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Has itch.io ever thought about implementing a paywall?

A topic by SebastianWardana created Dec 28, 2021 Views: 2,021 Replies: 17

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SebastianWardana2 years ago

Whats your thought on having optional paywalls?

Is there an actual paywall when implementing stripe?

Or a paywall that developers can opt in to, or has that never been part of the philosophy of itch.io as a website?

I mean, basically, i can get all games for free on the website, and people are okay with that? The site is still making money obviously right and yes, piracy will happen regardless. Im just wondering what the thoughts are on the topic of an actual paywall before being able to download, since that can still be locked behind a donation, like wikipedia tried to do it, but i think people dissagreed completely.

I dont know how the concept of the site was and maybe there is where the support came in because of the concept at all, but at some point, youd want to ensure folks that they will get their money, right? I know its a trust thing, and man, what a trip to trust people like that, and yeah, it would change the site considderably, because the quality of games that would be put on it, would probably skyrocket, but also a lot of games that might be sub par will open up their hands...

I mean, has this been adressed or discussed at all internally? I would love to hear about someones perspective on the matter who is working on the site, like at all, maybe I just dont understand there not being an option to hide your game behind a paywall since the site has grown.

Again, I am not someone who wanted to cash in and make sure people paid and thats that, as my uploads can attest to that due to there not being prices on them and no screenshots or marketing at all done to them.

Just totally curious... Thanks a lot!

No Time To PlayModerator moved this topic to Ideas & Feedback 2 years ago

No Time To PlayModerator2 years ago

Uh, no, you can't get all games on itch.io for free, some of them have a minimum price. If you mean web games, that's been considered and rejected by the dev team (though people keep asking). And not everyone can legally make money here, or wants to.

SebastianWardana2 years ago

but, wikipedia had a paywall for donations as well for a while, sure the community rejected it and it has been removed since and better ways have been found, but you know, a paywall, does not constitute making money and paying taxes, donations can comprise such a paywall...

No Time To PlayModerator2 years ago

What paywall. Do you mean a donation banner? Because that's something else entirely. And web games on itch.io can receive donations, didn't you see the buttons?

SebastianWardana2 years ago

no like, lets say you have the payments page, right? it has the price and pay button already built in, it still says this is a fixed donation and if the user pays then they can download content.

No Time To PlayModerator2 years ago

Then it's no longer a donation, but a purchase. It's called a purchase. You can set a minimum price on your game.

SebastianWardana2 years ago

is it possible to create a "purchase" through butler... or do tax laws apply with "purchases"

No Time To PlayModerator2 years ago

...No. Butler is an upload tool. It handles uploads, period. To set a minimum price you have to edit your project from the web interface.

And yes, all relevant taxes apply to purchases made on itch.io; there's no need for scare quotes. They're purchases.

SebastianWardana2 years ago

but its voluntary

SebastianWardana2 years ago

its all voluntary, i could spend zero on a game, every game is released under no profit, the profit is where the taxes apply.

Midnight Spire Games2 years ago(+3)

I honestly don't understand what you're asking for.

Creators can already set a download to be completely free, or free with optional donations, or to have a mandatory minimum purchase price. What do you want to change about this? What do taxes or Butler have to do with it?

criacuervos2 years ago(+1)

Same here. I really don't understand what this fuss is all about. We already have all we need and it works fine.

SebastianWardana2 years ago

but it can always be free, no matter the price that the game maker sets, i can make all purchases of itch.io be zero dolars as a customer, isnt that a problem? thats the one that bugs me the most, like, dont you wanna be paid, there are some major releases on this platform and they run the chance of making 0 bucks! i mean, doesnt that concern you? i have rarely encountered games with a minimum price. wow, i finally found the right words, like for real, doesnt it concern you, that people who worked their ass off run into the issue of paypal letting the customer set their price, i know it says so in the wiki, yes, these are all asking prices, yes, you can not stop piracy, people who dont want to pay will never pay, but do we have to make it that obviously easy for them? or am i able to change the price as a developer, like cant i be a dev and a player and thus pay fair prices and be urged to pay a price for owning something that someone has made and desserves a dollar for, or two or more! its not the amount, its what the creator asks for and shall receive. i think they desserve that backing from the platform.

No Time To PlayModerator2 years ago (1 edit)

Once again, no. A lot of games here have a minimum price. Please look more carefully.

Edit: also, the definition of profit isn't as simple as you make it, and in a lot of jurisdictions a tax is applied on sales. So still no.

SebastianWardana2 years ago

that is why i keep harping about this issue, there are major companies like devolver putting games on here and probably expect normal financial returns, like with steam, but customers can easily make a purchase be 0 dollars and get the game for free, where as on steam, they would be obliged to pay, before they can even think about adding it to their library, let alone start the download of it, its mind boggling, the amount of trust that is given here to the end user and the amount of trust that companies have in this user base, i could techincally steal a bunch of games and play them without paying, without having EVER to pay, with the developers willingly doing so, in the expecation that people/customers will pay for every download. well, whos telling me they will? its craziness, is what it is... like this ape game by devolver, major release, much buzz, people can "buy" it for zero dollars, and nobody cares, like yeah, piratebay exists, but why would you go there with itch.io existing, what if they drop an update, it will be updated too... like hello? i mean its a good point against actuall piracy if the game is avaiblable like this, no lie, but... you know, who has that type of trust?

No Time To PlayModerator2 years ago(+1)

Are you for real? Did you even see me telling you twice so far (this would be #3) that you CAN set a minimum price, and a lot of creators DO?

SebastianWardana2 years ago

i have never encountered it, i just delete the number by clicking on it and it says 0.00 and then i can purchase anything for zero dollars...

mid2 years ago(+1)

Then either you’ve encountered an extremely serious bug that could ruin Itch’s reputation, or you’ve missed the part that reads “This game is free but the developer accepts your support by letting you pay what you think is fair for the game”.

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