For many gamers, this is a message that is symptomatic of why they reject mobile games. The company “Rovio Entertainment” has released a mobile game without microtransactions: Rovio Classics: Angry Bird costs only one Euro. The re-release of the hit from 2009 is extremely successful on Google Play – but it is now being taken off the market because it “has implications for the broader portfolio.”
What kind of game is this?
- Rovio is the Finnish development studio that created the game “Angry Birds” in 2009. In the game, the objective is to shoot birds with a slingshot at the hiding places of pigs. Each destroyed object awards points.
- The game in question is called “Rovio Classics: AB”. It costs 0.99 € in the Google Play Store and is a remake of the original game, which comes entirely without microtransactions.
- The game has 36,500 reviews on Google Play with 4.7 out of 5 stars. People say: It feels almost like before. The great thing is, for the price of 1 €, you get a lot out of it, plus no ads and no in-app purchases.
An update from Angry Birds is one of the most viewed gaming trailers on YouTube:
Rovio analyzes “Business Case”, says it will take the game off the market in 2 days
This is now the decision: Rovio announced on February 21 that it had reviewed the “Business Case” of the game and what impact the game has on the broader “games portfolio”. Therefore, it has been decided to remove the game from the store on February 23.
The game will remain playable on devices where it was downloaded, but will be de-listed.
They understand that this decision upsets people and hope they will then play, for example, Angry Birds 2.
What do they mean by that? One of the developers says: “It negatively affects our other games.” This endangers the future of the company.
This is clearly meant:
- Because this game is so popular, but comes without microtransactions, people play the “Classic” purchase game and not the games with microtransactions.
- As a result, the company earns less money than if the game did not exist, and people would be forced to play one of the versions with in-game purchases.
What outrages the people so much? The topic is currently number one on the general games Reddit, which is unprecedented for a mobile game. Normally, hardcore PC gamers are at home on reddit/Games, for whom it is already a sacrilege when Bethesda turns the holy role-playing game Fallout into a survival MMO.
People say: “The far superior game is being removed from digital stores to favor shitty, microtransaction-infested versions” – games like Peggles or “Plants vs. Zombies” are cited as examples where this has also happened.
For outraged gamers, this example is emblematic of the mobile market, which they reject as “slot” infested:
5 free mobile games that come completely without outrageous pay-to-win
