How would you prefer to buy games?

This poll is just out of curiousity. We will NOT change how we sell our games now, we just would like to know what you all think:

Which Buy Model do you prefer?

try-before-you-buy model: LIMITED TIME- where a customer downloads a game from a website, plays a short demo - typically 60 minutes - then decides whether to spend money to play beyond the demo. The demo has all the features of the full version. [Most of the casual games are like this.]

try-before-you-buy model: LIMITED FEATURES- the customer downloads a game from a website, plays how long he wants but some features are locked. When the customers buys the game, these features will be unlocked. In the case of VV, some technologies would not be available (for example). [Our handheld games were like this.]

Ad-supported games - The game is free to play immediately as an extended free trial, but players will be shown ads before the game loads or during natural pauses within the game itself like between levels

Micro-transactions - Again, the game itself will most likely be free, but players can use real money to purchase items and loot to customize their character or spruce up the scenery of in-game locations

Virtual currency - A means to address customers who don't own credit cards. WildTangent was one of the pioneers of virtual currency with WildCoins, and currently offer it as one of three options along with buying the game outright and ad-sponsored sessions.

I buy games often from Gamehouse (RealArcade) and I enjoy the try for 60 minutes feature. The problems with all the limited features choices is that until you pay you don't get to see all the good about of a game and you don't get the gist of it. Ads, I don't think are a good idea. So I vote try-before-you-buy. Oh, and buying "features" just gets weird in my opinion.

(W00T First reply)

I vote try-before-you-buy.I buy games from ifungames,It's cheaper and u dont have to wait!

WOOT SECOND REPLY

I had to go with try-before-you-buy model. With Micro-transactions and limited features, I feel like I am missing something and I pay up, but then I feel like I spent my money for nothing. Ad-supported games sound like a real pain because of all the, you guessed it, ads. And I just don't really understand Virtual currency, although I think I have used something similiar before. With try-before-you-buy, you get to taste everything, and if you don't like it, you aren't charged anything. And the only thing you are limited with is time.

I love try before you buy.

An option if you don't have a credit card would be good expecially for the young kids.

I have seen them in the shout box, wondering how to convince their parents to put it on their credit cards

I like the limited features because then you can really fall for the game, sometimes 60 minutes isn't enough to fully appreciate a game.

Try before you buy is good. I wish it were more than an hour. Sometimes an hour is not long enough especially when you have tutorials and stuff. I have come across games where the first 2 levels are tutorials and once you get past that, your time is pretty much up and you don't have any time left to really see what the games is all about. Really, would 1 more hour really kill the gaming industry?

Try before you buy *thumbs up*

Gamey, you don't strike me as a slow learner, so you must have come up against some games with very long tutorials

Even with the tutorials, I can usually decide whether or not I like the trial game and it has all the features of the registered game.

try before you buy! definitely! i love playing demos!

Ad-supported. I love playing for as long as I want!

I chose try before you buy, because that's the way that appeals most to me. If you'd let me choose 2, my 2nd choice would have been virtual currency. This model also appeals greatly to me and many others who fret over internet fraud. I have been burnt twice by internet fraud, and now will make purchases ONLY using a PREPAID Visa AND ONLY from sites that use VeriSign.

I like try before you buy because I truly get a chance to see what the game is like and whether I like it enough to buy it or not.

But try before you buy is also a good idea for you guys because one of the interesting aspects of this game is that you bond with the characters. You want to know what the baby will look like. You want to know if that villager can make it to EE. You have all these things you want to see... and then your time is up. It's about the same as watching a movie, getting really into it, and then having the movie stop abruptly. You are left with this feeling of incompletion. You don't know how the "story" turns out.

The hour of play time without restrictions gives the person not only time to see whether they like the game or not, but if they do like it, it will be enough time to bond with the game and "need" to buy it to find out what happens to each villager, puzzle, new thing found/built/etc.

I absolutely, positively, unequivocally would NOT play any game, or for that matter run ANY software whatsoever, that includes advertisements. I abhor them. I have a personal website in which I pay extra for a high quality webhost specifically because I can run my website with zero, none, zilch, not a trace, advertisements.

There is no game, no piece of software, no new gizmo, no new fandangle anything that I am completely unable to live without. If having anything requires that I must sit through a constant stream of ads (like TV commercials), then I can do without it. I have to tolerate some gentle ads (such as the identifier at the beginning of the game), but that's about it. I don't listen to radio because of the interruptions. I rarely watch TV (I record and skip commercials).

Obviously, I have very strong feelings against ads. I am advertised up my wazoo in the mail, on the phone, in email, in stores wanting you to get a "membership card" for discounts (which is merely a way to track your purchasing habits for their statistical purposes), and just driving down the street. It's trash. It ruins the landscape (including the landscape of game enjoyment), it's unsightly, it's begging, it's low class, it is NOT for me. And to be honest, I have never heard of such a thing until now (with software).

