The trouble with trials.

I'm rather surprised at how unsophisticated the App Store is when it comes to trial versions of software. Right now the only option for customers to try before they buy is the 'Lite' version of an App; a separate free download that reserves certain content for the full version, or in some cases is the full version but funded by in-game ads. Inevitably some developers opt out of creating two separate SKU's, leaving consumers to chance a purchase.

I write about this in particular as I recently made a purchase on the App Store using my iPod Touch. The game in question is rendered in 3D (though has '2D gameplay') and runs quite poorly on my iPod, enough to negatively impact the 'twitch' gameplay experience at any rate. With no free Lite version available I had to purchase the game to find out it was effectively unplayable. You could argue that at £1.19 it wasn't much of a loss but that shouldn't even enter into it; had I known this beforehand I wouldn't have bought the game.

In this respect the App Store seems completely backwards, especially in comparison to the more elegant Xbox Live Indie Games trial system where you download the full game right away but until you unlock the full version you can only play for a limited time. Of course, this wouldn't necessarily be appropriate for digital distribution services like Steam where games can run into the giga-bytes, but for the App Store or other services it's baffling why consumers don't have a clear way to try the product they're buying.

I'm not entirely sure of Apple's mentality behind a system that encourages developers to release two SKU's to allow consumers to try their product. Having a 'trial' option similar to XBLIG's, where consumers are prompted to make a purchase after a set time would surely translate into more sales, especially if the player is already hooked on the game when they receive the message.

UPDATE: Check here for some conversion rates from trial to full game (courtesy of Mommy's Best Games): http://mommysbest.blogspot.com/2010/04/shoot-1up-daily-sales.html