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Free-to-play schemes could be unlawful, warns Office of Fair Trading (UK)

D

DemonNite

Member
Regulator prepared to take "enforcement action" if games breach fairness standards

The Office of Fair Trading has contacted a number of games developers and publishers as part of a major new investigation to determine whether existing free-to-play games are acting entirely within the law.

The London-based regulator told CVG that it could not name the companies which it is speaking with, but in a statement said: "As part of the investigation, the OFT has written to companies offering free web or app-based games, seeking information on in-game marketing to children."

Crucial to its investigation is determining whether free-to-play games are "misleading, commercially aggressive or otherwise unfair".

The group explained: "In particular, the OFT is looking into whether these games include 'direct exhortations' to children - a strong encouragement to make a purchase, or to do something that will necessitate making a purchase, or to persuade their parents or other adults to make a purchase for them."

A direct exhortation is commonly interpreted as something as unambiguous and direct as "buy now". The OFT is stating that such practices would be "unlawful under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations Act of 2008".

The issue of free-to-play games has flared up in recent months, particularly after publisher EA made the practice central to its driving sim, Real Racing 3. A company executive responded to the outrage by claiming that free-to-play haters "are a vocal minority".

But if free-to-play games are found to be in violation of established law, it could single-handedly transform how games companies apply the model. One outcome is that freemium games would be available to adults only, or that tighter restrictions will be in place on such games that are available to children.

It could also mean that the hassle of overcoming regulation would result in reduced investment in freemium titles.

The OFT told CVG that, should it find any free-to-play games in breech of its trading standards, its publisher will be asked to remove such elements from the game. It also said it has the power to take games companies to court, should they ignore requests.

On the issue of companies outside Britain, the OFT said it is "speaking to international regulators".

Parents and consumer groups are also encouraged to contact the group.

Cavendish Elithorn, a senior director at OFT, said the regulator "is not seeking to ban in-game purchases".

"We are concerned that children and their parents could be subject to unfair pressure to purchase when they are playing games they thought were free, but which can actually run up substantial costs.

"The games industry must ensure it is complying with the relevant regulations so that children are protected. We are speaking to the industry and will take enforcement action if necessary."

http://www.computerandvideogames.co...uld-be-unlawful-warns-office-of-fair-trading/
Click to expand...

Take your pick...

"Games devs should be more careful"?
"Parents should understand better"?
 
B

blitzcloud

Banned
I've seen some F2P games have chance games (and by chance games I mean for cash) to get items which should probably abide lottery laws as they are essentially drawing a lottery roll with no clear chance rates aside from you believing that the system is in fact fair.

The example I'm talking about in this case is S4 League.
 
R

rogueyoshi

Neo Member
blitzcloud said:
I've seen some F2P games have chance games (and by chance games I mean for cash) to get items which should probably abide lottery laws as they are essentially drawing a lottery roll with no clear chance rates aside from you believing that the system is in fact fair.

The example I'm talking about in this case is S4 League.
Click to expand...

puzzle and dragons is a huge offender of this too
 
D

Dreamwriter

Member
Cosmonaut X said:
That's not what this is talking about, though.
Click to expand...

Yeah it is:

The group explained: "In particular, the OFT is looking into whether these games include 'direct exhortations' to children - a strong encouragement to make a purchase, or to do something that will necessitate making a purchase, or to persuade their parents or other adults to make a purchase for them."

A direct exhortation is commonly interpreted as something as unambiguous and direct as "buy now". The OFT is stating that such practices would be "unlawful under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations Act of 2008".
Click to expand...

If a child is playing a game and the game tells the child "Buy now!" it's apparently breaking the law.
 
A

Anbokr

Bull on a Donut
Dreamwriter said:
If a child is playing a game and the game tells the child "Buy now!" it's apparently breaking the law.
Click to expand...

Well isn't the same controversy surrounding cereal boxes, ads, and the like? If you bombard children with ads to buy something, of course they will want to buy it--they're children.
 
C

Cosmonaut X

Member
Dreamwriter said:
If a child is playing a game and the game tells the child "Buy now!" it's apparently breaking the law.
Click to expand...

