It’s amazing how quickly things can change. Take Eliminate Pro – formerly Eliminate, and LiveFire before that – as an example. Originally planned as a for-pay game, ngmoco’s online first-person shooter for the iPhone/iPod touch now sports a free-to-play model, offering a gratis download that users can support through microtransactions.  The switch followed a mid-October Apple announcement that, going forward, in-app purchases could be incorporated into any application, whether free or premium.

To me, it seemed like a risky move, as ngmoco relies on a steady stream of cash to balance content and maintain global servers. That doesn’t even touch on development costs, or any promotional expenditures. Theoretically, users could play the game without ever paying a cent.

Based on initial results though, the decision appears to be paying dividends for the mobile games company.

According to numbers compiled by FingerGaming, and also reported by sister site Gamasutra, Eliminate Pro ranked ninth among the top-grossing U.S. iTunes applications for the week ended Nov. 10. The game launched on Nov. 2. It was the only free-to-play game to chart in the top ten, though JellyCar 2 and Skee-Ball – both $0.99 – made the cut as well. Also of note is the fact that Eliminate Pro is a new IP, and thus does not benefit from brand recognition tied to established IPs like Rock Band, The Sims 3, Tetris and Doom Classic.

Eliminate Pro was built to deliver a “console-caliber shooting experience” on the iPhone/iPod touch platform, and it appears – initially at least – that users are responding. If the game continues to perform well, it could have a huge impact on the mobile gaming market. Not only could it lead to increased adoption of the free-to-play model, but greater emphasis on core-focused iPhone/iPod touch games as well, further diversifying the iTunes application library.

Source: FingerGaming via Gamasutra

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