Mobile games costing British parents a bundle
Friday, May 10, 2013 - 11:45:43
A new report from Windows Phone UK, has found that each year the cost of so-called 'freemium' smartphone games is exceeding 30 million, with young children burning through their parents' cash through in-app purchases.
There are a number of games, many of which are explicitly aimed at children, which are free to download and play but contain tons of content which can be downloaded for a fee.
The report describes many of the in-app purchases, which cost parents an average of 34 each, as being accidental, although it is clear that there is a real risk that kids who are allowed to play with smartphones, could end up creating quite a big bill for their guardians.
Over 25 per cent of the people questioned in the report said that they had been affected by these in-app purchases and it is apparently eight year old children that are most likely to cause mischief in this way.
The Office of Fair Trading is currently investigating these freemium applications and games, in order to find out whether they are operating in an ethical manner.
If children are being explicitly targeted, then there could be problems for the developers of these games, since such activities are generally prohibited in the UK.
It is not just the clandestine in-app purchases that are a problem, but the fact that youngsters could end up pressurising their parents into committing to allowing the paid-for downloads.
In-app purchases are not, on the surface of it, a bad thing in general. They let people download apps for free and then invest some cash, if they feel they are enjoying the experience.
However, if smartphone owners with children are being exploited by games, then there is definitely a need to curb this practice.
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