...and then further down you have:

Cavendish Elithorn, a senior director at OFT, said the regulator "is not seeking to ban in-game purchases".

"We are concerned that children and their parents could be subject to unfair pressure to purchase when they are playing games they thought were free, but which can actually run up substantial costs."
Click to expand...

My understanding is that it's not about prompting a player to buy something in-game, rather it's about how that is handled by the developers and the the pressure put upon players - especially young players - to do so.
 
B

bigtroyjon

Member
But if free-to-play games are found to be in violation of established law, it could single-handedly transform how games companies apply the model. One outcome is that freemium games would be available to adults only, or that tighter restrictions will be in place on such games that are available to children.

It could also mean that the hassle of overcoming regulation would result in reduced investment in freemium titles.
Click to expand...

What will actually happen is that these games just won't get released in the UK. Not that big of a market that a company would change it's entire strategy to appease it's regulations.
 
DiscoJer

DiscoJer

Member
At the very least, the gambling aspects of many games need to be addressed.

Like those random boxes you can buy, that give you a chance of a prize. They should state the exact odds of each item.
 
S

saunderez

Member
DiscoJer said:
At the very least, the gambling aspects of many games need to be addressed.

Like those random boxes you can buy, that give you a chance of a prize. They should state the exact odds of each item.
Click to expand...

Gambling is usually illegal in most places if you're a minor so if the game is marketed to children random chance for cash shouldn't be allowed at all. A kid can't walk into a casino and put $10 on red at the roulette table, why should they be allowed to put $10 on a chance for better gear?
 
V

Volotaire

Member
Transparency is key! Asymmetrical Information is such a big issue. We need to communicate to people/children the message clearer. But of course kids don't have a sense of responsibility when money is not in a hard form.

Game developers need to be upfront about costs. And therefore parents will know if they are any hidden costs. Parents however still need to be vigilant when reading, in gamer purchases should be highlighted on the app page/messages o the home screen of the game.
 
O

onQ123

Member
bestbrandsoda_22199.nphd_-600x321.jpg
 
C

Card Boy

Banned
Good news. I can't see it anywhere mentioned but i think random chance boxes should be closely looked at in F2P games, it's basically a form of unregulated gambling.
 
E

Effect

Member
I never understood how companies thought they could get away with "lock boxes". It's gambling at worse or a lottery ticket at the least. There are already laws covering those in many places. Sooner or later they would be noticed.

I'm all in favor of more governments taking a closer look at these games and ruling against them. Rules must be put in place or made clearer.
 
W

Willy Wanka

my god this avatar owns
Good. There are too many of these charlatan developers creating cynically designed freemium 'games'. Certainly the responsibility of what a young child plays on a tablet/phone/computer lies with the parents but the way these games deliberately blur the lines between in-game and real currency, as well as aggressively prompting kids to want to make those purchases, must make that an extremely tough job.
 
S

Scrabble

Member
Pikawil said:
Being a good parent is much harder when the young'uns of today are far more brattier, whinier, spoiled and demanding than the kids of a generation ago.
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I'm sorry but that's a fucking cop out. It's not the govt's responsibility to be a child's parent. If a parent doesn't want their kid to run up the credit card bill don't fucking hand him your credit card. I just fail to see who this law is for other than lazy bad parents who aren't able to monitor their kids.
 
P

Pikawil

Unconfirmed Member
CraftySkills said:
I'm sorry but that's a fucking cop out. It's not the govt's responsibility to be a child's parent. If a parent doesn't want their kid to run up the credit card bill don't fucking hand him your credit card.
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The pressure is much higher when the million-dollar advertisers and marketers are actively fighting a constant battle against the parents for their money by psychologically molding the children to be treated like tiny kings!
 
F

Ferrio

Banned
Shadders said:
The UK have all sorts of regulations about marketing at children.

I feel sport of bad for McDonald's with the amount of hoops they've had to jump through to run an advert for a Happy Meal.
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Ya poor Mcdonalds, the place everyone knows exists already. Other than advertising new menu items, I don't see the point.


