The 99 cent Civilization Revolution trick

Posted by on February 21, 2013 in Games

the_world_for_99_cents

Firaxis has added multiplayer support to Civilization Revolution on the iPad. What a great idea! I enjoyed it on the Xbox 360 when it came out, and then I bought it on the iPhone before I had my iPad. Bad AI doesn’t seem so stupid when it’s on an iPhone. How smart can a game be on such a tiny screen anyway? But I haven’t played Civilization Revolution in a while. Assuming it supports asynchronous play, what a great way to enjoy its sleek boardgameyness.

Since I already own it, I go to download it on my iPad. And I see that a separate iPad version is available for only 99 cents. Okay, it’s worth a look. What else am I going to do with a dollar? I buy it, download it, and tap on the multiplayer option on the main menu to see how it works. Can I challenge my friends? Will it work asynchronously? Can I get away with playing Spain in a multiplayer game and running roughshod over my land-bound friends while I explore the seas and their wonders? And what are these two multiplayer modes listed on the game’s “what’s new” page on iTunes?

Oh, look what’s behind the multiplayer option on the main menu:

3_dollars_to_bring_friends

  • RockJock4Life

    Ugh….does anyone else feel that publishers and developers are just shooting themselves in the foot. Eventually consumers are going to wise up and just stop buying their bullshit. These guys are turning into old-timey snake oil salesmen.

  • Tony M

    I don’t mind paying for legitimate new features like Multiplayer. I just don’t want to pay for “energy”.

  • GreggRe

    Not really. The game he paid 99 cents for did not promise multiplayer. It even says in the update description “Hey all you Civ fanatics! We have added several exciting new features for purchase to Civilization Revolution including the long anticipated Multiplayer Mode! .”

  • Tim P

    They released a purchasable standalone version of multiplayer for the original Civilization called CivNet. I bought that. I don’t see a problem with this.

  • Guest

    The update description doesn’t mention that you have to pay $3 for the update. That’s pretty scummy.

  • gregg re

    I mean, the update also adds a ton of other in-game DLC, like units and buildings and wonders. Should it list their prices, too, or does the list that Apple requires (and automatically updates) cover that?

  • http://www.pdchq.com Kent Bardo

    All the justifications in the previous comments may be accurate. They don’t change the simple fact that the game is being sold in two separate pieces in the way they are to snag an extra dollar or four from people doing exactly what Tom did. Lame.

  • GreggRe

    Would you be happier if they simply charged $5 for all new copies, even for people who otherwise would only want single player (aka the vast majority of their customers)? Or are you simply opposed to any form of DLC ever on principle?

    Sorry, but nothing here is lame except for Tom’s reading abilities.

  • Nightgaunt

    At the end of the day, this is fine, I guess. It’s not a crime to charge for new features. But I want to believe that adding new features for free, especially to a game that still holds up as well as Civ Rev (it’s my favorite incarnation these days), will work out at least as well for 2K financially. Especially multiplayer. It will bring old players back (some of whom will rankle at paying an extra $3) and they will invite their friends to play, some of whom haven’t purchased the game in the first place (it has been years since it was released). Serving the fanbase is better than milking the fanbase, however gently.

  • Justin Fletcher

    Their initial wording could have used some work. I saw the update in the App Store Updates section when it said multiplayer and new units added and nothing about price. Not only is the multiplayer $3 but all of the new units are $4 on top of that.

    Nothing wrong with paid DLC, but they should be more careful with their messaging next time.

  • Rob Harvey

    Yes, make the standard purchase $4 or $5 and call the single player only version the $1 lite version while telling consumers up front what is in each version. Or don’t have the main store picture include statements of multiplayer right under the 99 cent price tag.

    While paying for features is okay I guess in this modern DLC/ micro transaction climate, I am not thrilled at the obfuscation and camouflage that seems to be rampant where I often need to pay a buck just to find out how much I really need to pay. Even checking the most bought IAP is fruitless most of the time as cost and content is further masked by being sold for gems, gold, or whatits.

