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"Free-to-play" misleading advertising in Europe

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21–30 of 231 posts

Re: "Free-to-play" misleading advertising in Europe

#21
Hm. I see the good intent of protection against 'unwitting purchases' BUT still do not welcome the government intervention here. Governments have a tendency to work on 'soft targets' like software / app development. I would like to see them work first on unwitting charges/terms-and-conditions imposed by credit card or insurance companies.

The order of priority just feels wrong.

Re: "Free-to-play" misleading advertising in Europe

#22

Companies will find a different name ... and go on with the same business model. Just a naming game ... no real progress, yet. Clever companies will always find ways, to fool not so clever people. I also think, that most people know, that F2P is not really free.

What does f2p stand for? Although I'm cynical enough to not expect this, things could be partitioned into "grant access to people with no payment on file" and "need payment on file to download this app".

[deleted]

Re: "Free-to-play" misleading advertising in Europe

#23
post #15

I more strongly object to "Buying" DRM'd content that I don't actually own. It should say "License" or something.

I have rarely seen any content that is "sold". Even if you look at your drm-free vinyl record, it tends to say that you're sold the plastic, but the content is only licensed to you for the lifetime of the medium and that you're prohibited from making copies, publicly broadcasting it and whatnot. It isn't the DRM that's restricting you, it's the copyright law.

Re: "Free-to-play" misleading advertising in Europe

#24

Companies will find a different name ... and go on with the same business model. Just a naming game ... no real progress, yet. Clever companies will always find ways, to fool not so clever people. I also think, that most people know, that F2P is not really free.

What does f2p stand for? Although I'm cynical enough to not expect this, things could be partitioned into "grant access to people with no payment on file" and "need payment on file to download this app".

f2p: free-to-play -- normally with in-game purchases implied.

Re: "Free-to-play" misleading advertising in Europe

#25
post #13
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think anybody was saying that games should be free or that iAPs are about to be illegal. But labeling something "free" that isn't really "free" is misleading customers. Games shouldn't be free since games aren't free to produce. But it's a reasonable expectation that games that are not free are not labeled as "free".

Are apps without iAPs but with ads to be considered 'free'?

I personally don't consider them free. But I think most people do.

Re: "Free-to-play" misleading advertising in Europe

#26
post #4

This is one of the areas where I wish EU would punish Apple for. Their free app of the week is often so-called free games but they almost always have in-app purchases that's required to take full advantage of the game.

You really want the government getting involved here? I mean, what's next? Attacking SaaS and PaaS for their "free" tiers that really don't provide you with much and you have to actually pay to actually get some real use out of it?

Take some responsibility and stop asking the government to be your nanny.

Re: "Free-to-play" misleading advertising in Europe

#27
post #4

This is one of the areas where I wish EU would punish Apple for. Their free app of the week is often so-called free games but they almost always have in-app purchases that's required to take full advantage of the game.

You really want the government getting involved here? I mean, what's next? Attacking SaaS and PaaS for their "free" tiers that really don't provide you with much and you have to actually pay to actually get some real use out of it? Take some responsibility and stop asking the government to be your nanny.

> stop asking the government to be your nanny.

But then who will protect my children from things I disagree with???

Re: "Free-to-play" misleading advertising in Europe

#28
post #4

This is one of the areas where I wish EU would punish Apple for. Their free app of the week is often so-called free games but they almost always have in-app purchases that's required to take full advantage of the game.

You really want the government getting involved here? I mean, what's next? Attacking SaaS and PaaS for their "free" tiers that really don't provide you with much and you have to actually pay to actually get some real use out of it? Take some responsibility and stop asking the government to be your nanny.

This is clearly a difference between the US and the EU. Most EU citizens (including me) think it is fine to regulate the market, e.g. if it is misleading.

Such games are often misleading, since they are not really free. The 'Free' label is just used because people will impulse-install a free application more quickly than a paid application and in the end an addicted gamer will probably spend more through in-app purchases.

I think there is a good middle ground that can be found. Instead of listing in-app purchases separately, Apple, Google, et al. could make three options:

-

- Free

- Free with in app-purchases

It would also be nice if every app store listed all the in-app purchases. Then I, as a customer, can consider beforehand whether I found the prices to be acceptable.

Re: "Free-to-play" misleading advertising in Europe

#29
post #14
post #9

This is silly. At the end of the day, game developers need to get paid for their effort and time spent. The days of $49 boxed games are over (on mobile). The iAP model is proven again and again across different platforms and the majority of the top grossing apps are following it. It costs money to develop games and apps. A quality title might cost over a million dollars in development. What makes the consumer believe…

1. iAP are obviously not evil. 2. How the industry uses them probably is. 3. Your game isn't free if you have to pay to enjoy it. 4. "Developers gotta eat" doesn't have anything to do with it.

> Your game isn't free if you have to pay to enjoy it.

I've enjoyed many free games that others complained they had to pay to play. PvZ2, for example.

And then let's apply this thought process to every startup out there offering a free tier. How quickly people would turn around if I put conditions: "Your Free tier ain't free if I can't use it for real business."

Re: "Free-to-play" misleading advertising in Europe

#30
post #4

This is one of the areas where I wish EU would punish Apple for. Their free app of the week is often so-called free games but they almost always have in-app purchases that's required to take full advantage of the game.

You really want the government getting involved here? I mean, what's next? Attacking SaaS and PaaS for their "free" tiers that really don't provide you with much and you have to actually pay to actually get some real use out of it? Take some responsibility and stop asking the government to be your nanny.

The same thing is common in other industries. You can't call your food pesticide-free or GM-free or gluten-free unless it really is. Is that a problem for you?
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