Because there's nothing to discuss. The service will only available sometime this fall, and it's entirely unclear how many games will be available, what games, their quality etc.
Apple planning to launch a new platform in this market is definitely worthy of discussion in an article about the growth of this market. The reason it’s not mentioned is the article was published before Apple’s announcement.
The point the previous poster was saying is that there aren't yet enough details about Apple Arcade to make a discussion. Sure, you could write some speculation piece but there's already enough people doing that and most of the time peoples speculations turn out to be worthless anyway.
Hyper casual is a gaming industry concept, which basically means F2P, pick up and play mobile titles which are focused on users that have a couple of minutes here and there.
Apple Arcade is focused on a premium gamer who generally pays for stuff before trying.
Apple Arcade feels like a doomed idea. The game devs have to make money somehow. I doubt apple is just funding development, so it’s likely to be pay for time spent on the game similar to Spotify payments for content creators (but not number of plays). That means games will be encouraged to optimize for time spent in the game, which is exactly the opposite of what you would want in a premium subscription ecosystem. The risk of the same sort of shitty puzzle game dominating the apple arcade revenues seems high to me. It’s an incredibly simple optimization. Just do what f2p games currently do but offer an in game way to always progress regardless of stamina.
> Today, the majority of hypercasual inventory is sold to other hypercasual games, or to cross promo campaigns from the same publisher — either way it’s hypercasual advertisers running campaigns on hypercasual supply.
Just another day in this perfectly normal and sustainable industry.
My casual gaming consists in ~10 mins trying to beat Stockfish (https://stockfishchess.org/). App with no ads, no distractions, open-source, recreative and good mental exercise.
I would be more interested in the psychology of people spending money in these games. I played countless casual mobile games, but uninstalled all of them without spending a dime. It's probably out of principle, since I don't see any value in buying 10 gems in a mobile game. I also didn't find the need to buy cosmetic items either (skins and funny hats that some games offer as an alternative to paying the full price of the game).
However I did encounter a lot of people who gave in to temptations, either out of frustration, or the need to compare with others, or some other factors that I don't fully understand. That kind of analysys would've been more interesting.
Is there that much difference between spending your time and your dollars? I'd argue that in most cases spent dollars value is negligible compared to spent time value.
Yes there is. A dollar is a dollar every time, but it is very different to spend two hours a week playing a game while commuting, for example, and spending those same two hours playing the game when you wake up and being late for work because of that (or replacing any other activity).
Hypercasual games don't monetize through in-app purchases, but through advertisements (interstitial, banner, and rewarded video ads). A hyper-casual game is only profitable if it can retain a player for an extended period of time.
So, there isn't a psychology behind people spending money in these games as most people aren't spending any money at all. That's one of the reasons why the genre is so popular.
It's all about the play situation. It's a genre adapting to one-handed interaction and 30-second engagement loops or shorter. If you can't play it on a public transport commute, it doesn't qualify.
Yet somehow the majority of F2P games adopted an outright abusive artificial "idle"-component, that's heavily monetized, it's just bad, if you see one just stay away, no good will ever come from that place.
Especially don't let your kids anyway near them, your parenting stands no chance against hyperoptimized gratification loops, that slowly transition over into Pay2Win-only in the first 8h or less.
I think you're confusing hyper-casual and midcore games. Hyper-casual don't push for monetization and optimize retention at all costs; what you're talking (especially with idle-time travian-type games) are midcore games with much higher LTV and UA costs.
Guess I have to adjust my border between casual and mid-core ;)
You can have a hypercasual core loop with midcore meta/economics mechanics on top, think Merge Planes, any match 3 game with stuff tucked on. Pure hyper is normally fine.
One thing to note is that hypercasual can reach a much wider audience than traditional gaming genres; it isn't male dominated and isn't exclusive to younger (15-30) demographics. This, tied with increased accessibility thanks to its f2p nature and simplified game loops, is most likely what lead to its recent surge in popularity.
Having said that, it does seem to be slowing down some-what.
I've gotten tired of these superficial kinds of games and find myself returning to / relearning such heavyweights as Elite Dangerous and Eve Online. The learning curve especially on the latter is stellar but as a way of really really chilling out they are both amazing. I've probably always enjoyed the learning part the most.
Having said that I'm guilty of having way more titles in my Steam library (most probably still far deeper than what the article regards) than I'll ever play. There's a certain addictive element, combined with the optimism of having the time to do them all.
(I prefer to read HN or watch Netflix if I need chill time on the mobile, and keep it free of games, even though my S10+ is just about the latest and greatest.)
