Gameloft is one of few companies that qualifies as a top-tier game publisher in the Android realm, and it looks like they’ve got big plans for all of their upcoming games. Plans of a very specific nature: PocketGamer reports that Gameloft will be placing in-app purchases in every game it releases for the remainder of the year, on every platform, for both smartphones and tablets. The company made the announcement during its financial report, adding that all its upcoming games will also have social elements.
In-app purchases are basically the downloadable content (DLC) of the mobile world, and they’re a polarizing subject to be sure. Essentially operating on a “freemium” model, most games with in-app purchases are free, but require small payments to add new levels or get otherwise unobtainable items. Many games allow you to advance at an accelerated pace with purchases, such as exchanging small amounts of real money for in-game currency. Some of the most popular games on Android, iOS and Facebook operate in this manner and are extremely profitable. A good example from Gameloft’s stable is The Oregon Trail: Settler, now #36 in the list of the most popular free games on the Google Play Store.
Social additions are a mixed bag as well. Many games will connect to users’ Twitter or Facebook account to send out automatic updates on the players; progress and achievements are delivered to friends and followers (often with maddening frequency). Search Twitter for “achievement” and you’ll find millions of nearly identical auto-tweets from whatever games are trending at the moment.
For better or worse, Gameloft seems to be adopting the driving strategy of one of its biggest rivals, Zynga. Plenty of players and pundits don’t appreciate this move towards microtransactions, but there’s no arguing with the money it’s bringing in. Just a few of Gameloft’s upcoming titles are The Dark Knight Rises, Ice Age, The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man, My Little Pony, Littlest Pet Shop and Men in Black III.
I will never buy another Gameloft game. They may be perceived as “top tier” but they have absolutely abismal support for their existing game lineups. Almost none of their HD / tablet / big games even work or support the Asus Transformer Prime, for example. And the few games that do work on the TFP generally crash at some point within the game. They do not respond to customer emails. When I was new to Android and anticipating the arrival of my pre-ordered TFP tablet, I bought a bunch of Gameloft’s games, including the most recent releases in anticipation, only to find out they aren’t even enabled or compatible with the TFP, which in many ways is the new flagship tablet for Android.
Stay away from Gameloft (and EA for that matter). Support companies that are more involved in the Android community and regularly releasing updates to their lineup. Gameloft does meh ports from iPad and calls it a day.
Their physics engine is abysmal.
In my generation when I was young,I played PS ONE GAMES.
Actuall QUALITY games with GOOD STORYLINE. The kids these days are left with Angry birds and crappy shoddy games from companies like these who only care about wanting to make quick money…
In those days games cost a fortune and only ratings through magazines and word of mouth etc…so they had to be good quality.
Graphics etc might be a big step up from the late 1990’s however the quality and gaming experience is just so shocking…
Sad…Gameloft EA…shame on you.
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in app payments is the most horrible thing ever, what happened to buy a game and enjoy??
Google was right at the beggining when blocked that option…
That’s okay. No one plays crappy Game loft games anyway. They SUCK.