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Italy investigates Activision Blizzard for pushing in-game purchases

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Re: Italy investigates Activision Blizzard for pushing in-game purchases

#11

Post by amlib »

jimbob45 wrote: post #9
mslate wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure if you have children, but this is exactly what a healthy government regulatory framework looks like.

Cherry picking the foreign company with the deepest pockets for “crimes” every game developer commits these days? Surely, HN of all places recognizes that the EU fines Meta/MS any time they have a shortfall in their budget.

Considering how much big tech gets for defrauding their customers, even if the EU is only applying fines in bad faith (which they aren't) it is only a drop in the bucket in comparison...

Re: Italy investigates Activision Blizzard for pushing in-game purchases

#12

Post by mslate »

JasonADrury wrote: post #8
mslate wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure if you have children, but this is exactly what a healthy government regulatory framework looks like.

What does healthy parenting look like then?

When did "healthy parenting" become a full-time cybersecurity job with no training, adversaries backed by infinite capital, teams of PhDs optimizing for addiction, and sexual predators from around the globe dialoguing with your child through any glass surface your child can get their hands on?

Re: Italy investigates Activision Blizzard for pushing in-game purchases

#13

Post by jajuuka »

mslate wrote: post #4
b65e8bee43c2ed0 wrote: post #3

>The authority is also looking into the games’ parental control features, as the default settings lets minors make in-game purchases, play for long periods without restraints, and allow them to chat with others in-game. is this satire?

Not sure if you have children, but this is exactly what a healthy government regulatory framework looks like.

This is a toxic government regulatory framework. Treating all consumers as suspect children first and foremost not only makes the experience worse but it defeats the purpose it was created for. I shouldn't need to submit my ID every time I want to watch a rated R movie on Netflix or cable. I shouldn't need to scan and submit my face to view a wikipedia article about anatomy. This is the end goal of such suspicious treatment.

The tools currently exist to "protect" children in game. Abdicating your responsibility as a parent is not a problem for the state to solve.

Re: Italy investigates Activision Blizzard for pushing in-game purchases

#15

Post by xgbi »

jajuuka wrote: post #13
mslate wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure if you have children, but this is exactly what a healthy government regulatory framework looks like.

This is a toxic government regulatory framework. Treating all consumers as suspect children first and foremost not only makes the experience worse but it defeats the purpose it was created for. I shouldn't need to submit my ID every time I want to watch a rated R movie on Netflix or cable. I shouldn't need to scan and submit my face to view a wikipedia article about anatomy. This is the end goal of such suspicious tr…

What are you talking about ?

It says that the parental settings (when enabled!) are just letting children do whatever they want by default:

- buying overpriced objects - chat without any restriction online - play without interruption for long time

I think the first one is probably the most poignant: piping children into disguised gambling addiction by default seems like a major fault. Borderline illegal, if you ask me.

It looks a lot like a phony feature "let's add a parental control, it will make people feel like we're trustworthy and bring back more revenue. And please don't disable ingame purchases by default, this is our cash cow".

Re: Italy investigates Activision Blizzard for pushing in-game purchases

#16

Post by NorwegianDude »

As a game developer myself, I think young kids should not be able to make purchases on their own.

But some of the ideas on what needs to be done is just silly.

Here is some of the ideas the Norwegian Consumer Council suggested: - All things in games should be shown in real money value, not in game currency that you have to but for real money, and the price should reflect the most expensive way to get the currency. - All transactions in games should have the same rights as in real life(if you buy an item in game, you could use your right of withdrawal). - Users should be able to choose how much the want to buy of premium currency/spend.

While it might have good intentions, they have serious issues. I sell bundles of in game currency. I don't allow users to select just how much they want to buy. I don't do this as part of an evil plan, but because it makes sense. Bigger purchases give more, because the percentage lost to fees are lower. Tiny amount can not be bought, as it would not make sense considering the per transaction cost.

I don't price things in real currencies, cause after the purchase is made, it's not real money, and if it were, I'd be a financial institution and break the rules of all major card networks. It also would cause issues when it comes to inflation adjustment. If an user buys 100 "coins", they can buy something for 100 coins. If I adjust for inflation then I adjust the price of coins, not how many coins are needed to buy something in game. That would not work with real money.

Regulation is welcome, but don't do something dumb. Let most thing be as they are, but put strict rules in place on kids making purchases, that way a grown up who hopefully understands money can approve or deny the purchase.

Re: Italy investigates Activision Blizzard for pushing in-game purchases

#17

Post by add-sub-mul-div »

Hamuko wrote: post #2

I hope if they decide on fines that they weigh it against the finances of the entire Microsoft Corporation. Really let Microsoft enjoy the synergy that these large-scale acquisitions bring. Has anyone other than Bobby Kotick and the other previous ABK shareholders benefitted from the acquisition? Xbox hasn’t gotten any more successful as a brand, the consoles aren’t selling, Game Pass subscriptions only keep getting…

> I hope if they decide on fines that they weigh it against the finances of the entire Microsoft Corporation.

For more serious offenses I agree that should be the norm, but we're talking about mobile games being annoying. Even with the "won't someone think of the children" angle it sounds excessive. What have we really lost from mobile Call of Duty not being better?

> Has anyone other than Bobby Kotick and the other previous ABK shareholders benefitted from the acquisition?

Me, as a consumer. I haven't purchased a game in over five years and I've played a ton on Game Pass. And the diversity of games I've played is greater than before, there's many indie games I wouldn't otherwise have tried. The catalog is high quality and hasn't descended into garbage like Netflix over the years. It's been too good a value to feel possible and however long they want to keep it up, that's great.

Re: Italy investigates Activision Blizzard for pushing in-game purchases

#18

Post by constantcrying »

I personally hate micro transactions and avoid games like these, especially mobile games, like the plague.

But we have to be honest here, these micro transactions are what consumers want. There is a reason that gatcha games (and paid mechanics of those games are implemented in the games mentioned in the article) are so successful and so popular. Consumers of mobile games, unlike consumers of PC games, enjoy these mechanics, gatcha games are going so far, that the core system of the game is not the gameplay (which is often disregarded as an automated activity), but rather the gatch mechanics.

Yes, these systems are stupid and insane. But they are giving consumers exactly what they want.

Re: Italy investigates Activision Blizzard for pushing in-game purchases

#19

Post by tokai »

NorwegianDude wrote: post #16

As a game developer myself, I think young kids should not be able to make purchases on their own. But some of the ideas on what needs to be done is just silly. Here is some of the ideas the Norwegian Consumer Council suggested: - All things in games should be shown in real money value, not in game currency that you have to but for real money, and the price should reflect the most expensive way to get the currency. -…

I don't know from your gripes it sounds like it is the right approach to rein in the lawless world of in-game purchases.

Re: Italy investigates Activision Blizzard for pushing in-game purchases

#20

Post by tokai »

constantcrying wrote: post #18

I personally hate micro transactions and avoid games like these, especially mobile games, like the plague. But we have to be honest here, these micro transactions are what consumers want . There is a reason that gatcha games (and paid mechanics of those games are implemented in the games mentioned in the article) are so successful and so popular. Consumers of mobile games, unlike consumers of PC games, enjoy these me…

Consumers also want opioids and toxic childrens toys, among other harmful things.
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