Game developer Glu, which makes the app Frontline Commando, is among the first to use Google's in-app subscription feature for Android apps. Image: Google
Google launched in-app subscriptions for Android apps on Thursday, copying, and in some ways improving on, a model carved out by Apple.
The feature is available to publishers and media companies, just as in Apple’s App Store. But Google is also makings its in-app subscription service available to any app that wants to use it.
And that move is a win for game developers in particular, said Adam Flanders, the senior vice president of business development at San Francisco-based Glu.
“In-app subscriptions allow us to offer entirely new types of products, things that just weren’t possible before,” Flanders told Wired. “This is huge for us and game developers in general.”
Along with the roll-out Glu announced its Glu VIP Club on Android, which will run between $4.99 and $9.99 a month, and give avid mobile gamers access to new content in popular games. The subscription will also offer users bonus Glu Credits, a digital currency that can be used across the company’s games.
Flanders said about 3.2 million people play Glu games each month, across both Android and iOS. The publicly-traded company doesn’t share user numbers specific to each operating system.
Google said in a statement that 23 of the 24 top-grossing items in its Google Play store use in-app billing. The Mountain View company is expecting subscriptions, which can be offered either monthly or annually through Google Play, will be just as successful.
Qello, a company that makes concert video streaming apps for Android, iOS, Google TV and Samsung TVs, is looking to update its Android apps in about the next 48 hours with subscriptions.
“We’re a niche business, but being able to offer the same product on both platforms should allow us to pull in people we might not have been able to reach before,” Matthew Carona, Qello’s vice president of product, told Wired. “Subscriptions are a lot easier to deal with than having to make a bunch of smaller in-app purchases every time you want to watch a video.”
Qello has been offering subscriptions through its iOS apps since Apple introduced its equivalent about a year ago. The price on Android or iOS for Qello’s subscription will be the same, $4.99. The apps offer access to about 500 high-definition concert videos and the company is working on bringing about 1,200 more videos to subscribers over the coming months, Carona said.
“Our whole business model is built on subscriptions,” he said. “Being able to offer subscriptions on Android could be a game changer for us.”
Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/05/android-in-app-subscriptions/
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