Search Unity

  1. Megacity Metro Demo now available. Download now.
    Dismiss Notice
  2. Unity support for visionOS is now available. Learn more in our blog post.
    Dismiss Notice

Open Letter to Unity about Asset Store gifting

Discussion in 'Assets and Asset Store' started by JoeStrout, Jul 14, 2016.

  1. JoeStrout

    JoeStrout

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2011
    Posts:
    9,859
    I just received the "Asset Store Publisher News July 2016" newsletter, where the big news is that they're going to be changing the sizes and formats of the art assets. Here is the reply I sent... but I thought I would open it to the community for further comment.


    Hey guys,

    Thank you for changing the marketing art requirements. I'm sure that will help us be more competitive in a modern marketplace.

    But you know what would REALLY bring more value to me as a publisher? If you were to add support for gifting assets.

    As a Unity user myself, I know I have literally hundreds of dollars of assets on my wish list. These are mostly assets that I don't *need*, but I would like to have them. So I don't buy them, but I sure would love to receive them from my wife, parents, friends, and children for birthday and holiday presents.

    But alas, because YOU STILL DON'T SUPPORT GIFTING, they are unable to spend those hundreds of dollars on your asset store. So instead I get T-shirts from Amazon and movies from iTunes. Those are great, but I'd much rather have Unity assets instead.

    And I'm not alone. My own children are also Unity users, and I would spend probably $50-100 on them EACH at least twice a year (birthday and Christmas) in the Asset Store if this were possible. And virtually every other Unity user, or parent of a Unity user, I've talked to has said the same thing.

    WE WANT TO SPEND THIS MONEY IN THE ASSET STORE! Why won't you make it possible? I've been pestering you about this, by email and in person, for something like 5 years now. You keep making inconsequential changes to the Asset Store, and ignoring this big giant pile of money on the table that for some reason you don't seem to want. It's not that hard: you make a shopping cart, let people check out with a credit card, and enter the email address of the recipient. I'm sure you can handle this. So why don't you?

    This is not a rhetorical question. I would like a reply. Please explain why you still don't support gifting, and when you expect to fix it.

    Thank you,
    Joe Strout
    Asset Store publisher and Unity user
     
    Kronnect, ikazrima, neoshaman and 8 others like this.
  2. theANMATOR2b

    theANMATOR2b

    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2014
    Posts:
    7,790
  3. mr_Necturus

    mr_Necturus

    Joined:
    May 17, 2010
    Posts:
    2,956
    146.7% Yes. :)
     
  4. mgear

    mgear

    Joined:
    Aug 3, 2010
    Posts:
    9,350
  5. JoeStrout

    JoeStrout

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2011
    Posts:
    9,859
    Yep. It's astounding. I can't imagine it's genuine ignorance, after so many years of me and others complaining about it. So somehow they've decided they don't want all those piles of money.

    "Sir, people seem to want to spend more money on the Asset Store. Should we enable that?"
    "What? Are you mad? Look at how stuffed my pockets are already! How could I possibly cram in any more money?!? NO GIFTING!"

    ...I don't quite see the logic of it, though.

    Perhaps they're being paid off by Amazon, Apple, and Google, who don't want any more competition on gift-giving occasions.
     
    BackwoodsGaming likes this.
  6. JoeStrout

    JoeStrout

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2011
    Posts:
    9,859
    FYI, it's now Tuesday (nearly a week later) and still no reply from Unity, either to my direct email or to this open letter. :(
     
  7. JoeStrout

    JoeStrout

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2011
    Posts:
    9,859
    BackwoodsGaming likes this.
  8. Trinary

    Trinary

    Joined:
    Jul 26, 2013
    Posts:
    395
    I'm not affiliated with Unity, but I suspect that they don't have a gift system in order to make it difficult for other asset stores to sell assets directly off of the Unity asset store. Sort of like how humble bundles sell gifted steam games in a highly discounted package. It seems that Unity doesn't want that sort of thing happening.
     
  9. BackwoodsGaming

    BackwoodsGaming

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2014
    Posts:
    2,229
    The person purchasing the gift would still be paying full price of the asset in order to gift it to someone else, so I'm not sure how the problem you are describing would be possible.
     
  10. Trinary

    Trinary

    Joined:
    Jul 26, 2013
    Posts:
    395
    Well, say you're an asset publisher and you list an asset for $10 on the unity asset store and for $5 on storeX. You have an agreement with storeX to give them $6 whenever they sell an asset. StoreX purchases a gift coupon for the asset at $10 and gets $6 reimbursement from you, so they're happy. You're charged $3 by Unity and pay out $6, but still make $1. For some assets, like ones that the asset store doesn't happen to promote well, this alternate channel could end up looking quite attractive. For many situations bargin hunters could probably be persuaded to buy an asset for $5 that they would not have considered at $10. So this would allow you to put your asset on sale for bargin hunters while keeping it at full price for the mainstream public (just like the humble bundles and steam).
     
  11. Eric5h5

    Eric5h5

    Volunteer Moderator Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2006
    Posts:
    32,401
    You wouldn't be on the Unity asset store in that case, since it's against the terms of agreement to sell for less on other stores. In any case I don't see any logic here, since a sale is a sale, whether it's gifted or not.

    --Eric
     
    BackwoodsGaming likes this.
  12. Trinary

    Trinary

    Joined:
    Jul 26, 2013
    Posts:
    395
    Technically it wouldn't be you selling it for less, it would be a third party that doesn't have an agreement with Unity. How does Unity enforce that policy? By banning any asset that gets listed on storeX? That would give some less scrupulous asset devs an avenue to get their competitors banned from the asset store.

