Apple Pay Once and Play Games - Now With Less Gouging
Apple is trying a bold new experiment in the iOS App Store: Pay Once and Play Games. These titles operate under the refreshing principle that consumers will be willing to pay a single, potentially higher price to access all of a game's content. The traditional alternative has been installing the apps and buying content piecemeal via endless microtransactions.
Pay Once and Play Games (which back in the day were simply known as "video games") have, of course, been in the App Store for a long time, but they got their own section yesterday (Feb. 12). Apple touts them as "uninterrupted fun" and "complete experiences," which is true.
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The games will not badger you every few minutes to purchase in-game currency or extra levels. You need not wait between missions for some arbitrary resource to recharge. The games range from 99 cents to well over $10, but once you pay, you need not pay again. Ever.
Pay Once and Play is actually be a very useful moniker for parents who let their children play games on iDevices (although Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars should probably not be one of them). Young children are notorious for buying massive amounts of content in free-to-play games. Even if a parent has locked the buying process, constant requests for real money to purchase in-game energy could get tiresome.
Unsurprisingly, Pay Once and Play is where you'll find many of the App Store's more traditional games, including console and PC ports. Thomas Was Alone, Minecraft: Pocket Edition, Goat Simulator, BioShock and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars are all part of this category.
Free-to-play games are not going anywhere anytime soon, but it's good to know that companies like Apple are highlighting more traditional fare. Even though you have to pay full admission up-front, Pay Once and Play Games have the potential to be much, much cheaper than their "free" counterparts, which have no cap on how much content players can buy.
Marshall Honorof is a Staff Writer for Tom's Guide. Contact him at mhonorof@tomsguide.com. Follow him @marshallhonorof. Follow us @tomsguide, on Facebook and on Google+.
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