Discussion: Best payment system for in-game (Unity C#) AND website (JS/JQ/PHP)?

I've been doing a lot of research about this. I've also developed integration with Google Wallet (RIP) and Braintree (PayPal branch) for websites, so pretty familiar with how these work and the payment amounts. I also want to be sure to do anything on a website you can do in-game (using Ajax would be best, for web). Or maybe even use a web UI for payments, who knows. My mind is open.

Well, for indie game devs, most charge a pretty large % on the side since most swipes aren't quantity. If you're like me charging as low as 99 cents per transaction, suddenly a few % + 30 cents is more than 30% transaction fee!

Well, I also discovered you can email sales and mention you're quantity > amount, and I hear they'll lower the amount (awaiting replies).

So far, Swipe seems to be the best, as it's international and EASY. Unity SDK? Nope. There used to be one, but long obsolete. But np their API seems friendly, friendly.

Braintree? Ahh.... if you don't like Stripe. Stripe seems way better so far. They're pretty similar, only Stripe I believe to be more international (last I checked) and a touch friendlier. And not owned by PayPal. *grin*

xsolla.com ? Useless. Useless outsourced customer service, even worse documentation, buggy website, and they piggyback off Paymentwall (charging 25% per transaction, on avg, wheww - they say 5% on their website, but I'm very doubtful, and more than others - even paypal). Not to mention the worst part: You have to already be on Steam (or Xbox/PSN) to accept payments.... which is a Paradox because, once you're on Steam, you should use Steamworks SDK

PlayFab, for those using them (they rock), also supports PayPal as a plugin, but that's the ghetto way. If you're like me, I want nothing to do with PayPal They're sketchy and their fees and ...well, everything, is the worst. I'd only use them as last resort.

Thus, circling back to....... Swipe (Star Citizen uses them) until I get in with Steam. Then Steam.

Anyone have any other insights about this? Tell us what you found from your research or github shares that'll make our lives easier.

EDIT:

Here's what I discovered, though. For quantity transactions (most indie devs), Stripe, Braintree and PayPal do 2-4% + 30 cents. The %? Np, but the 30 cents? That is pretty rough for a 99 cent transaction.

Sell something for $1? They keep 1/3. Ouch .. there has to be a better solution.

Stripe just got back to me saying they do NOT have anything special for quantity purchases.

EDIT 2: Swipe == Stripe typed this before coffee

 

A colleague of mine uses Stripe and he's been very happy with it.
https://stripe.com

 

You know what would be best? If Unity would enable UnityIAP for webGL/desktop targets. I mean, if you say, are developing a f2p game for non-mobile, you're pretty much... funked. If you are making one for mobile, you can use UnityIAP, but otherwise you either have to do manual PayPal/visa/mc integration or use third-party services that may either be shady (xsolla), not work well with Unity (Swipe) or seem to offer only transactions via credit cards (stripe), bypassing other payment processors (PaySafeCard, PayPal, PayU, etc.) that end user may prefer to use.

So opening UnityIAP for desktop would be best both for Unity developers (as they have hassle-free way of getting paid for their F2P game) and Unity itself (sweet, sweet percentage of payments).

 

Am I the only one who believes that having it be easier to put IAPs in desktop games would be a bad thing?

 

Girl, I'm with you all the way on that one .

 

YES, my friend! Let us suggest this in the feedback section! ...wherever that may be. I'll see you there. Let's face it: Our options suck for pc/mac/linux IAP. Or even purchasing the game itself unless you're in steam already (but who here makes it instantly through greenlight)

And no IAP isn't encouraging candy crush games on desktop -- our game (www.ThroneOfLies.com) will be only 5 bucks, and things you buy don't effect the game at all - just for those that want to look cooler faster. You can play 10 games and buy a skin with gold, or you can just dish out 2 bucks for it NOW. If it doesn't effect the game and only aesthetics, and you can still get it in-game by playing, that's the type of IAP that you wanna see. Like Hearthstone.

(Edited for future tense - our game isn't out yet, but this is our plan -- to be super cheap, almost free, then have our gold store for skins/components/boosts not effect gameplay AT ALL like League of Legends, where it's only aesthetic. You can earn gold by playing the normal way, or can convert RL money to gold to look the way you want to "now". We'll give away tons of free alpha/beta keys and rely on in-game purchases for the first long while until out of testing phase)

 

What game are you referring to that can be played and purchases made in it? What little information I've been able to find about it (primarily from a Wikipedia article that will most likely be deleted soon) indicates the game isn't even out yet. Come back in a few years when we have more launched titles than Hearthstone and we'll see if your statement holds up.

 

To answer [off-topic] questions:

My game's not out yet, of course that's why I'm posting here to discuss options. Although, thanks for staying on-topic by..pointing out that my wiki is dying.. cheers?