> returning to / relearning such heavyweights as Elite Dangerous and Eve Online
I just moved house and finally dug out my thrustmaster for a bit of E:D action, though I do find it a wee bit "grindy". I've also been toying with re-activating my paid-for Eve accounts and seeking out my old corp. The problem with Eve though is that it becomes all consuming. One minute it's 6pm on a Friday evening, in a flash it's suddenly 9am on a Sunday morning.
Or it starts getting fun when you have to carry a corp pager!
No other game can pull you in this way, where geo is important because you live in a timezone opposite to the defender's, and thus can prep and ambush for when the target's prime-time comes online.
E:D grindy? I got to Dangerous or Deadly on the original Elite. That's grindy. But we loved it anyway because there was nothing like it.
I did play Eve around the time of the Beta and for a while after release. Set it to train a skill while I was sleeping, set it to another skill in the morning, and then played a couple of hours when I got home from work. Then I realised I already had a job.
Odd, I found Eve to be extremely shallow gameplay.
For example combat is only nominally 3D as guns fire in all directions equally well turning any fight between two ships into a 2d slug match. Large scale combat is mostly about calling out targets than positioning etc.
Extreme grinding combined with permanent ship loss hide a multitude of sins. But, spend some time fighting in relatively cheap ships and the game becomes boring.
I think the actual gunplay part of Eve combat is pretty abstract. For me the joy comes from the prep and risk. With out belaboring the point, I view combat as a sort of test of the fit of my ship and the tactics I am employing. Did I match the strengths I anticipated against the weaknesses I expected?
Combat is short and brutal and best done with major risk. The game is designed so that there is no clear "best" anything and for me that's where the depth is.
I also find myself going back to these heavier games time after time. I always convinced myself that casual games allow for quick picking up and putting down just in case something comes up. But at the end, I find myself getting tired or bored. I recently picked up Street Fighter 5 and borrowed an arcade stick from a friend who played competitively. Very easy game to get into with movesets that aren't complicated and short matches, but it's a tough game to master when you factor in combos, frame data, reading opponents, learning character match ups, etc.
I also think the massive Steam library is a symptom of the console market. If you're primarily a console player, your games are almost always $60USD. You might be able to grab a title that's $40 on release, but that's rare. PC players are used to discounts and smaller titles. Sometimes it's really steep discounts like 20% off + all DLC only 6 months after release. I think PC players (myself included) are willing to bite the bullet by spending $30 on a full title that we may play since we are so conditioned on the value of a launch title being $60. Rocket League is a prime example. If Rocket League had been a console only release in 2012, I'm certain it would have cost $60. However, it was released for $20(?) to PC and PS4 by a smaller company.
Yes, correct. Ironsource is an advertisement/UA company that doesn't offer any "toolbar". What you're angry at (and rightly so) is the fact that their network was used to offer malware/adware. As per the first article you linked:
> IronSource is likely to blame third party "partners" for most or all of the defects we have listed, but our analysis indicates that IronSource is importantly responsible.
Also from the second link:
> That’s not to say that IronSource is necessarily aware that a publisher (pay-per-install) is redirecting visitors to sites that impersonate Google Chrome.
This is a clear failure on Ironsource's part to secure their network, but it isn't evidence of any malitious intent on their part.
> This is just a spam piece from the spam company ironsource.
It's their job to deliver ads. And ad mediation. And UA.
> They try to put their spam-bundleware-crapware-search-bar into everything.
They don't have a "spam-bundleware-crapware-search-bar". You're frustrated at specific advertisements on an advertisement network/the security of the network as a whole.
> And this is just another article trying to convince app developers to make yet another spam app with spam bundle-ware
s/yet another spam app with spam bundle-ware/a mobile application utilizing advertisements/
I'm not saying anything about the quality of Ironsource as a network, but lets not make them out to be the boogeyman. They are, at worst, inept.
>> but it isn't evidence of any malitious intent on their part.
I don't care. Whether a company acts deliberately evil, or is only negligent, is a legal distinction. What matters is what happens to me, the user. If they deliberately do bad things or negligently allow others to do bad things through them, the net results is bad things coming my way from that company. My defensive action is the same: avoid.
A foothold into the games industry. Like indie budget horror films for a young director. There are many guides to success online. But they mostly require large ad spends to engineer growth. No one has yet written the book on zero-budget nano games development.
