Tetris amasses 425m paid mobile downloads

Tetris has amassed more than 425 million paid mobile downloads, more than the combined sales of boxed software.

The Game Boy version of Tetris sold 35 million copies, with boxed products altogether selling around 70 million, according to the founder of The Tetris Company.

Speaking to Venturebeat, Henk Rogers said while there is a free version of the title now available, Tetris Blitz, he was unsure of the free-to-play model compared to the premium pricing he was use to.

"You could spend a couple of million dollars and build a great product in the old days, and then you’d know that a certain number of them would be sold," said Rogers.

"Nowadays, you have to build the game and then hope you can keep nickel-and-dime-ing people afterward. You have to interrupt the experience asking for money, and I think it takes away from the game."

He added that people’s perceptions of value with games had been "screwed up" in recent times, despite the low price of many offerings.

"I was talking to my driver today, and he couldn’t get around the idea of having to pay to play Tetris. What’s wrong with paying a little money?," he said.

"People won’t spend the amount of money they’d spend on a cup of coffee for a game that could last them weeks. The value proposition’s gotten all screwed up. People expect something for nothing."