I was referring to Hearthstone's payment model, and my link is my upcoming game - the reason for this post to discuss options:

"Come back in a few years when we have more launched titles than Hearthstone and we'll see if your statement holds up."

I'm comparing a sales model to Hearthstone (low transactions for the direct item) and League of Legends (higher transactions for a currency for the item) for our upcoming game.. no need to crawl out of the trolls den.

Back to the point:
Most companies with payment API's are horrible for desktop, and no one will make any money if charging for microtransactions as low as 99 cents, where 3% + 30 cents = 33% of $1. Need something better, or forced to use the model where you have to pay minimum $5 to get x amount of gold, way more than the average person probably wants (League of Legends model)

 

Yet how many of those people discuss monetization strategies before they actually have a game to monetize. If you don't have a product the example you gave earlier about why IAPs won't encourage Candy Crush monetization is worthless.

By the way Blizzard is often an exception rather than the rule. Most MMO companies have largely abandoned subscription because it just hasn't worked out for them, but Blizzard is stubbornly continuing to use it. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if the Candy Crush route became extremely popular and they just ignored that approach. They're just like that.

Welcome to Wikipedia. If you don't have multiple reliable third party sources (IGN would be an example of one) then expect to have your information deleted. The website can be a quick source of info, but it can be a big headache to add anything to as well.

 

Countless, to those that are close to something tangible. Unless you have some magical tool you can copy+paste in 1 location and it works on both your game and your website (in that case, please enlighten us all), it takes a while to code this stuff in. We'll be ready in just a few months, although again, you are off-topic and assuming negative things about the people on this forum and their games. Why are you here?

Subscription? Blizzard + Hearthstone != subscription. Hearthstone model = $1.99 for a pack, as a direct example. League of legends model = $5 for enough for up to maybe 2.5 skins.

Again, unnecessary - Unity forum about payments here - I'm quite aware of how Wiki works now that I've received the deletion warnings. Why are you posting this here?

Can we please stay on-topic? This was such a useful thread.. It would be great if you have useful/related information to add to the topic. You seem very experienced - please enlighten us.

 

Hearthstone is not an MMO. I was referring to World of Warcraft.

 

Who mentioned MMO? Sorry, I still don't understand where that relates. I didn't see anything in this thread about a subscription model, unless you were referring to Timber and Stone : was that was supposed to be subscription-based?

 

I made a reference to Blizzard about them being an exception rather than a rule. Gave their MMO as an example. You quoted it and responded about Hearthstone and League of Legends. Neither of which are MMOs by the way. But that technical detail is not important.

 

Yes. If devs want to make F2P games, why Unity, engine that is platform-agnostic and should be business model-agnostic should limit their options? I mean, Unity would make money out of UnityIAP percentage split, which is now even more important that all main features of the engine are free and Unity went into services (like UnityIAP).

 

Because it may just not be worth the effort to implement. Players have consistently proven that they are willing to pay the full price for a game and even more in some cases like a Collector's Edition. If you believe that IAPs are a good concept for the desktop then perhaps you could point out existing solutions for it? Because I certainly couldn't find any within the few minutes I spent searching. Definitely nothing that was an out of the box ready solution.

 

Star Citizen
Town of Salem
Rocket League
CS:GO
TERA
League of Legends
Hearthstone
SMITE
EverQuest
EverQuest II
EverQuest Landmark
Tribes: Ascend
SolForge
Card City Nights
MTG
Nosgoth
DotA2
Hawken
Chivalry
Anything on Xbox
Anything on PSN
Surely Nintendo has things, too, that I didn't bother to look into
Anything on Windows store (ew, but yea)

src: www.google.com

2 min research - surely there's more

 

Bingo: PayPal DOES have a micropayment solution, that seems to be kept at this "secret" (well, hard-to-find) URL:

(Thanks Reddit) :
https://www.paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/micropayments
https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/digital-goods

But ugh , I hate PayPal, but whoo 5% + 5 cents. That's a lot better for micropayments.

Stripe says they will "eventually/maybe" support it, but that could be 10 years from now:

https://support.stripe.com/question...icrotransactions-and-will-my-fees-be-the-same

EDITED: Got updated link

 

Does Amazon's support desktop? I checked their site earlier but I couldn't find any real information.

https://developer.amazon.com/public/apis/earn/in-app-purchasing

 

Nice find -- SEEMS like it, showing the h5 symbol.. I can't seem to find any pricing, though. Even in the FAQ! That's the first entry usually, "how much?"

It also seems like it's an API rather than SDK, so if it supports html5, should be able to just POST to it from anywhere.

Hmm... but about that price ...

EDIT: Seems mobile only, and only through the amazon appstore. Amazon is also known to hold people's funds for random reasons, similar to (and APPARENTLY as often as) PayPal. Bad press out there.. I'd be happier having my money with Stripe or Unity (if they supported IAP for desktop), even if the price is a bit higher.