Also this thread coincides nicely with a topic in OT today

"American families increasingly let kids make buying decisions."
http://business.time.com/2013/04/11/american-families-increasingly-let-kids-make-buying-decisions/
 
D

DemonNite

Member
DashReindeer said:
Link?
Click to expand...

ah I forgot

http://www.computerandvideogames.co...uld-be-unlawful-warns-office-of-fair-trading/

also BBC just got the news up too (mostly the same with a few more figures)

...
The investigation comes alongside media reports about children spending large sums on virtual items for smartphone and web games.

In March, five-year-old schoolboy Danny Kitchen, from Bristol, managed to rack up charges of more than £1,700 while playing the Zombies versus Ninjas game on his parents' iPad. The money has since been refunded by Apple.

In January this year, regulator PhonePayPlus revealed it had seen a 300% increase in complaints from consumers about the bills generated when they buy add-ons for games and other apps.
...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22109188
Click to expand...
 
S

Scrabble

Member
Pikawil said:
The pressure is much higher when the million-dollar advertisers and marketers are actively fighting a constant battle against the parents for their money by psychologically molding the children to be treated like tiny kings!
Click to expand...

Well part of being a responsible parent is not letting companies and advertisers be your source of parenting. It's also not as if million-dollar advertisers is anything new either, and previous generations seemed to do just fine growing up without being "psychologically molded." It's sad this is getting defended because the notion of the govt stepping in and regulating what you can and spend money on or "protecting children" is absolutely absurd.
 
G

gutter_trash

Banned
CraftySkills said:
Well part of being a responsible parent is not letting companies and advertisers be your source of parenting. It's also not as if million-dollar advertisers is anything new either, and previous generations seemed to do just fine growing up without being "psychologically molded." It's sad this is getting defended because the notion of the govt stepping in and regulating what you can and spend money on or "protecting children" is absolutely absurd.
Click to expand...

in the past, an Atari 2600 cart was expensive, your dad bought you one game and you played with that for months to a year before he would decide to buy you another one next Christmas

now, dad lends iPhone to son.. then gets nice surprise in his Credit Card invoice
 
P

Pikawil

Unconfirmed Member
CraftySkills said:
Well part of being a responsible parent is not letting companies and advertisers be your source of parenting. It's also not as if million-dollar advertisers is anything new either, and previous generations seemed to do just fine growing up without being "psychologically molded." It's sad this is getting defended because the notion of the govt stepping in and regulating what you can and spend money on or "protecting children" is absolutely absurd.
Click to expand...
You call this a sad defense force (and they say GAF has a defense force for everything), I call this holding the line in a technological era where kids are growing up way too quickly and both they and advertisers are becoming tech-savvier by the minute.
 
W

Willy Wanka

my god this avatar owns
CraftySkills said:
Well part of being a responsible parent is not letting companies and advertisers be your source of parenting. It's also not as if million-dollar advertisers is anything new either, and previous generations seemed to do just fine growing up without being "psychologically molded." It's sad this is getting defended because the notion of the govt stepping in and regulating what you can and spend money on or "protecting children" is absolutely absurd.
Click to expand...

Advertising standards and ethics with regards to marketing to children aren't new either. Also there seems to be little point in comparing this generation with previous ones because the methods of delivery and purchase are so different. Previously a parent would have to drive to a shop and buy whatever it is their kid wanted but with this kind of thing, it's instant.
 
D

Dambrosi

Banned
Hah. Nice to see the UK Government rolling in the people's interests for once, even if it is on such a relatively unimportant issue in the greater scheme of things.

That said, it's about bloody time they tackled this subject head on. I have a mate whose kid spent over £400 on in-app purchases for a variety of apps on her iPhone a couple years back. She got an Alcatel for her birthday that year. I'm sure her case isn't the only one.
 
B

Bert

Member
CraftySkills said:
So the govt's stepping in to prevent idiots from wasting money?
Click to expand...

Yes. If by idiots, you mean children. And by wasting money you mean having illegal marketing techniques used on them.

ITT Americans who have been convinced by large corporations that large corporations can't convince people of stuff.
 
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