As if tired of the British Broadcasting Corporation being on the receiving end of criticism regarding ethical standards of journalism, their culture show X-Ray has launched an attack of their own on the moral standards of iOS and Android game developers.
In a recent broadcast, X-Ray argued that said developers 'were not playing by the rules' when marketing mobile games to children and claimed many were specifically targeting the naivety and inexperience of younger gamers. The report comes after many parents discovered their children were unwittingly spending anywhere between a several hundred to several thousands of pounds on mobile games and gaming apps prompting the Office of Fair Trading to launch an investigation.
X Ray's report focused on gamers in Wales where the average child spends over 9 hours a week playing games on their mobile telephones contributing to an overall industry worth close to £3 Billion.
One particular game under scrutiny was the Top Girl fashion app, a virtual modelling game where children can dress up characters and were soon asked to spend real money to keep their character's boyfriend happy with virtual gifts. One mother stated her child had run up a bill of £196 after one hour of play.
A focus of the Office of Fair Trading investigation is the marketing of games as 'free to play' without making young gamers aware of potential additional costs for certain game elements. Many mobile games are released with time limits which prevents continued play unless real money is spent. Such tactics are certainly nothing new in the games industry but Rob Angell, an expert from Cardiff University, argued that such marketing directed at younger gamers constituted a form of exploitation. He stated that while adults have the discipline and maturity to stop playing after their time has expired, 'children will be more impulsive and will make the purchase.'
Another subject of X-Ray's report was 'emotional blackmail' being employed by developers. The Simpsons: Tapped Out was accused of charging £500 for an in game magnifying glass. Refusing to purchase the item resulted in the message 'Congratulations! You made a baby cry!' Angell stated 'Children should not be made to feel guilty for not making the purchase. For me this causes some conflict with this game.'
X-Ray also spoke to parents who accused developers of chicanery when asking children to hand over real money for in game purchases. Many stated that prices for items are often displayed in the form of GBP rather than with a pound sign which one parent argued kids would not understand.
The Office of Communications (Ofcom) has since advised parents to disable in-app purchases on mobile phones and to remember that 'free to download' does not necessarily mean 'free to play'. The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment has stated they take the protecting of young gamers from marketing exploitation very seriously and is asking developers to install password protection software on future games.
