Historically, we haven’t been able to get very much for a dollar when it comes to video games. Games on physical media sold for $1 at a store are likely not worth the materials they’re made from. At the arcade, a dollar in this economy will get you one play on most games, which will likely last you no more than two minutes.
Over the past few weeks, the majority of my gaming purchases have cost me only a dollar on the iTunes store. If you’ve got an iDevice, a dollar can go a long way.
On the iTunes app store, there are a number of great games that cost a dollar. I know it’s not totally fair to compare the arcade experience to the iPhone experience, but owning a game for the same price as playing a game at a machine for two minutes means that buying an iPhone game will stretch your dollar a lot further.
The quality of mobile games has gone up considerably in the last few years, and unlike the physical game space, a one dollar game doesn’t mean you’re getting a crappy game. There are tons of great games that are available every day at the cost of one dollar, including Angry Birds, Flight Control, Pix N’ Love Rush, Ninjatown! Trees of Doom and Fruit Ninja. If you’re reluctant to drop money on a dollar game and a lite version isn’t available, I would recommend checking out review sites such as Slide to Play and Touch Arcade for a second opinion.
What has caught my attention the most on the app store are the number of games that go on sale for a dollar. Due to the nature of the app store, it’s almost a given that every game that comes out will go on sale for a dollar sooner or later. It’s hard to resist a game that goes on sale at 85% off and is only available at that price for a limited time. I’ve picked up the Price is Right, Bookworm, FIFA 2010, N.O.V.A., Blades of Fury and more thanks to sales like these.
Even conservative gamers can build up a decent collection of games one dollar at a time. For me, it’s a great way of not only buying games I want for cheap, but also trying out games that I may not have given a chance because they’re out of my comfort zone. I always feel that you never know what you’ll like till you try it, and at one dollar, it’s not that big of a hit if you come across a dud. I wouldn’t have given Backbreaker a chance until it came down to a dollar, and I’m glad that I did.
I think it’s wonderful that we now live in a video game marketplace where you can get more value out of a dollar. I could get seven great games for the same price as a Big Mac meal. When you put the monetary values in perspective, good dollar games on a mobile device are awesome.
In Third Person 