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Capybara's Nathan Vella: Paid Apps Aren't Dying
Free-to-play may be the darling economic model in the game industry at the moment, but according to Capybara president Nathan Vella, the reports regarding the death of paid games on mobile and tablet platforms have been greatly exaggerated.
During his GDC talk "Still Kicking: The Viability of Paid Apps in the Era of F2P," the Sword & Sworcery EP co-creator reiterated that huge profit potential still exists in the space, with as much as $2 billion in revenue generated in 2012 alone according to his "loose math."
As games like The Room and Ridiculous Fishing have recently proved, if you offer compelling gameplay you can still crack the iOS and Google Play charts that dominate the mindshare for consumers. With larger brands following the money to the exploding free-to-play space, Vella argues that your chance to be surfaced in the paid apps charts could actually be improving in the near future.
Though Vella fiercely defends the viability of paid apps, he was quick to point out that his position shouldn't be seen as condemnation of free-to-play games. "All models are okay as long as they aren't used in a predatory manner," he said.
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