wraggster
March 2nd, 2013, 22:33
If a certain system can be used to trick children into spending thousands of dollars, then it's probably not a very ethical system.
I won't stand here and tell you that microtransactions are the devil. I won't even call them a necessary evil. "Evil" is too strong a word. Cliff Bleszinski did a good job of defending them (http://kotaku.com/5987864/nickels-dimes-and-quarters) here yesterday. But the freemium model is still a deeply flawed system, as evidenced by the five-year-old who (more or less accidentally) spent $2,500 (http://gizmodo.com/5987799/this-kid-blew-2500-on-in+game-purchases-in-just-10-minutes) of his parents' money in the free-to-play gameZombies vs Ninja this week. He's not the only one, either—there are so many similar cases that this week Apple had to settle a class-action suit (http://gizmodo.com/5986928/apple-to-settle-in+app-purchase-lawsuit-with-free-itunes-credit) brought by distraught and disgruntled parents who felt their kids had been exploited.
(Apple did so by doling out $5 iTunes credits, which is a little like saying, "Sorry the apps in our store exploited your children for money, but here, go buy some more apps." That's besides the point, though.)
Are lax parents who give their kids their iTunes passwords to blame? I don't think so.
http://kotaku.com/5988036/kids-reveal-the-real-flaws-of-free+to+play-games
I won't stand here and tell you that microtransactions are the devil. I won't even call them a necessary evil. "Evil" is too strong a word. Cliff Bleszinski did a good job of defending them (http://kotaku.com/5987864/nickels-dimes-and-quarters) here yesterday. But the freemium model is still a deeply flawed system, as evidenced by the five-year-old who (more or less accidentally) spent $2,500 (http://gizmodo.com/5987799/this-kid-blew-2500-on-in+game-purchases-in-just-10-minutes) of his parents' money in the free-to-play gameZombies vs Ninja this week. He's not the only one, either—there are so many similar cases that this week Apple had to settle a class-action suit (http://gizmodo.com/5986928/apple-to-settle-in+app-purchase-lawsuit-with-free-itunes-credit) brought by distraught and disgruntled parents who felt their kids had been exploited.
(Apple did so by doling out $5 iTunes credits, which is a little like saying, "Sorry the apps in our store exploited your children for money, but here, go buy some more apps." That's besides the point, though.)
Are lax parents who give their kids their iTunes passwords to blame? I don't think so.
http://kotaku.com/5988036/kids-reveal-the-real-flaws-of-free+to+play-games