Do you agree with in-app purchases?

Greetings Friends.

We have recently been researching other smartphone games such as Clash of the Clans to see what others have been doing and it struck us that in-app purchases seemed very unfair in that it favours those with more money, thus creating yet more inequality.

Games should be played on an equal playing field where EVERYONE has an EQUAL chance of winning regardless of how money money they have. We miss the good old days when playing a game was about having fun and a test of your skills, if you won it was because you were the better player, not because you had more money.

With Clash of the Clans, although it is a very good game, it is equally a bad game because it is not far or equal at all and does not show who is best at the game but instead who has the most money.

Now days it seems that everything is geared at making as much money as possible from players and to draw them in and get them addicted so they spend even more money. We feel this is very wrong, this is not what gaming should be about. It should be about having fun with your friends and family where everyone has an EQUAL opportunity of winning despite their background, how rich they are etc.

We were originally intending on including in-app purchases in Our World but now we are having second thoughts. The game is going to be free to play with no purchase or subscription needed but we needed to make money somehow to keep it sustainable. The main source will come from the virtual land businesses can rent for their online virtual shops, etc. There will also be a small amount of advertising but unlike traditional models it is organisations with the highest karma who will get the best spaces, not those with the most money. A company who does more for the world by helping the people and the environment will have the most karma, this way it will force companies to start focusing on whats important (people and the environment) rather than profits at the expense of everything else.

They can also sponsor some items in the game. We were also going to have some in-app purchases but nothing that will give any player an unfair advantage over another as seems the case with other games such as Clash of the Clans.

Would you rather pay for the game up-front and then not have in-app purchases? Or would you rather the game was free and then you paid for in-app purchases?

We would love to hear your thoughts on this?

Please comment below to get a discussion going...

We would love to hear from you....

Many thanks,

The Our World Team.