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Google Play will let developers earn more money by having users watch ads in exchange for rewards
[In free-to-play games] you'll often be offered the ability to watch a video advertisement to receive some sort of bonus. This bonus can come in the form of double the in-game currency for X number of minutes, an extra chance at a particular level, or anything else that can benefit the user. Developers could add this feature with Unity Ads, but now Google has announced they are building it into the Google Play Billing Library or AIDL interface with only a few additional API calls. The featured is called a "rewarded product" and instructions on how to set it up can be found here.
This means the developer doesn't have to integrate any other SDK into their application or game which should reduce the work required to add this extra monetization opportunity. The feature is powered by Google's Admob technology so developers will have access to the large number of advertisers who they are working with.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by MrGuy on Monday March 11 2019, @07:50PM (2 children)
Android wants to be the future of gaming platforms (or, at least, a major player - bigger than they are now).
To be a gaming platform, you need game developers to target your platform and make tons of games. And you need game players who want to play the games that are offered on your platform.
If you don't have developers, you won't get players. Developers want to make money. They're increasingly learning (especially on mobile platforms) the upfront cost of the game is barrier to getting players, so they like to make their money other ways (hello, microtransactions!) Shoehorning in ads everywhere they'll fit is another way.
But game players HATE being monitized. They hate "play to win" microtransactions. And they hate being forced to watch ads. The more of these there are in games, the more turned off people get by the games in question, but by the platform as a whole.
The Android development team appears to be gambling that "get developers to make games!" is a bigger concern right now than "don't piss off the playerbase!" Whether that proves to be a short-term smart, long-term foolish move or the correct assessment remains to be seen.
I for one have pretty much given up on mobile games because I can't stand the constant barrage of ads, and this move seems likely to increase that issue.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Pino P on Monday March 11 2019, @08:03PM
It'll be hard for that to happen so long as the only input that game developers can depend on is a flat sheet of glass. Because an Android device's touch surface is flat, the player looking at the action in the center of the screen cannot discern whether his or her thumbs are centered over a button. Thus it's hard to place buttons such that the player is unlikely to press the wrong button or "whiff" (press the dead space between buttons). Third-party clip-on controllers for Android phones exist, and they would partly solve this problem if developers could depend on the player owning one. But because the manufacturers of these controllers have not released sales numbers, developers cannot.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday March 11 2019, @09:28PM
*"pay to win" microtransactions are aimed at "whales", a small percentage of the players:
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-10-20-interview-with-the-whale [eurogamer.net]
https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/63lvak/what_is_a_whale/ [reddit.com]
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