While this is being discussed, I ask that everyone remain civil and professional.
Rob
@Gremlin, it might be a stupid idea, but why not taking your plugin to Corona directly? The way i see it, it is a win-win situation : you get paid by Corona a fee (depending on usage/adoption) to offer the plugin for free, Corona benefits from one new (and really necessary) monetization option.
We all know that it is quite hard to live properly on app development at the moment. To me, any new plugin that requires extra cash out of my pocket will go through a much deeper thinking process before adoption. Main reasons would be : Is this going to pay back the investment? Is this going to be easily implemented? and Is this going to be supported on the long run? (what if it breaks and no one is there anymore to fix it).
Now if Corona offers this in the package, i will try it, and most likely adopt it if the quality is here. Corona SDK has always been lacking ads options. It is getting better, but we constantly hear about this *new-ad-network* that performs so well, and are unable to use unfortunately… Out of all the ad monetization available to us, i tried most of them, and i know only of 3 that work and pay properly (iads, admob, vungle if you wonder). Nothing for Amazon : Corona is failing here, they do have a need for it. You have the fix for them. They would be stupid not to go for it.
End of the day, the way it is now, the chance that i try the plugin are very low compare to a plugin offered for free. Which drives me to a second point if dealing directly with Corona is not an option: You may want to offer the plugin for 1 app for free, so devs can try it out. If they realize it works well and that the support is here, that they could easily implement and that it paid off properly, the will buy the licence for their future apps. I know i would.
On a side note, @Ingemar :
QUOTE : Personally I don’t think CoronaLabs should develop plugins. They should concentrate on making the core the best there is. They’ve already provided us with the plugin framework which enables us to write plugins. What’s missing is a marketplace which I hope will become available soon, because competition *is* a good thing. I just hope that it doesn’t become another race-to-the-bottom with pricing, where quality usually suffers.
I do think the exact opposite, in a way =) And for the exact reason that you mention : We will end up with a marketplace filled with low quality products, with low adoption as there will be a price barrier. I would largely prefer that Corona deals directly with plugin developers to incorporate their plugins, and ensure a high level of quality, pay them accordingly and offers their plugins for free. More stability for the plugin devs -> More quality + better following up/updates -> happier customers.
Corona SDK sells itself as THE cross-platform engine. Great. But then, it is their responsibility to make sure that all is cross-platform, and that includes the main ad networks. Put it another way : Would it seem normal to you now to go back to pay the plugin for iAds, for AdMob, for using IAP’s, Zip, Flurry, etc? (I know i would be gone in a second). Do you want a product which is only a core and then you have to pay for anything extra? I know i don’t. I want a one time fee and a complete freedom into using any thing i want in the future, a complete solution (where i pick what i want to use by declaring in the buid.settings), an ALL-INCLUSIVE, truly cross-platform. I do understand that it may be hard for them to do “in-house”, and this is where dealing with extermal plugin devs make a lot of sense : they keep having great plugins for cheaper than developed in-house and they can really offer the full cross-platform experience (and their main selling point, let’s not kid ourselves).
[background=#f7fbfc]… I do understand that it may be hard for them to do “in-house”, and this is where dealing with extermal plugin devs make a lot of sense : they keep having great plugins for cheaper than developed in-house and they can really offer the full cross-platform experience…[/background]
This is an evolution of what I was thinking and has the same consequence: CoronaLabs support the developers but don’t need to develop the plugins themselves in-house. It would also, as you say, promote higher quality plugins. I’m wondering though if CoronaLabs is willing to do this.
Ok, so here is the new deal everyone:
New Customers: There is no more ‘app limit’, meaning that you buy the plugin as a one off purchase and can use it in as many apps as you like. We still register your apps on our servers however, to ensure everyone complies with our licensing. If we find any instances of ‘sharing’ we will ban you and lock your account, and your license will no longer be valid.
Existing customers: Same deal applies as above.
Thanks
Oh my :o !
And the price point has also changed dramatically. Everyone can afford this now!
Yeah, we have been as flexible as we possibly can and made this affordable for everyone. I hope this will be the start of increased activity and less arguments and such from the community. We are trying to help everyone here!
Cheers :>
It is affordable,but I have corona starter ,So I cannot use the plugin
I hope this results in higher sales volume = more revenue for you and your partners.
Well done Gremlin! This is exactly what I am looking for! I hope that this will be a win-win situation for both you and your customers 
Well, I know I made some snarky remarks about this per license stuff, and I wasn’t the only one. I do believe you are a stand up guy, and I can understand trying to make a living. I have a 10 month old little girl, 2.5 year old son and have a lot to prove as an app entrepreneur :)
This is perfect, instabuy. Bought at this price there is no reason not to do it and mess with anything else. Chartboost has treated me well thus far. I think now if someone has a problem with 14.99 or even if it’s 30 when the sales over recouping that money through ads then there are larger issues
Cool cool. It’s ALL good.
