7

Does anyone know of a good In-App purchase framework for desktop applications? I see a lot for mobile, but nothing really to support a generic windows application.

Ideally, we want something which can handle all of the purchases, content management, etc. and all we would have to do is ask the server which in-app items the user has purchased, and then get a url to download the necessary assets to the desktop. If it had a c# api, that would be a plus.

Thanks,
Liron

Liron
  • 2,012
  • 19
  • 39
  • Do you need public or private "app store"? – Pol Jan 12 '12 at 23:37
  • Doesn't really matter if it's public or private. Basically we need to enable the user to purchase virtual goods from inside the app, accept their payment through CC/PayPal etc., have some fraud protection, and be able to query a server to determine which items a particular user has purchased. – Liron Jan 14 '12 at 18:20

3 Answers3

1

Some desktop games are using Google In-App Payments to monetize by selling virtual goods.

http://www.google.com/payments/payment-options/digital-goods.html

As an example have a look at Bastion:

http://supergiantgames.com/?p=1231

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/oohphhdkahjlioohbalmicpokoefkgid

Mihai Ionescu
  • 2,108
  • 1
  • 12
  • 15
0

I believe Steam provides a framework for in-game purchasing of downloadable content.

mbeckish
  • 10,485
  • 5
  • 30
  • 55
  • 1
    Steam seem to be pretty difficult to get any information from. They don't do anything with your app unless you submit to them a mostly working version and then they approve it. I tried to send them a direct email asking what support they have here, but no one responded. – Liron Jan 23 '12 at 12:42
0

Windows 8 will be released with a "Windows App Store" that includes a comprehensive payments SDK.

Sam Axe
  • 33,313
  • 9
  • 55
  • 89
  • But it will only work for apps written for the new Metro UI, not for classic desktop apps. Since OP didn't mention Metro, it's likely that this won't be applicable. – Joe White Jan 12 '12 at 22:02
  • There's nothing that I have seen in the beta documentation that indicates the new payments SDK or the Windows App Store will be "Metro"-only. – Sam Axe Jan 12 '12 at 22:11
  • Hmm, you may be right. I thought I had heard that at some of the //build/ sessions, but I'm having trouble finding confirmation of that now. [This article](http://www.pcworld.com/article/239994/windows_8_app_store_what_we_know_so_far.html) does say that desktop apps can show up in the Windows Store while linking back to their existing e-commerce site, but it doesn't actually say they *can't* use the new payment SDK. – Joe White Jan 12 '12 at 22:21
  • Do you know if this payment SDK would be able to handle apps for multiple target platforms (PC/iOS etc?). It would be nice (although unlikely) to be able to just have one payment component which we include in whatever apps we develop regardless of their target. – Liron Jan 13 '12 at 11:59