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Apple Plays Violin While App Store Burns

     Hey, everyone. I am a close observer of gaming apps on the store. The crooks and marketers are ruining this gaming platform. I was reading a review of a game this morning on the store and saw one guy that mentioned that he was going to start playing games on a different platform due to in-app purchases. This reminds me of the furniture industry. Years ago, they started to advertise dining room furniture for a certain price, then the customer would discover that he had to buy the chairs separately from the table. The same was true for bedroom stuff. Buy the bed, you get a frame. Then buy the mattress, box spring, night stand, etc. Well, some of the greedy folks who have been driven away from selling used cars and satellite dishes are now hip-deep in the app store.
     You buy a game that is often hyped up by reviewers, then you play it a bit. You find that you can't progress without buying a weapon or armor with more cash. Then you get an update that places adds on your paid-for game. Other games have a full page add on the front of the game you just paid for. Some games sell you the ability to skip a few levels without beating them. This is a game I paid for; I should be able to play any level, any time I want. What started as the 'freemium model', where a game was free because it had adds or in-app purchases, has, through boldness, deteriorated to the point where you pay $5.99 for a game and can't advance far without in-apps. Where will it end? The marketers will never rest until they can make $50 out of their 'premium' games.
     If you consider the fact that most of the games which you buy can't be beaten, even on the easy level, why should I go out and buy the I-Pad 3 when it comes out? I am sick of the scammers. I'll just keep my I-Pad 2 and wait  about buying any new games until there are sufficient reviews out there on the store, so that I won't get ripped off so much. ( If an app has less than 40 reviews, don't trust the rating. The developer's relatives may be writing the 5 star reviews.)
      There are a lot of review sites who have made friends in the developers' camps. Certain game developers can put out the worst crap imaginable and get a good review.  I am tempted to mention a few names but I suppose I had  better not.
    One guy claims that he hit the help button in a game and he was sent to a full page add for something on another site. The other day I bought a game. It asked to be allowed to send me 'push notifications'. I clicked 'don't allow'. Sure enough, I went to my 'settings' page and the game had changed my settings so that it did indeed send me 'alerts'.
     I am only covering a few of the many things that are happening to the app store. There are other things that have slipped my mind for the moment. It takes a while for a prosperous city like Rome to burn. Apple is presently on top of the world. Doubtless, it will take some time for it to be consumed. It is a fact that you can't leave things untended. Choices have to be made and standards kept. Above all, you have to treat consumers fairly. Most of us will put up with a lot before we tune out. Ask the satellite TV and cable industries, which are currently pricing themselves out of existence. I wouldn't invest in a lot of sports-related things either. Greedy marketers are ruining a lot of businesses.
    About a year ago, my wife and I were talking about the app store and the great games at low prices. We talked about how the environment was good and you could trust that the developers would treat you fairly. Cool. Then one of us remarked that, by the very nature of things, someone would have to mess it up. We began to see the in-apps and a lot of other things. Parents were raising a storm over smurfberries being purchased by their little kids and bullets being bought as in-apps. Apple took steps to correct some of these issues. Other problems remain. Hey, that's okay. History tells us that Nero played the violin while Rome burned. No big deal. By the time anyone with authority notices the problems, the damage will be irreversible.
      From the old, crabby gamer at the green retreat, I'm CE Wills.
P.S. I know that this is a mandolin in the picture, but I don't own a violin.
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