Luc Delany, CEO of the International Social Games Association, delves into the OFT’s
investigation into the impact of in-app-purchases
The freemium business model is integral to the social games industry. Offering a game for free, or at little cost, and providing players with the option to purchase extra features, new levels and lives, has changed the way that people play and pay for games. These in-app and ingame purchases give players fl exibility over their spending and provides them with a try-before-you-buy option. Some argue it is better value for the gamer, meaning they don’t have to risk the large up-front cost of a video game and console.
In-app purchases made the news for negative reasons. Typically, the type of story we see is where a child has been given a tablet device or phone to play with by a parent. That child has also been given access to make downloads and purchases (usually they are given the password). In these unfortunate scenarios that child may inadvertently go on to spend their parent’s money in games or other apps.
The problem of kids spending money on their parents’ credit cards is not a new one, nor is it limited to online games. There are many anecdotal stories of kids ordering from online stores, getting alcohol or medical products online and only this summer it was reported that a toddler bought a car on eBay using his father’s iPad.
Think of the children
The UK’s Office of Fair Trading (OFT), the consumer and competition authority, has been investigating in-app purchases, particularly in games aimed at children, over the past six months. The investigation focused on the transparency of in-app purchases on games played by minors and whether “app-based” games are, “misleading, commercially aggressive or otherwise unfair in light of existing consumer protection laws”.
There are two separate issues here that are at risk of being conflated and which really need separate solutions. Firstly, there are games that are aimed at children. These games should be appropriately designed for them and I think most people will find that hard to argue against. Secondly there are games that that are not designed specifically for children but they may be given access to and/or may find appealing. We know that pretty much everything appeals to children in someway but we do not and cannot design the world for them.
During the investigation, the OFT analysed the commercial practices in 38 games, which they believe are likely to appeal to children. They met with industry representatives,
received around 200 submissions, mainly from parents and some from industry stakeholders. As a result the OFT published a report of its fi ndings including eight draft principles that are intended to become a set of industry-wide guidance for anyone with a game that has in-app purchasing that could appeal to children.
The creeping scope
These principles are likely to be broadly acceptable by anyone who is making a game that is aimed at children. The concern stems from the potentially huge scope-creep that originates from trying to solve the second problem of people giving access to games that are not designed for them. I am not saying that there is not an issue but perhaps better parental education and promotion of parental tools would be a more appropriate solution for example.
In the annexe to the OFT report, they provide a non-exhaustive list of attributes that mean a game is “likely to appeal to children” including; bright colours, characters popular with children, cartoon graphics, bright colours, simplistic gampelay/language, whether the game concerns an activity that is likely to appeal to children, non age restrictive access and whether children are known to play the game.
If you want to play a really difficult game then take a look at any app-store top games lists and try and find a game that does not meet most, if not all of those criteria. Perhaps your favorite game would be caught by this broad scope? I would encourage all parts of the industry to visit www.oft.gov.uk, take a look at the draft principles and the scope and provide a response to the consultation – you have until 21 November to do so.