  • RockJock4Life

    It is an obvious bait and switch, at worst and a deliberate attempt to mislead consumers, at best. The Itunes page indicates that a new version (1.81) is released with all this new content (not DLC). However the list price is $0.99. No where in the description or in the screen shots does it indicate that all this new content is gated behind pay walls. From https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/civilization-revolution/id324563544?mt=8 “Hey all you Civ fanatics! We have added several exciting new features for purchase to Civilization Revolution including the long anticipated Multiplayer Mode! See below some of the awesome new features and modes:…” The only indication of the purchase price for these awesome new features and modes is the $0.99 buy button at the top of the page. I’ve owned Civ Rev on my Iphone for years, and still play it. I believe they have the right to charge for additional content and modes, however they are doing it in a misleading manner.

  • GreggRe

    They do tell customers up front what is in both versions — the same way all iOS DLC works. It’s listed to the left of the item description along with cost. Even the update text says the new additions are purchasable, not free. I really don’t know what you want. Maybe a neon sign saying MICROTRANSACTIONS INSIDE? If so, take it up with Apple. Their current solution is clear to me.

    Note that your “lite” solution is not helpful. It would still require adding DLC for old purchasers, so it solves nothing. In fact, users hate “lite” versions of mobile software with a passion, because it adds clutter and it is usually non-standard. (e.g. some lite apps transform to full versions, while other apps make you download a separate full version. total pain in the ass. I’m glad they’re not around much.)

  • Guest

    The wording was added only AFTER people, like Tom Chick, complained. Why is your mouth so full of 2K’s cock?

  • GreggRe

    Proof? I don’t believe they revised the update description, in part because they’d have to get it run by Apple all over again. Keep in mind the prices were always listed on the item page when Tom wrote this post. He just didn’t care to look, or realize that the update actually contained numerous improvements. Apparently he assumes everything is free.

  • tomchick

    You have a fair point, Gregg, about the text pointing out that the additions are “for purchase”, but I’m inclined to think that the text was changed. I don’t know for sure, as it’s entirely possible I just skimmed the notes and I didn’t catch that the multiplayer is a paid addition. But I don’t recall it read that way previously.

    But more to the point, I don’t expect everything to be free. Certainly not from Firaxis, who has been nickel and diming their fan base for a long time with add-ons for the Civilization games. However, the multiplayer was built-in functionality on the original version of Revolution, so I’m really surprised they’re charging for it on the iOS.

    I’m also surprised that they sprinkle advertisements for the in-app purchases into the game proper. When you go to build improvements in a city, you get an advertisement for DLC units. Unbelievable.

    So while I don’t think everything should be free, and while I might not be as eagle-eyed a reader as I should be, I do feel that Firaxis is downright shameful for the way they’re milking this game for revenue.

  • Rob Harvey

    Open up the App Store. Search for Civ Revolution. Look at the statement on the picture of the returned result. Look at the price stated on the returned result’s buy button. Realize this is a predatory business practice.

  • GreggRe

    To be fair to them, at least right now, the game is selling for $1.00. It is more or less being given away. Mobile game are all effectively ad supported. (And bizarrely, mobile gamers seem to believe that paying for a product exempts them from ever seeing ads — if only I could tell this to my cable company!)

  • tomchick

    Yeah, you’ve clearly got an axe to grind here. Not everyone is happy with the business models being attempted in mobile gaming. It’s very much a Wild West right now, and there’s a spectrum of folks doing it right and doing it wrong. I maintain Firaxis is doing it wrong, and this is a worst-case example.

    Furthermore, when you say mobile games are all effectively ad supported, you might as well say mobile games are all effectively Angry Bird clones. The word “effectively” doesn’t give you as much leeway to be wrong as you’d like.

  • GreggRe

    If you think mobile gaming isn’t almost completely dependent on ads, you’ve been following unprofitable developers. Prices over $1 are toxic for even AAA mobile games. In-app purchases are toxic because of people like you, who write angry blog posts they never would have written if asked to pay the money up front. Ads are what’s left.

  • tomchick

    In app purchases are toxic because they impact the design process.

