Real Racing 3 has not yet launched on Android, but as some of you may have already known, it is out in Australia and New Zealand for iOS. After receiving widespread condemnation from the mobile gaming community (including us) for an abhorrent timer-based freemium structure, it looks like EA is listening to feedback (gasp!) and making some tweaks.
Update February 15th, 2013 9:51am: The timers for repairs are back but the times have been cut by more than half. You’ll still have to wait though.
The most notable is that now you don’t have to wait anymore to repair damage. Repairs are done instantly. However, for servicing your cars, the timer is still there, but the waiting time has been reduced between 50%-70%. This will still take hours in most cases, but it is vastly reduced from before.
Meanwhile, the timer for purchasing new cars (you have to wait for them to be “delivered”) and upgrading your rides (while waiting for the car to be upgraded you can still race using it) are still present and seemingly unchanged.
Ok, that is not much, but it is a sign of progress nonetheless. The fact that EA is willing to listen is slightly shocking, but still, the way it is, it is an inconvenience to the end user. Hopefully, they decide to do away with the timer element totally within these next two weeks. Otherwise, I am actually enjoying the game on my iPad, and with some management you can overcome the timers (such as by rotating cars).
Developer Website: EA
