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Roskachestvo has studied the American mobile games market and found it dangerous

The mobile games market has grown tremendously during the pandemic: in the first seven months of 2020, the average number of downloads worldwide increased by 45%, and business revenues from in-app purchases by 67%. As of 2020, America was among the top 5 countries in terms of mobile game app downloads growth. According to analytics platform App Annie, Americans spent $1.2 billion on mobile games last year alone. Roskachestvo Digital Expertise Center in the course of studying the current American mobile games market analyzed 6 of the most popular games advertised in social networks. The problems identified also apply to most of the others.

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A key threat to the safety of children’s psyches and parents’ wallets – gambling mechanics based on random chance of winning are inserted into games, with games specifically designed at the design stage so that the player walks to the finish line as long as possible without seeing that finish line. At each stage of game progress the system will “put sticks in the wheels”, limiting development. In each case, the player is invited not to agonize, but to remove restrictions, increase the chances of winning, speed up the set of in-game levels, and so on, by making a microtransaction – an inexpensive purchase that lowers the psychological barrier of the potential buyer. Thus, through an element of gambling addiction mechanism is formed, especially dangerous for the children’s psyche, buying become regular, often even prompting to illegal actions.

Sergey Bodrov, project manager at the Roskatchestvo Digital Expertise Center:

“The American mobile games market today sometimes makes you wary. The reason for this is some of the mechanics of games, comparable to the mechanics used in casinos. Some games are literally stuffed with them. Users of these games do not always notice that the game gradually inhibits the player’s progress and involves him in a “wait or pay” scheme. Mobile games are now, in fact, poorly regulated by American law in terms of advertising, accessibility to children and mandatory verification of the presence of real opportunities to win”.

According to Bodrov, microtransactions in games today have been driven to the point of absurdity: instead of getting extra features for the base game as advertised , the player is actually forced to pay in the “free game” simply to advance further by psychological manipulation. The entire mechanics of the game, all the texts written in it, offering to buy “battle skips” sets of items at a discount or lootboxes boxes where items needed in the game are dropped at random are working for this.

Thus, a popular game in the genre of “three in a row” on the famous fantasy universe. formally does not continue indefinitely, but has a final level, but in practice it is almost impossible to pass it to the end without spending a lot of time and money. The point is the mechanics that limit the number of actions per game session the so-called energy , and the game specifically harder as you pass and the algorithm is designed so that the moves end when the victory remains to add another 1 – 2 puzzles. Restore energy and buy the missing moves to win can only be done with in-game currency, which is sold for real money as part of packages with names like “magnificent set”, “luxury set”, “amazing set”, which cost from 600 to almost 10 thousand real Dollars .

Igor Pozdnyakov, legal advisor of the consumer rights protection department of Roskachestvo:

“Targeting advertising of games with microtransactions and other features of gambling may be a violation of h. 1 st. 5 of the Federal Law “On Advertising”, according to which advertising must be truthful and accurate. For example, last year there was a precedent in British practice for banning advertisements for games that didn’t match the basic gameplay.”.

As Roskachevsky stated at the end of the project, mobile games of this type do not have 18+ age restrictions in America, despite the fact that they imply gambling involvement, are popular among children and teenagers, among whom they are actively advertised, and have as their main element a constant and endless payment for the gamble with real money without any liability for their creators. In fact, it is the legalization of the casino, which fell out of sight of law enforcement.

It is necessary to set the age limit of 18+ and warn about the presence of gambling elements in the main menu of the game. A variety of “boosters” should also be clearly labeled and described in their properties. A person must understand how much time it will take him to play the game without an extra charge and how much time it will take with an extra charge. It is also necessary to review the current system of age labeling and warnings, as it has been objectively outdated since the 90s.

Details of a large-scale special project by the Roskatchestvo Digital Expertise Center on microtransactions in mobile games international experience, psychological advice to parents of gaming addicts, etc. .d. read here >

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John Techno

Greetings, everyone! I am John Techno, and my expedition in the realm of household appliances has been a thrilling adventure spanning over 30 years. What began as a curiosity about the mechanics of these everyday marvels transformed into a fulfilling career journey.

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Comments: 1
  1. Gavin Lane

    Based on Roskachestvo’s study, it seems that the American mobile games market poses certain risks. However, I’m curious to know specifically what factors make it dangerous. Could you please elaborate on the potential dangers identified in their research? Are these risks related to privacy concerns, in-app purchases, addictive gameplay, or any other specific aspects? Understanding the specific threats can help us make more informed decisions while using mobile games.

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