    The funny thing about your accusation is that I did pay the money upfront when I bought Civilization Revolutions for the iOS when it came out. But keep flailing away at your angry insistence that it’s all my fault! Do you also blame mugging victims for walking down the wrong alley?

  • GreggRe

    You paid some, but not the full price of the game. If Civ rev had always been $10 — say, like that battle of the bulge game — and then they added free multiplayer, you would never cry “Shameful!” You’d at most say it’s a little pricey. And yet, here you are, unloading on Firaxis for having the audacity to implement microtransactions for features added 2 years after release. It’s irrational, and it’s why mobile gaming is troubled.

  • tomchick

    I appreciate you’re attempt to guess what I would say in the GreggRe dream world of How Things Work, but I don’t discuss price in reviews.

    As I made clear in what I wrote, my issue is with the update selling content without making it clear that it’s selling content. Most updates to iOS games are free. Go ahead and browse the iTunes store if you don’t believe me. Do you know how to do that, since you seem unfamiliar with iOS gaming?

    Furthermore, multiplayer was included in the original Civ Revolution from the get-go for the price of the base game. The nickel and diming DLC you want to talk about is another issue entirely. We can talk about that if you like — it seems to be an important issue to you for some reason — but it’s how Firaxis has been doing business for a while and hardly a surprise to anyone.

  • http://www.facebook.com/duke.radish Duke Radish

    This game is almost 3 years, shipped without multiplayer and the heading on the new update clearly says it adds purchasable options.

    Yea, the mobile market is like the wild west but there are far worse things going on than adding purchasable multiplayer to an old game.

  • http://www.facebook.com/duke.radish Duke Radish

    Tom already owned the iPhone version which got the same update. He could just as easily have installed the iPhone version on his iPad to see what was going on.

  • http://www.pdchq.com Kent Bardo

    “All the customer had to do was X, Y or Z.”
    “What do you want, something for free? How much WOULD you pay?”

    The customer can do lots of things, and can forget or not be bothered to do a lot of things to make sure they get what they want and understand what they’re getting. What’s important is how the seller (of anything) defines the experience or transaction. Its says a lot about their perspective. The degree to which the customer believes the burden is on him to be treated well is a crucial part of a relationship.

    This particular customer doesn’t feel that the $1 fee he paid is the end of the world. At the end of the transaction, when he was unsatisfied, I’m guessing he doesn’t see that $1 as an unbearable burden (correct me if I’m wrong).

    However, he did notice how his relationship with the seller was designed. That design is not often an accident.

  • Lernest

    To make matters worse, I have in-app purchases turned off on my ipad, and every time I try to open a city screen I have to click through two error messages.

    My current game has been diminished by this update.

  • GreggRe

    No, but you mention prices in blog posts, apparently. While I’m with you that it would have been nice if Firaxis had made it even more clear to new purchasers that multiplayer was a paid addition, I also wish my cable provider/airline/etc would be more upfront with fees. I’ve learned to read before buying, and I think it’s a good skill in general.

  • tomchick

    Yeah, who needs clearly labeled prices!!??!! It’s totally okay to charge for something that’s part of the base price in, oh, every single other game I’ve ever bought! And it’s totally okay to obscure that fact in tiny print! And I should probably read over EULAs as well before playing games!

    Dude, I get that you have some weird stake in this issue — let me guess, you’re still waiting on your ship to come in for some free-to-play puzzle game you published in the Apple Store? — but this isn’t about reading fine print. It’s about how companies treat their customers. Maybe you feel you deserve what 2K/Firaxis dishes out. But the rest of us expect better.

  • Gil102

    I will have to agree. Having to purchase Multiplayer is very obvious once you read every single word of the bolded “What’s New in Version 1.8.1″ paragraph and ignore the iPhone screenshot below with the caption “MULTIPLAYER With up to 4 players!!” People who don’t read every word on every ad for every game they are interested in probably deserve to be disappointed. Right?

  • Arjan

    I own Civilization Revolution (iPad) since long before the update and what they did is actually much worse than just hide the multiplayer costs; various items such as the Tank or the Factory, are now suddenly paid options that were just part of the ame before. It is by far the worst downdate I have eer seen.