A Small Yet Massive Change

I haven't played video games in a few years now. Maybe its the age, maybe its the lack of fun, or maybe its because as a kid I never really was allowed to play a lot nor wanted to. It was never a main point of my life and I found other things to do with friends much more enticing. 

I remember when apps on the iPhone were a dollar (actually $0.99) and that was a massive payment. I remember that all new video games like Call of Duty were $59.99 at release and you had to save up your money all year for the November launch. These were engrained into every kid and young adults head as a "way of being" in the video game market.

Then, it all changed with mobile gaming like Clash of Clans and Fortnite. They were the early pioneers of what I see as "comparative pricing" in regards to video games. Their new model was simple; free to download and play, extra bonuses and features cost money. These features did not affect your ability to play, they just helped you advance faster or changed how you looked. Genius.

This was a gold mine waiting to explode. It allowed everyone with a system to play but still enticed gamers to spend money. And in the gaming world, free is always better. Free allows you to try and see if you like it before spending money. Free increases exposure since all can engage together. Free means it's easier to justify little payments here or there since, after all, it is "free."

What baffles me is how long this model took to implement. Comparative pricing is everywhere in business and is the driver for many shoppers as to what they select. Do you want to save money, buy a premium product, or buy consistent, affordable quality? The only way to know what each product classifies as is to compare to others near it or in the same industry. Video games should be no different, yet their business models relied on people buying those $0.99 apps or the $59.99 games each year by comparing them to the free apps or the cheaper $29.99 games. Premium products do not work on kids and young adults trying to have fun with friends, especially when they were spending their own money.

Why were video games so slow to react to this model? They fell into a cycle of not reflecting on potential threats and changes. Once Fortnite came out, everyone had a battle royale style, free-to-play feature attached to their game featuring in-game purchases. And again, they "tricked" users into thinking they could spend $5 or $10 here and there since the original game was free to download. In the end, they made a lot more than $0.99 or $59.99 a year and changed the industry forever.


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