Apogee

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John Carmack discussed the success of Apogee's Shareware model. Apogee (which John mistakenly refers to as "Apigee" in the conversation) is notable for its innovative approach to software distribution. They split games into three parts, offering the first part for free as a sharable demo while selling the remaining parts. This method proved successful, attracting significant consumer interest and support despite risks of non-payment. One key feature of this model was the substantial volume of fan mail received, indicating strong customer engagement and satisfaction 1.

The Shareware Model

John discusses the success of Apogee's Shareware model, which split games into three parts and allowed players to try the first part for free before purchasing the full trilogy. Despite the risk of players not paying for the full game, the model was successful and garnered a lot of fan mail.

Lex Fridman Podcast

John Carmack: Doom, Quake, VR, AGI, Programming, Video Games, and Rockets | Lex Fridman Podcast #309
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