StarDunk going to a free demo model

StarDunk is one of my most favorite apps recently, ever since I covered it back for Daily App a little while ago. It's an amusing little 2D basketball game, made even more impressive by the fact that it juggles online multiplayer across the world -- as you throw baskets, you're also playing in real-time against other users, and competing with various powerups and stunts for as many points as possible. The game was also notable for being one of the first titles integrated into Game Center, back when that service first arrived on the iPhone.

But the app hasn't been doing as great as it could be, according to developer Godzilab -- first, they had some issues with piracy, and now they're saying that the game's just not selling as many copies as they'd hoped.

So the game has gone free -- kind of. You can pick it up right now in the App Store for free, and play ten games without paying a single cent. Once you've played those games, then you have the option to buy the whole app via in-app purchase for $2.99. That's not exactly freemium (it's more of a demo version), but at least players will be able to get a feel for the game and how it works before laying down their three bucks. Personally, I still recommend the game -- I bought it on my own and still enjoy a quick game (even though I usually land in the middle of the rankings). But if you've been waiting for a chance to try it out, definitely take advantage of the new model.

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StarDunk is one of my most favorite apps recently, ever since I covered it back for Daily App a little while ago. It's an amusing little...

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deaconpride

Hello all! is it possible to play against your Plus+ friends in the demo version of StarDunk, or is that unlocked with the paid version?

October 07 2010 at 12:38 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

glad

Oh by the way everybody it's quite a good and addictive game to play!!

September 25 2010 at 4:28 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

pat

So in app purchases, ... There seems to be some confusion on the matter. When you buy one you are making a sale through apple for a virtual service within the app. This can flip a switch within the app on the device (add featur, remove ads, etc), edit the contents of a locally or remotely stored database, and can be tied to your iTunes account, or specific to the udid of the device on which the purchase is made. It depends how the authors implements. Some in app purchases are rip-offs, like the 'collect all rent' feature in mytown. (Feature crashed game on update, then when reinstalled app feature was gone, not to mention it was only valid on one device to begin with). Other in app purchases apply accross all of your devices and are instead tied to some account you may have with the application. They're designed to exract payment for a service after we're hooked, and they work pretty well.

@Beyondthetech By the way, you mentioned in-app purchases with icam... I've used that for ages and never saw an in app purchase option... Are you in error or am I missing something?

September 25 2010 at 4:24 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

I don't purchase Appstore apps that use this in-app purchasing model, because you have to re-buy it for every iOS device you own. This is the reason I stopped using Twitterrific.

September 25 2010 at 10:23 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

1 reply to KR's comment

madgoat

Actually, you only have to buy it once. In apps are based on your itunes store account name.

September 25 2010 at 10:42 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Ryan

I thought demo versions where a 'no-no' in the app store?

September 25 2010 at 9:21 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply