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By Chris Foresman
Apple has extended its subscription-based pricing options beyond newspapers and magazines, allowing at least one game company to offer access to its games on a subscription basis.
Seattle based Big Fish Games will begin offering a $6.99 per month subscription that will provide access to "dozens" of games via an iPhone and iPad app. That could open the door for more companies to offer subscription access to specialized software services via iOS apps.
Until now, Big Fish has offered each of its titles as a separate app on the App Store for about $1.99 each. However, founder Paul Thelen saw the new iOS subscription APIs as a way to offer his company's games on an "all-you-can-eat" basis. The idea is that users could simply download one app, pay a monthly subscription via an iTunes account, and play whatever game struck their fancy. (Big Fish's catalog largely consists of casual puzzle and mystery games.)
"This is the first time that the technology has matched the business model," Thelen told Bloomberg News.
Apple originally offered subscription API's to allow content publishers a way to offer an easy way to pay for periodical content such as newspapers and magazines. At first, it required that all this content be made available for purchase within apps at the same or lower price than available elsewhere, with Apple collecting its usual 30 percent cut. However, many publishers balked at the rules, and Apple later relaxed them to allow greater pricing freedom. Content providers could even forgo in-app subscription payment altogether as long as apps didn't include direct links to outside purchase mechanisms.
While that satisfied most publishers and content providers, many e-book readers—such as Amazon's Kindle app—and apps like Netflix and Dropbox had to remove links to outside stores or Web-based payment options.
Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs noted that subscription payment APIs and its rules weren't geared towards SaaS (Software as a Service). And according to Thelen, Apple was reluctant to allow Big Fish to use subscription pricing for its games. "It took longer than usual to be approved," Thelen said. "They needed to be convinced there's a reason to charge customers every month."
Customers used to paying a few bucks or less to play a game indefinitely may also need convincing. However, if Big Fish's experiment proves successful, other game developers might try a subscription model. That could encourage software service providers to provide their wares via in-app subscription pricing.
Apple has extended its subscription-based pricing options beyond newspapers and magazines, allowing at least one game company to offer access to its games on a subscription basis.
Seattle based Big Fish Games will begin offering a $6.99 per month subscription that will provide access to "dozens" of games via an iPhone and iPad app. That could open the door for more companies to offer subscription access to specialized software services via iOS apps.
Until now, Big Fish has offered each of its titles as a separate app on the App Store for about $1.99 each. However, founder Paul Thelen saw the new iOS subscription APIs as a way to offer his company's games on an "all-you-can-eat" basis. The idea is that users could simply download one app, pay a monthly subscription via an iTunes account, and play whatever game struck their fancy. (Big Fish's catalog largely consists of casual puzzle and mystery games.)
"This is the first time that the technology has matched the business model," Thelen told Bloomberg News.
Apple originally offered subscription API's to allow content publishers a way to offer an easy way to pay for periodical content such as newspapers and magazines. At first, it required that all this content be made available for purchase within apps at the same or lower price than available elsewhere, with Apple collecting its usual 30 percent cut. However, many publishers balked at the rules, and Apple later relaxed them to allow greater pricing freedom. Content providers could even forgo in-app subscription payment altogether as long as apps didn't include direct links to outside purchase mechanisms.
While that satisfied most publishers and content providers, many e-book readers—such as Amazon's Kindle app—and apps like Netflix and Dropbox had to remove links to outside stores or Web-based payment options.
Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs noted that subscription payment APIs and its rules weren't geared towards SaaS (Software as a Service). And according to Thelen, Apple was reluctant to allow Big Fish to use subscription pricing for its games. "It took longer than usual to be approved," Thelen said. "They needed to be convinced there's a reason to charge customers every month."
Customers used to paying a few bucks or less to play a game indefinitely may also need convincing. However, if Big Fish's experiment proves successful, other game developers might try a subscription model. That could encourage software service providers to provide their wares via in-app subscription pricing.