No Microtransactions For iOS XCOM: Enemy Unknown

[Fanghawk]

No Microtransactions For iOS XCOM: Enemy Unknown

The XCOM mobile edition will include almost all PC version content at a "premium" price.

A lot of mobile games these days come packaged with microtransactions, and it's easy to understand why. iPhone and iPad titles have development costs like any other, but most are usually priced $5 or less, if not free altogether. In such a system, microtransactions are the easiest way for publishers and developers to earn a paycheck, <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6468-XCOM-Enemy-Unknown>although that won't be the case for XCOM: Enemy Unknown. After receiving an impressive number of accolades for its challenging story campaign and turn-based combat, 2K Games announced that <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/122877-2K-Games-Bringing-XCOM-Enemy-Unknown-to-iOS>XCOM would come to life on all iOS platforms. The only question was whether this new version would adopt a traditional mobile pricing system, to which co-creator Jake Solomon gave a strong, emphatic "no".

"Oh God, please... no," Solomon said to IGN. "I'm not sure I would be able to sleep at night. My food would taste like ashes in my mouth." According to Solomon, the full game can be purchased in a single transaction, although he was unable to give a specific number. "We're going to be offering XCOM at a premium, up-front, fair price. We're excited to be in this position and excited to see how people respond."

At the very least, XCOM's price tag should be lower than the $50 required for PC versions. If so, mobile gamers will be in for a treat, as almost all content will be ported to iOS. "We got [XCOM] to run pretty quickly, and said 'wow'," Solomon said. "But then we had to get to work solving the storage problem - this is a game we originally shipped on DVD. We saved some space by lowering some texture resolutions, but we also reduced the map count. The maps in XCOM are open play spaces - we still have more included than you'll encounter in a single play through. But we cut them down to get the game down to size."

XCOM: Enemy Unknown will launch sometime in Summer 2013, while the OSX port is scheduled for April 25. The Slingshot and Elite Soldier DLC will not be included, but Solomon admits the possibility may be revisited later on.

Source: <a href=http://ca.ign.com/articles/2013/04/08/xcom-on-iphone-and-ipad-will-have-no-paid-power-ups>IGN

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[Nouw]

Sounds good. Perhaps I will get my brother to buy it on the I-Pad seeing as he's in need of a challenging game to dedicate his abundant time to.

 

[PatrickXD]

If I hadn't already bought the game on Xbox back in October, I'd be more than happy to pay upwards of £20 for the game on my ipod.
Finger's crossed for my private pipe dream of a Vita port, I'd buy that in a heartbeat!

 

[lancar]

They should have the cut maps available as an optional extra download. We all know the maps included in the game were not enough, so the mobile folks will need all they can get.

 

[Kmadden2004]

I'll be honest here; the only reason why I pre-ordered the original PS3 game (as opposed to buying it later when the price went down - or waiting for the inevitable Mac version) was because of the charm offensive Jake Solomon went on during the game's promotion.

Seriously, you can tell this guy just loves everything about his job, and the game he's promoting.

 

[snekadid]

No Microtransactions For iOS XCOM: Enemy Unknown



"Oh God, please... no," Solomon said to IGN. "I'm not sure I would be able to sleep at night. My food would taste like ashes in my mouth." According to Solomon, the full game can be purchased in a single transaction, although he was unable to give a specific number. "We're going to be offering XCOM at a premium, up-front, fair price. We're excited to be in this position and excited to see how people respond."
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And that is why I love these guys. 2K offers some of the best games on the market and the people that work for them seem like they still have souls, so that's a plus.

 

[Yoshisummons]

So that's what they've been doing instead of fixing all those bugs still in the game. Also

We saved some space by lowering some texture resolutions, but we also reduced the map count. The maps in XCOM are open play spaces - we still have more included than you'll encounter in a single play through. But we cut them down to get the game down to size."

Peachy, it already had very few maps to begin with but fine by me. Dear god I hope they removed both graveyards, seriously screw those maps in all their bullshit glory.

 

[xEightBitPlayerx]

So if they are not to do microtransactions, what would be the price point that people are willing to pay? $39.99 or less for a full port? A Final Fantasy pricing of $19.99? Just curious.

 

[Milanezi]

So if they are not to do microtransactions, what would be the price point that people are willing to pay? $39.99 or less for a full port? A Final Fantasy pricing of $19.99? Just curious.

The only stuff I've seen in app store for the value of US$ 39,99 or more are technical/pro stuff, not games... However, the SquareEnix price tag is usually decent in my opinion.

OT: probably not getting it anyway, didn't feel interested in it when it was released in consoles, probably won't be interested now...

 

[xEightBitPlayerx]

Can they skip their publisher as well when they port over to iOS or Android? I guess that depends on trademarks and copyrights. I wonder if this will start a trend of full port console games over to mobile devices?

 

[Kahani]

we still have more included than you'll encounter in a single play through.

Bollocks. The PC version doesn't have anywhere near enough maps to make it though a single play through without repeating many of them over and over again. What on Earth would make someone tell such obvious lies about the game when there are so many entirely valid points to sell it on?