wouldn't waste $27 for that.
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  6. #6
    Originally Posted by Whitechapple Go to original post
    BTW, one big reason for making an in-app purchase is the removal of all ads - I never see ads in game unless I want free gems. I'm pretty sure an IAP does this, so I certainly wouldn't waste $27 for that.


    Are you saying that any IAP for Trials Frontier will remove all ads? Sign me up! Clicking ads for rewards is fine but I'd love to get rid of the others.
    Can anyone else confirm this is the case?

    BTW, great article xitooner, I'd also guess that in addition to the "whales" there are also plenty of "sardines"...those who never pay for additional content regardless of how inexpensive it may be.
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  7. #7
    CagBall's Avatar Senior Member
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    All ads are removed as soon as you make a single purchase.
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