About package com.amazon.device.iap
The com.amazon.device.iap package provides classes and an interface that are required to use the In-App Purchasing API with the Amazon Appstore.

 

If you can't see amount of PC Desktop Free to Play titles where the only support game receives is via cash shop/microtransactions (for which UnityIAP would be IDEAL), then I guess you're blind.

 

How many of those are MMOs, MOBAs, or some other form of online game? My problem isn't with them it's with the idea that any desktop title could suddenly gain a cash shop. I've played enough F2P MMOs and MOBAs to know what happens when a game is shipped with a Pay-to-Win cash shop.

 

Then don't play, but make it? After all, your viewpoint largely depends where you sit. If it's on top of mountain of $100 bills made from such cash shop then it's all fine and dandy. And if some % of it could go to support our favorite engine, then why not?

 

You're suggesting it's perfectly fine to make a game designed to be pay-to-win so long as you make money from it?

 

Making money is the point of any business, so yes. If your customers wouldn't have any of that, then they will vote with their wallets.

 

That's a rather amusing statement from someone who constantly mentions Linux and open source software.

 

Ah I didn't realize it's YOUR personal preference that should decide this, I forgot.

I suppose my massive lists of games (above) are all failed titles. I suppose I shouldn't have to add Overwatch to that list, charging $1.99 per 2 crates. Despite breaking records, those games must suck!

Do you hear how silly you sound now Tell me their combined revenue and users and continue to say that microtransactions are a failed market and either we'll talk, or more likely, giggle as we start switching our sales models

I'll give you a headstart for 1 single game: Overwatch @ 10 million+ players on day 1.

As for open source - everyone loves open source, but it doesn't take 2 days to make a game (well, unless it's Watch The Grass Grow), and most end-game is to make money. Anyone that comes in free will eventually make money from it, be it open source gaining reputation to sell a game, or enough freebies to start advertising. No average person can rely on open source alone. For example, I've had my fair share of open source contributions, but now it's time to step up. Sure, it may be a passion, but in the end, someone profits. I love what I do, but most would also hope people would buy your beloved microtransactions from them Business 101~

 

That's okay. It doesn't need stop you from giving YOUR personal opinion on the matter.

Where have I stated that the business path for Pay-to-Win games are a failure? Additionally out of that list you gave me how many of them are actually Pay-to-Win? Last I was aware Tera was largely cosmetics but I'll admit I barely remember that game now. Too many MMOs I've tried over the years to remember them in detail.

By the way, just in case you haven't figured it out yet, simply having a cash shop doesn't mean you have a pay-to-win game but they can easily lead into that approach given time.

My complaint with pay-to-win is that they are usually focused on milking the players rather than providing a quality experience.

 

You didn't mention pay-to-win cash shops until way after my list I'm against that, if it's intentionally placed. Although I'm against it - it's up to the game creators to do what they want. Mine is just aesthetics - stuff your character wears.

...Although Hearthstone is pretty pay-to-win - Sure you can play 24/7 and get all the legendary combos, but the fact is, the rare ones are the "best bang for the buck" in terms of playability. People may deny it's play to win, but it's a TCG, which will always have SOME form of p2w factor, although skill does factor in, but so does p2w. Have a pro gamer use a basic deck vs someone with a Ragnaros / purps in every deck and see who wins.

 

That's just because it's objectively better, not because it's free. This is one of advantages of using Linux and open source software, yes, but not deciding one, at least not for me.

 

Does anybody have any experience integrating a different payment gateway for Unity Mobile Platforms (Android &iOS)? I am kind of stuck on how to start integrating them both. Any kind of help would be appreciated.

 

Short version: Don't do it yourself. Messing with credit cards is scary, if you do. Too many regulations, security stuff to think about, etc. Simply go with a partner like Stripe, PayPal, Steam (well probably not for mobile), etc. There are tons of processors. Google "mobile merchant services" or "mobile microtransaction merchants" or something like that.

Generally speaking: They give you an API >> You request a token >> customer enters card info >> card info merges with token to form some base64 token >> You send token for approval >> They send you err or success. If success, usually gives you BASIC info to "save for speedy checkouts" and a token to associate them with. Usually like last 4 digits of card is the most revealing info just for identifying the right card.

 

Thanks for the reply,
But do you have any ideas for a more mobile-specific solution?
There is a unity documentation section for support of Native Plugins but it does not have any examples on the same. DOoyou have any prior experience with these

 

Sooooo... the webGL payment solutions...

The idea we have come up with is to have all of our paypal/creditcard/etc stuff on our webpage, link that to a user's account, saving data in a mySQL data-base, then sending the "Credits" info via php to unity.
Meaning they wont have to go out of the game to spend their credits until they need to 'top-up'.
Having a catalogue of items that are stored inside the MySQL data-base with a ID string that will relate to the product and remove the amount of credits for that product.

Hope this helps anyone out there with a similar problem.
Will be updating this as we continue, may be asking for help here too