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Rumors claim that Apple plans to introduce a new section of its App Store for “Premium” games — high-quality titles that will carry a $19.99 price point. The rumor was originally posted at PocketGamer, and was followed up with further details yesterday at Slide To Play, citing an anonymous publisher source.
The source claims that the premium content category will only be open to a select few publishers, who will be encouraged to produce “PSP-quality” games. Whether “PSP-quality” refers to graphic quality, depth, or quantity of content is unknown at this time.
According to anonymous sources, Apple hopes that the move will attract popular console franchises to its platform. Interestingly, Slide To Play’s publisher source notes that larger publishers may be unwilling to compete with lower-priced independently published titles in the current App Store environment.
“We’re not going to bring our best stuff out when games like iShoot own the App Store and are making hundreds of thousands of dollars,” the source said. “If people want to buy [lower-quality, less expensive] games, that’s fine, but we’ll be able to make money this way.”
Apple has yet to officially confirm the existence of the rumored “Premium” category, and no launch date for the potential initiative has yet been set.
