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Comment by duked | Hacker News Reader

I didn't receive mine yet but as a backer I was pretty disappointed to learn only yesterday (in their last email) that I have to put my CC on file to download demos. I know some people may not have a problem with that but even on my Apple Store account I can download free apps without a CC.

From their email: "You'll need a credit/debit card to download games. All games are still free to try. Your card will only be charged if you buy content you love. We do want valid payment information for everyone. This is to ensure that game developers can get paid when you love their game."

The article mention gift card, but I just don't want to pay a gift card that I may not use just to download demos. Well I guess I'll use the hardware as a MAME box, and video player.

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I have a semi-disposable pre-paid credit card[1] that I load with a small amount of cash and use only for uncertain transactions.

I agree that storing a CC number has a number of problems (including lack of parental controls, as mention in the article).

[1] Yes, calling something a credit card when it doesn't allow me any credit, and doesn't provide some of the advantages of credit cards is annoying.

Are pre-paid credit cards really indistinguishable from credit cards?

I thought that some merchants didn't accept them for various reasons.

The CC is on file in order to streamline the purchase process when you decide to buy something. For OUYA to be a success there needs to be an appealing app ecosystem. That won't happen unless it gains developer interest and developers often invest in markets with a profit motive.

That doesn't make sense. Having a credit card on file does not lead to a better app ecosystem.

Having a credit card on file is neither a necessary, nor a sufficient condition to have a better app ecosystem. But if you had two app ecosystems that were identical aside from the fact that one stored credit cards and the other did not, you would certainly expect a better app ecosystem with the stored cards. Having to enter your credit card is a source of additional friction that decreases people's purchase rates of apps, even if by a small amount (although my opinion is that it's by a large amount). Having an app ecosystem where people spend money and spend it more freely certainly seems to improve the ecosystem, if you take comparisons between the iPhone and Android app stores into account, especially in the earlier days.

Yes sorry, you are right about having the credit card on file being a good thing, I meant in terms of downloading demos/free apps.

Again, there would be less demos/free apps if not for this, this is to motivate the developers.

Tell that to Apple. One of the reasons for App Store success was that people could buy apps without doing the complex credit card confirmation step for each purchase.

This leads to impulse purchases, and higher sales as the friction on purchase is reduced to a click/tap.

I'm in agreement with you on this. OUYA has proven to be very receptive to community feedback so it's good to voice concerns. It has a good chance of being reassessed.

True, on the comment page of their kickstarter a lot of people expressed their concerns over the CC requirements. I really hope they will at least communicate on that particular issue soon

You're in the minority as most people will enter their credit cards, as you say, and they will make lots more money because of this. It's a smart move and they are certainly aware of the cost-benefit ratio. (I bet that you will enter your credit card ultimately in the end if you buy one of these things, despite your concerns, since you will eventually cave once an inevitable "must play" game enters the ecosystem.)

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