sandhan wrote:

I imagine lots of people do as I did: download the Casino game because its  "free,"  then immediately delete it when they see what it's like.  But it's still counted as a download.  Who knows how they decide on the Game of the Year?  They could pick a name out of a hat for all we know.  As you see,  my cynicism threshold is at its nadir.

Well, if they want the Casino game to be Game of the Year, rather than MCF (and that's quite possible sice Elephant Games is doing this year's MCF), then they will decide that downloads is what matter. Free-to-play should really be a separate category: how can you compare # of games bought vs $$$ spent buying chips and come up with what the customers like best????

Anyhow, for a game to remain in the top 100 downloads, people have to want to download it.   Considering how HOGS have dominated the Top 10, it's mind-boggling that none of the HOG free-to-pay games have made #1.  And that makes me think that it's not the usual download crowd that's looking at it.  I love free stuff, but I haven't looked at it.
 

http://www.bigfishgames.com/blog/mobile-gaming-it%e2%80%99s-here-to-stay/
Mobile Gaming: It’s Here to Stay

Latest blog post on BFG.

Quote:

Over the last few years more traditional gamers have argued that mobile gaming will never be able to compete with the experience of playing on a console or PC. But more and more people are now purchasing gaming apps than any other genre, with 64% accessing their favourite games every daily.

While this doesn’t suggest that the traditional console market is nearing its demise, there’s no doubt that mobiles are starting to have an impact on the popularity of console gaming. This was recently highlighted after Nintendo reduced its 2013 forecast for 3DS sales by 14%.

Newzoo, a market research firm for the games industry, has predicted that the number of mobile gamers worldwide will rise from 1.21 billion to 1.55 billion this year alone. This figure will then continue to grow at an average annual rate of 19% for smartphones and 48% for tablets.
 

Tirama,  I'm sure you must be right about BF  and the Casino games.
I tried,  didn't like,  deleted.  So it's irritating to get the constant messages:  "Because of your interest in BF Casino,  we recommend..."
 

sandhan wrote:

Tirama,  I'm sure you must be right about BF  and the Casino games.
I tried,  didn't like,  deleted.  So it's irritating to get the constant messages:  "Because of your interest in BF Casino,  we recommend..."
 

That message should go away after you've tried some other games you didn't like.  I'm irked because I got the latest game manager and now the tab for "new ways to play" won't stay closed.  Still, I'm willing to look at the icon for that stupid Casino game if it means BF gets the $$$ that allows it to keep the games I do like at a price I can afford.

It's not as if this is the first casino-type game BF has offered, people who enjoy those slots games and poker and whatever deserve to have a new game to play just as much as HOPA and TM and M3 fans do.

And I don't see shelling out money to get casino chips as any more evil than shelling out money for powerups and whatnots for the other free-to-play games.  I wouldn't do it, but I'm sure I blow some of my disposable income on things other people consider frivolous and unneccessary.  Live and let live.
 

I've avoided the so-called  "free-to-play"  games out of skepticism,  but did get  "League of Mermaids," and enjoy it;  haven't found it necessary to spend any actual cash.