MONTREAL – Mobile game development house Kyoho Games has announced that their new free downloadable release – Block Exploder – allows players the option to pay a small premium for customizable elements, special items and the option of being able to win any part of the game.
“Micropayments are the new standard economic model for the mobile gaming industry,” explained Kyoho Games CEO Vanessa Leroux. “We’ve tried for years to find in-game ads that are annoying enough to push enough users to upgrade to the ad-free version, but no matter where we hide the little ‘x’ to close the ad, people still find it. That’s why we’re now leaning so hard on premium purchases for this release.”
Players who wish to change the colour of clothing that their avatar wears, build up a larger stash of power-ups or have any hope of beating a single enemy or puzzle are able to purchase these premium options in-game. There is no requirement to pay anything in order to post your high scores to your social media accounts, but opting out of sharing your gaming habits publicly does cost extra.
“We know that making games this way is going to be incredibly frustrating to 99% of gamers and may permanently turn them off of our products,” says Leroux, “but as long as there is a tiny population of compulsive addicts that we can exploit, our investors will stay happy.”
Kyoho Games is already planning their next release, “Pretty Jewels and Coin Sounds”, which users can plug directly into their body in order to make a straight connection between the reward centre of the brain and their credit card.