I didn't mean to rant so strongly about the ads.

One option that I would suggest adding is PayPal. Many stores are now including a PayPal option which is very quick and easy. Cash (well hidden)/checks/money orders can be sent in by mail for the kids.

i like the try-before-you-buy way best. that way you get to fully experience the game (for 60 minutes, at least!) without ads or limitations (besides the time limit).

I had to go with the try before you buy option too... I did that with VV2 and with a few other games... that way I know if I like the game before I pay up. I don't have to worry about feeling like I wasted my money that way.

Hey complexity. I like the way you stated your opinion so...strongly. Its funny because after I read it I noticed your username. But really, even though I use DVR to record TV, I dont feel as strongly about ad bombardment as you do and I was blown away a little bit by your posting. (not in a bad way though!)

I Love Love Love Try-Before-You-Buy model games! In fact, I could probably write a book on "How to mess up your laptop in 100 demo downloads or less!" Translation: I love demos!

There is just no feeling like the simplicity of downloading your own little hour of check-out-all-the-features, and playing that hour at your own leisure. With all my laptop connection problems, I prefer it that way.

However(!), I have to agree with the tutorial problem. Personally, I think the minutes of the tutorial should be counted separately(!). Although I haven't had any problems with the learning curve with LDW games taking long, I have encountered plenty of tutorials that have taken up half my demo time or more! In my opinion, you are not really playing the game when you are doing the tutorial, you are just learning how.

I would also like more options for my trial games when different levels require different tutorials. This dramatically affects the time frame. Since the less time played means the less time the company has to pull in a potential gamer, I don't see the benefit here. If it takes a long time to learn how to play, then the gamer should be given more time for the demo.

Try then Buy!

I like try before ya buy.I get games from BigFishGames.com.

LOL! After typing it out, I did a quick proof-reading and realized just how strongly my opinion came through. But then I decided to not edit it since that really is how I feel on the subject. I just hadn't started out intending to write it so... strongly.

I made a small modification on the the definition of limited features because this one too is a try before you buy model, but with limited features, instead of limited time.

I like the first one but if I could pick two it would be the second one

Understood, Carla. But the limited features, no matter how small or few, remains an irritant when trying out a game. It also prevents the person from getting completely hooked on it because they cannot truly enjoy the full game, not even for an hour.

Moreover, I think limiting features in the VV series of games would prove very frustrating for newly registered users because the tribe they had with the limitations will be the same tribe they'll have after being registered. If any of the limited features affects the behavior, skills, activities, collections, breeding, anything, the tribe would begin in a crippled fashion as compared to someone who starts a tribe after registering it (such as when people create a 2nd or 3rd or more tribe).

So if you were to use feature limitations, it would need to be such that it cannot hamper or cripple the tribe from the very start. And that is pretty much all of the game!

There is one way in which I could see a feature restricted trial. It is to actually have TWO versions of the game. One is a 1 hour, full featured game for those who feel they will likely register it if they like it. And a second, "Lite" version that is free with permanent missing features. This would be good for the kids that just cannot pay for a registration. However, because it is named a "Lite" version, it is clearly understood from the very start that (1) you can UPGRADE to the full version (aka register) and (2) you'll either need to start a whole new tribe or carry over your original tribe from the Lite version, knowing fully that the tribe began in a limited/crippled manner.

By crippled I mean that, depending on the missing features, goals such as having a tribe with 100% village elders from their first 50 villagers (a goal I'm currently working on). If the number of villagers were limited, I might not have enough to spread the work around to gain tech points AND fish and build. If I cannot do ANY of the full version activities, the tribe will suffer no matter how you look at it.

Even with the consideration of perhaps only allowing them level 1 of the skills won't work because I, personally, do not always get level 1 for all of the skills before I get a level 2 for one of the skills. So I could have a level 0 and level 2 simultaneously. Restricting me to only level 1 would hamper this which would have (to me) a negative affect on my tribe. So my tribe would be crippled from the very start.

If the game didn't have the bonding between the player and villagers AND if the game didn't have the villagers develop, both physically, skill level and breeding abilities, then the limitations wouldn't matter. However, isn't this the main backboard of the game? How can you not cripple that if you restrict any features?

If you were to make very small restrictions to avoid this problem, you might as well give the game away for free. It wouldn't be enough to make people want to register.

So that's my thoughts on the idea. If you could be more specific of which features could be considered for restrictions, that may help me see a different viewpoint. But from where I'm looking right now, feature restrictions will only anger players once they realize that their very first village was crippled from the very start.

Or so I think, anyway.

i like the try before you buy method. It gives an insight as to what the game's about.