    The whole situation is ripe with issues. I don't blame Unity at all for not wanting to go there.
     
  13. BackwoodsGaming

    BackwoodsGaming

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2014
    Posts:
    2,229
    *scratches head in confusion* Not sure where you got the idea that Unity doesn't want to go there. Unity hasn't responded. Absence of a response doesn't mean it isn't being considered. ;)

    Your examples make no sense, to be honest. If an asset developer goes into agreement with a third party website, they are still bound by the agreement they are in with Unity first and foremost. So that agreement should include pricing terms to ensure the asset developers agreement with Unity isn't broken in the process. If they are not doing that, the only "less scrupulous asset devs" are the ones selling on the third party site. I say ban all of them. They are the ones hurting the Unity asset community and in your earlier example, they are hurting themselves by participating in those less scrupulous sites.

    Also if an asset developer is stupid enough to agree to give a 3rd party $6 on purchases of a $10 asset knowing already that they will be losing $3 to Unity, that is all on them too. In that case the gifting isn't bad, the asset developer's business sense is.

    If you have a good business model and evaluate your profit and loss properly before going into any side deals (verifying they do not go against the agreement you already have with Unity), gifting of assets should be a non-issue.
     
  14. JoeStrout

    JoeStrout

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2011
    Posts:
    9,859
    Yeah, in the example given, Unity gets $3 regardless, so I don't see how this is a problem for them.

    It must be either some mental block (some important decision-maker just can't imagine that people would want to gift these assets) or some technical hurdle (separating payment from delivery is somehow more difficult than I can imagine).
     
    BackwoodsGaming likes this.
  15. BackwoodsGaming

    BackwoodsGaming

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2014
    Posts:
    2,229
    I think it is the latter. I half wonder if maybe they are looking into it already but considering different approaches. I would like to see two different options, personally.

    I like the idea of gifting specific assets. Maybe tied into wishlists where if you are viewing someone else's wishlist, you would see a Gift option.

    I would also like to see the ability to give gift cards for a specified amount. That way the person receiving could apply the amount to whichever assets they want the most from their wishlist.
     
  16. JoeStrout

    JoeStrout

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2011
    Posts:
    9,859
    Yes, I guess it depends on the giver (and the situation). In my book, a gift card, if not for the restrictions, is almost as thoughtful as cash (*). But picking something off somebody's wish-list is considerably more thoughtful (and note that Unity doesn't necessarily have to have a way to expose our wish lists... my family routinely uses Amazon wish lists for things you can't buy on Amazon). And of course, buying somebody something they didn't even know to ask for — as I could do for all the aspiring game developers in my family — is the most thoughtful of all.

    (*) I stole this joke about gift cards from a cartoon — either Frazz or maybe Calvin & Hobbes — years ago. But google is utterly failing me trying to dig it up today.
     
  17. BackwoodsGaming

    BackwoodsGaming

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2014
    Posts:
    2,229
    I totally agree about the gifting. But speaking as someone with a huge wishlist, I see the value of a gift card option as well. Some of the things I would rather have are buried within my list and there are things on my list that I don't really have use for at the moment, but wishlisted as a reference for when I get to that point I will have it marked.

    I guess as a person that has been tagged as picky, I find gift cards to be just as thoughtful. But totally understand what you are saying. :)

    Heheh... Love Calvin & Hobbes...lol
     
  18. Eric5h5

    Eric5h5

    Volunteer Moderator Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2006
    Posts:
    32,401
    Technically, if you're selling it for less, you're selling it for less. It's really straightforward, nothing to do with third parties not having an agreement with Unity...if you sell an asset for $10 on the asset store and $5 elsewhere, you are selling it for less. The third party was not involved in your decision, that was all on you. I assume they enforce the policy by banning sellers who break the agreement; maybe they give them a warning first. There's no way for "less scrupulous" devs to get anyone banned from the store...if they find a seller who's breaking the agreement and report it to Unity, I guess they might be considered a tattle-tale, but they're not the ones breaking the agreement.

    What issues? Gifting is very common and nobody has any issues that I'm aware of. Anyway Unity is aware of the desire for gifting and have said they plan to implement it at some point but don't have a time frame estimate.

    --Eric
     
    JoeStrout likes this.
  19. JoeStrout

    JoeStrout

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2011
    Posts:
    9,859
    It's now been exactly a month (plus a day, allowing for the weekend) since I sent my request for an explanation to this baffling problem to Unity.

    Still no reply. :(
     
  20. mgear

    mgear

    Joined:
    Aug 3, 2010
    Posts:
    9,350
    Try asking the asset store people in twitter also..

    had similar experience when tried to ask for educational licenses (using their sales form),
    probably nobody had received the email, then after 3 weeks emailed directly to local unity sales person,
    they said that had not seen my request and cannot access the emails to check..: o
     
  21. mgear

    mgear

    Joined:
    Aug 3, 2010
    Posts:
    9,350
    Just saw this,
    http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/collaboration-vs-asset-store.427099/
     
  22. JoeStrout

    JoeStrout

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2011
    Posts:
    9,859
    Well, my older son's 16th birthday has come and gone, and he got a grand total of $0 in Asset Store assets, because the store still doesn't support gifting.

    My younger son's birthday is coming up next (end of the month)... I suspect he'll be getting the same.

    The real jackpot is at the end of October... that's my birthday. I have tons of Assets on my wish list, and generous family members, who will, in most likelihood, be forced to give me something other than the assets I really want, because the @*#! Asset Store still doesn't support gifting.