But Double Coconuts' CEO David Fox recently spoke exactly on said topic at GDC Mobile 2019. Video posted when available
This is the thing, I couldn't see any actual games mentioned in the article. From the banner image I assume they mean games like Crossy Road, but it would help to understand what makes a hypercasual game apart from the advertising model.
I read the whole article and could not figure out what "hypercAUsal" meant or why they didn't explain it... just realized from your comment it's "hypercasual".
The main differences:
- anyone (that includes kids and non-gamers) should be able to easily pick up and play the game
- the simplest input possible, usually just tap anywhere on the screen
- simple (primitive) graphics with high contrast and readability (again, so it doesn't confuse non-gamers)
So it's like a casual game but even more simplistic and stripped out of any depth.
From the looks of it, hypercasual games have extremely simple mechanics, no progression and often no end. Ex: flappy bird, .io games, etc... Advertising are their main revenue source.
Casual games are also simple but they usually feature some kind of progression, with new mechanics being introduced from time to time. For example, with Angry Birds, you unlock new birds as you progress. Candy Crush has different type of candy. In-app purchases are their main revenue source.
Unless I missed it, I'm still not really sure what a hypercasual game is. I'm guessing it's one of those games where the players is given a number of turns or lives which reset at timed intervals?
I think they're interesting products, but the kinds of dark patterns used to hook users is a little bit disturbing to me.
The whole discussion of phone games reminded me that more and more developers are porting/revamping older games for mobile devices, and some of them aren't busted like the Chrono Trigger PC port. This is honestly pretty excellent. I just recently learned that Ys 1 and 2[0] and a bunch of older Square Enix games[1] like Dragon Quest and Secret of Mana were on Google Play for Android. I'm always surprised when games that are legitimately enjoyable, work properly on a phone/tablet or support some kind of controller, and have zero transactions outside of paying for the game come to mobile. I've been pleasantly surprised by casual games like World of Goo and Greed Corp, plus there's emulation of certain old consoles, but full-size games on mobile are a huge step forward. Haven't tried casting, though I've read it's possible; proper casting would be a game changer.
Hypercasual games seems like the fast food of the gaming industry. I once evaluated the reviews of many of these so-called "games". review after glowing review, I see it over and over again: "uhhh great way to waste time", "great time waster". As a former builder of strategy games, I'm saddened by what gaming has become for most people: a way to just waste time, I cringe everytime i hear that.
It's a new audience that these games attract, not necessarily the way gaming is heading. Everyone has a gaming device in their pocket now where as 10 years ago only people who sought out gaming would play games.
55 comments
[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 105 ms ] threadIf Apple get that right, that could completely upend the whole free-to play, freemium, "hypercasual" business model
Because there's nothing to discuss. The service will only available sometime this fall, and it's entirely unclear how many games will be available, what games, their quality etc.
Apple Arcade is focused on a premium gamer who generally pays for stuff before trying.
if they allow freemium then what is the point? people will just ignore it in favor of the app store in that case.
https://blog.applovin.com/hyper-casual-mobile-gamings-newest...
Just another day in this perfectly normal and sustainable industry.
However I did encounter a lot of people who gave in to temptations, either out of frustration, or the need to compare with others, or some other factors that I don't fully understand. That kind of analysys would've been more interesting.
So, there isn't a psychology behind people spending money in these games as most people aren't spending any money at all. That's one of the reasons why the genre is so popular.
Yet somehow the majority of F2P games adopted an outright abusive artificial "idle"-component, that's heavily monetized, it's just bad, if you see one just stay away, no good will ever come from that place.
Especially don't let your kids anyway near them, your parenting stands no chance against hyperoptimized gratification loops, that slowly transition over into Pay2Win-only in the first 8h or less.
You can have a hypercasual core loop with midcore meta/economics mechanics on top, think Merge Planes, any match 3 game with stuff tucked on. Pure hyper is normally fine.
Having said that, it does seem to be slowing down some-what.
If there are in a similar boat, calling it entertainment would be just. Calling it gaming would be a stretch.
Maybe by your personal definition it would, but they are most definitely games.
Having said that I'm guilty of having way more titles in my Steam library (most probably still far deeper than what the article regards) than I'll ever play. There's a certain addictive element, combined with the optimism of having the time to do them all.
(I prefer to read HN or watch Netflix if I need chill time on the mobile, and keep it free of games, even though my S10+ is just about the latest and greatest.)