Try before U buy

I usually like the 'Try before you buy' unless it's a game that I know I am going to love, like VV3.

I like the try before you by also. The limited versions don't give you a full taste of what you are getting into. I know that there is another site that offers 'lite' versions and no matter how many times I play it in the 60-minutes of free play I get a small example of what it offers but oftentimes it's just not enough because it doesn't really tap into the full potential of the game or its gaming experience and then I think, hmmmm, is this really worth the $20 I'm spending? So that then results in me not buying the game because its not worth it to me.

However, having said that I do not have that problem with any of the games from this site because of the fact that all of your games are wonderful *shameless brown-nosing never hurts*;)

ad-supported is cool

I definitely think the try-before-you buy method is the best - not many people are willing to shell out $20 for something that may not be worth it (not to get off topic, but Dream Chronicles is a good example of the opposite to this - 30 min trial, 50 minute game!)
And I think ad-supported games wouldn't work for most LDW games, as they run in real time and I'm guessing I'm not the only one who would be ticked off by leaving a game running overnight only to find out that an ad interrupted 20 minutes in :s

I like try before you bye!

Try before you buy all the way!

For sure try before you buy

I definitely love those games that you try for sixty minutes before you buy. Even though one might not be able to get a very good taste of some games in sixty minutes, it's an excellent option for the majority of the games. It's the only reason that I got hooked on LDW's games and bought them. If the games had limited options, one wouldn't get the whole taste of the games and, for a lot of people, they wouldn't like the game as well.

I agree with the slightly longer trial time. I wish a couple of the games that I have paid $20 for had had that slightly longer time because then I would have known that I could finish the entire game in less that 90 min and would have saved my money. I was so afraid of being burned again that I ended up waiting until VV1 was in stores for $10 and then wished I had bought it well before.

I like to see what the whole game is about, with no locked features simply because it is sometimes those locked features that really make me fall in love with a game. If it is locked in the trial I might not be hooked on a game I would really love.

I think a 90 minute trial time for certain games would be good, specially those whose tutorial lasts most of the trial period. However, unless VV3 is different, the first two Virtual Villagers were really easy to understand right away.

i always need to play demos before i buy the actual thing

Try before you buy.

If there is a game that look's cool I'll try in from Bigfishgames and if I like it I'll wait until iWin makes it unlimited trail with ads.

I would definitely choose limited features. That was one of the reasons why I asked my parents for Virtual Villagers. I really love that you can sorta play the game, but then you have to buy it to get further. I don't really mind the 60 min trial one because most games are like that, but it does get annoying when you're playing the game and then it suddenly stops, and you can't show it to your parents when you ask for it.

And I wouldn't choose the other options because the ads in between levels one is really easy to ignore and I am pretty sure sales would go down drastically, buying items with real money would be really weird, not to mention annoying (like in Club Penguin when you can't buy many items without a membership ) and the other option was really confusing for me

I will only buy games that I can try first. Mostly, will they actually WORK on my Mac? Sometimes a game doesn't run, or doesn't run properly for me, despite meeting the posted system requirements. No way I want to waste my $$ on that! And others turn out to be not what I expected at all, but entirely not to my liking.
The time limit option is also fine, but rarely can I get a good enough sample in an hour to decide if I actually will enjoy more of it. Most of those I've tried, I don't end up buying. I opt instead for something I've played longer, that I'm sure I want to continue. An hour is barely enough to get the hang of the controls of many games (sometimes not enough even for that) and I just just don't enjoy it, so I don't buy.

I'd go for ad supported, I've tried them before and they really don't bother me.

I usually just browse a magazine or go for a quick walk around the house anytime an ad comes on.



But I was just thinking.....surely in just 60 minutes you most likely wouldn't be able to get near the things that would be unavailible in the limited options version.....so wouldn't the limited version be better? Then you would be able to play the bits you would be able to achieve in 60 minutes any time you wanted at your leisure.

With the first option you're given the false idea that everything is availible but there's a time limit, so in a way not everything is availible because to get near the larger amounts of technology advancement you would need to keep turning on your game for like 2-3 minutes change some things and then turn it off.....and even then it might not be enough time.

I fall in the majority group!!! Wouldn't you rather see all the features in limited time than play forever but not see all the features? The limited version will probably be like the online VV1 & 2 games-little or no tech, unable to pause, terrible graphics...

Totally with you Houjun
No offense Sabre

Try before you buy!

I like try before you buy limited features. Especially in real time games the limited time can be problematic. As far as LDW games go though, it doesn't really matter because I'm sure I'll buy it anyway

Try-before you buy.

i like ad supported, because you get the full game, the company gets revenue, and then if youd like, you can buy the game and get rid of ads.