Cash Of Clans

So for the past few months, I’ve been playing Clash of Clans. In case you haven’t heard about this game, it’s for mobile devices (iOS and Android) and made by developer Supercell. This game is so popular it’s getting ads on TV. Crazy.

The premise of the game is bare, but enjoyable. You build a base and defend it, while attacking other bases. You mine for 3 resources – gold, elixir, and dark elixir – and use them to upgrade and build new buildings. It’s well presented and allows you to create a clan to attack other clans. You get a variety of troops to attack with, so this allows for strategic planning of your attacks.

Please don't attack me

As a freemium game, building takes time – sometimes days – but you can purchase gems with real currency to speed up time. You can get these gems for free as well, by clearing bushes, trees, and rocks that grow on your base, but it’s insanely slow. Makes you wonder how much money Supercell is making off this game. Well, this fairly recent article states that the company has generated almost $900 million in revenues. It’s also valued at roughly twice the amount of Take-Two Interactive.

I myself spent $10 on it so far, but I don’t plan on spending a penny more. The freemium model allows customers to gauge how much they value the game: clearly, I value it at $10, while someone else could value it at $1,000.

Giving consumers this option is a smart idea, but I believe it’s used in the wrong way most of the time. Freemium games tend to put time constraints, almost forcing people who, in this day and age, don’t like to wait days for in-game upgrade to complete. On the other hand, you can literally play these games for countless amounts of hours, due to their simplicity. Sure, there are literally hundreds of these kinds of games out now, but they’re good time-killers.

The truth is: these games don’t have any story. The developers make a simple game, balance the mechanics, and put time constraints to have consumers pay them. They prey on our want to have things done faster. This causes us to value these types of game differently from one another.

All your money are belong to us!

Shareware is fairly similar, but overall more honest to the consumer. Old DOS games used to offer the first chapter or a small part of the game for free to lure gamers into buying the game. Sounds perfectly fine to me. Other developers release demos, which is a similar concept as well. Moreover, you’ll find many programs or apps that are free, but add features for some money. Keywords: add features. Most freemium games don’t add features, they just allow you to play faster.

To me, Clash of Clans is the ultimate example of a freemium game. How is it possible that Supercell, a developer with no track record, is valued more than Take-Two, who has published the Grand Theft Auto and BioShock series? Because everyone has a smartphone, mobile games grow exponentially in popularity but also tend to crash. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the same fate for Supercell, since it’s already happening to Zynga.

Final Thoughts
Freemium games allow the consumer to price the game however they see fit. Most developers of these games implement the freemium aspect in shady ways to force out as much money from people as possible. The combination of freemium games being made available to every consumer with a smartphone results in the widest audience attainable.

This pricing model has worked magically for one-hit-wonder developers to turn big, quick profits. Casual gamers don’t seem to mind paying for the option to speed up the game—an option that adds no true value to the game. Developers aren’t going to change until consumers tighten their wallets.