I just moved house and finally dug out my thrustmaster for a bit of E:D action, though I do find it a wee bit "grindy". I've also been toying with re-activating my paid-for Eve accounts and seeking out my old corp. The problem with Eve though is that it becomes all consuming. One minute it's 6pm on a Friday evening, in a flash it's suddenly 9am on a Sunday morning.
No other game can pull you in this way, where geo is important because you live in a timezone opposite to the defender's, and thus can prep and ambush for when the target's prime-time comes online.
I did play Eve around the time of the Beta and for a while after release. Set it to train a skill while I was sleeping, set it to another skill in the morning, and then played a couple of hours when I got home from work. Then I realised I already had a job.
For example combat is only nominally 3D as guns fire in all directions equally well turning any fight between two ships into a 2d slug match. Large scale combat is mostly about calling out targets than positioning etc.
Extreme grinding combined with permanent ship loss hide a multitude of sins. But, spend some time fighting in relatively cheap ships and the game becomes boring.
Combat is short and brutal and best done with major risk. The game is designed so that there is no clear "best" anything and for me that's where the depth is.
I also find myself going back to these heavier games time after time. I always convinced myself that casual games allow for quick picking up and putting down just in case something comes up. But at the end, I find myself getting tired or bored. I recently picked up Street Fighter 5 and borrowed an arcade stick from a friend who played competitively. Very easy game to get into with movesets that aren't complicated and short matches, but it's a tough game to master when you factor in combos, frame data, reading opponents, learning character match ups, etc.
I also think the massive Steam library is a symptom of the console market. If you're primarily a console player, your games are almost always $60USD. You might be able to grab a title that's $40 on release, but that's rare. PC players are used to discounts and smaller titles. Sometimes it's really steep discounts like 20% off + all DLC only 6 months after release. I think PC players (myself included) are willing to bite the bullet by spending $30 on a full title that we may play since we are so conditioned on the value of a launch title being $60. Rocket League is a prime example. If Rocket League had been a console only release in 2012, I'm certain it would have cost $60. However, it was released for $20(?) to PC and PS4 by a smaller company.
They try to put their spam-bundleware-crapware-search-bar into everything.
And this is just another article trying to convince app developers to make yet another spam app with spam bundle-ware
Ironsource doesn't offer any sort of "search-bar" as far as I am aware - they're a mobile advertisement/UA company.
https://www.benedelman.org/news-021815/
https://blog.infostruction.com/2018/10/26/adware-empire-iron...
> IronSource is likely to blame third party "partners" for most or all of the defects we have listed, but our analysis indicates that IronSource is importantly responsible.
Also from the second link:
> That’s not to say that IronSource is necessarily aware that a publisher (pay-per-install) is redirecting visitors to sites that impersonate Google Chrome.
This is a clear failure on Ironsource's part to secure their network, but it isn't evidence of any malitious intent on their part.
> This is just a spam piece from the spam company ironsource.
It's their job to deliver ads. And ad mediation. And UA.
> They try to put their spam-bundleware-crapware-search-bar into everything.
They don't have a "spam-bundleware-crapware-search-bar". You're frustrated at specific advertisements on an advertisement network/the security of the network as a whole.
> And this is just another article trying to convince app developers to make yet another spam app with spam bundle-ware
s/yet another spam app with spam bundle-ware/a mobile application utilizing advertisements/
I'm not saying anything about the quality of Ironsource as a network, but lets not make them out to be the boogeyman. They are, at worst, inept.
I am serious, my dude.
I don't care. Whether a company acts deliberately evil, or is only negligent, is a legal distinction. What matters is what happens to me, the user. If they deliberately do bad things or negligently allow others to do bad things through them, the net results is bad things coming my way from that company. My defensive action is the same: avoid.
But Double Coconuts' CEO David Fox recently spoke exactly on said topic at GDC Mobile 2019. Video posted when available
https://schedule.gdconf.com/session/the-flappy-bird-that-lai...
The main differences: - anyone (that includes kids and non-gamers) should be able to easily pick up and play the game - the simplest input possible, usually just tap anywhere on the screen - simple (primitive) graphics with high contrast and readability (again, so it doesn't confuse non-gamers)
So it's like a casual game but even more simplistic and stripped out of any depth.
Casual games are also simple but they usually feature some kind of progression, with new mechanics being introduced from time to time. For example, with Angry Birds, you unlock new birds as you progress. Candy Crush has different type of candy. In-app purchases are their main revenue source.
I think they're interesting products, but the kinds of dark patterns used to hook users is a little bit disturbing to me.
[0]: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dotemu.ys1... https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dotemu.ys2...
[1]: https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=802601025697058988...