SHOW ALL THE ADS!
MAKE ALL THE MONEY!
Damned, i missed the sale!
@GremlinInteractive : Would you know when is the next sale?
d.
There are no
Hello.
We currently have no plans for any future sales.
Thanks
I also considered the plugin - but had to dismiss it due to the per app licensing model.
I’m not saying it’s a rip-off. I totally appreciate the work that goes into developing the software.
Still, if the future of 3rd party plugins for Corona uses this model - I’m not at all happy.
Just my 2p worth.
MAS1
It’s up to the each plugin-developer to decide what licensing model to implement.
At first I wasn’t a big fan of the per/app model either, but after giving it some thought it made sense. I’d say it’s most likely the only model that more or less prevents illegal distribution. One license key can only be used for n number of apps, that’s it.
And if you think about it, even at full price, $89 for 10 apps isn’t that much to pay. That’s basically $9 per app, which should easily pay for itself within the first month in ad revenue. If an app doesn’t make that much revenue, then there are more serious problems than the plugin licensing model to worry about…
That’s certainly a convincing argument. Perhaps I’ll take a took at that plugin after all.
Best - MAS1
Edit - I did http://gremlininteractive.com/product/amazon-ads-plugin-for-the-corona-sdk/
and it’s half price! Hopefully plugin development will be viable for Gremlin. Not much 3rd party plugin activity afaik.
@ingemar, exactly my thoughts!!! Who ever thinks this is a ripoff is really not understanding the economics of coding for a living.
If anything, my opinion is that the prices are way too low to sustain a viable business. Concern I have is that eventually folks like Gremlin will simply move on to other work that gives them better return on their investment. And we will be left with no new plugins. Think about it, ever since Gremlin and his partners came out with the 3rd party plugin market we now have access to PayPal, KIIP, Amazon Ads etc. Maybe we would get these from Corona Labs eventually or maybe not. The point is, we have these abilities which we did not have before and perhaps would never have. To me, that can’t ever be a ripoff.
Final thought, if you ever wonder if a price tag is fair, ask yourself how long it would take you to develop the same ability (assuming you know how which I don’t!). Then multiply that by the hourly rate you earn and you will end up with a worth. More than likely you will find that none of these plugins can be developed for under the cost they are being marketed for.
Long live the 3rd Party Plugin Market!!!
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you work for Gremlin Interactive. I haven’t met many people who have wanted to buy something and said that the prices are just too darn low! lol
I understand just fine the economics of coding for a living. I’ve been doing so for many years now. If you’d like an example of a good plugin with the kind of pricing model I’m looking for, check out: http://www.x-pressive.com/ParticleCandy_Corona/download.html. I’m pretty sure they understand the economics as well.
Like I said before, I don’t mind paying for a good plugin (like particle candy), but charging people to use your plugin on a per app basis like Gremlin Interactive is doing is just a bad deal. I’m calling for a change in their pricing model, or for others to step forward and offer some competition (or Corona to just make a good version like they did with AdMob).
Bah
<Off-Topic>
I still fail to see how $9/app is a bad deal :wacko:.
As en Enterprise user I had started developing my own plugin. However before I had gotten too far into that project, Gremlin announced they already had one available. Considering the time it would take to finalize development it made more financial sense to get the one from Gremlin.
Personally I don’t think CoronaLabs should develop plugins. They should concentrate on making the core the best there is. They’ve already provided us with the plugin framework which enables us to write plugins. What’s missing is a marketplace which I hope will become available soon, because competition *is* a good thing. I just hope that it doesn’t become another race-to-the-bottom with pricing, where quality usually suffers.
I don’t understand what’s the matter with people. Why is software considered to be a rip-off when developers charge a bit more for their work? It’s like walking in to your favorite clothing store wanting to buy 10 pairs of jeans, and then yelling “rip-off” when you get to the counter and find out you have to pay the item price * 10. Software is a commodity just like anything else, and I see nothing wrong in charging for it on a per-app basis.
I would say its more like somebody wants to sell you a pair of jeans, and then expect you to pay for it again every time you wear it…
If you look at similar plugin markets for other game development SDKs such as Unity, you will find they don’t charge on a per app basis. If you look at other plugins even for the Corona SDK like I linked in my previous post, you will find they don’t charge on a per app basis. So when I see Gremlin Interactive trying to do so, they are going against the market trend in hopes of making more money.