The bottom line: Organizers in Europe again try to perform predators. This time, they put their eyes on the coins inside the game. It is the position of the European Union is that the coins inside the game are used primarily to treat customers and deceive them to continue the purchase, and they are not wrong.
Consumer Protection Network in Europe (CPCN) has started Enforcement procedure With the European Committee (EC) to reach a predatory liquefy for a game called Star Ructable Entertainment, MMORPG/Horse “Star Online”. CPCN aims to force the developer to be more transparent about the actual costs of in -game purchases. It asks for a soft ban on the coin inside the game due to the explicit not prohibiting official laws.
Like many other gaming companies, Stable Stable disrupts the actual cost of in -game products by inserting them in the virtual game, “Coins”. The problem is that the coins of stars are not an individual conversion to the euro. In fact, this income model makes the currency conversion deliberately impossible. It does this by packing the combined currency that is sold in “discount”. Stable Online’s target demographics are young players, but even adults will have difficulty confirming the exact amount of the purchase.
The work of CPCN stems from the Swedish Consumer Association complaint. After the investigation, CPCN noticed many areas that seem predatory, especially towards children. These include:
- Direct calls for children in advertisements, urging them to buy, or persuade adults to buy them, and currency or elements inside the game.
- Use pressure techniques such as “purchase through limited time practices” to unjustify children to buy the virtual currency within the game or in the game.
- The lack of clear and transparent information, which has been adapted to children about the purchase and use of the virtual currency in the game, causes consumers to spend more than they intend.
- The company failed to ensure that the influencers who promote their products clearly reveal commercial content and do not unjustify in an unjustified way on children with their marketing techniques.
These marketing tricks are relatively common and also works against adults as is the case with children. The only difference is that adults spend their money (or credit) instead of their parents ’money. Both organizations ask the company to be more transparent about commercial purchases that children may face in the game.
They asked Star Stable to respond to their requests within one month. As we mentioned, the predatory liquefaction is not completely prohibited. However, CPCN said it would take another “procedure” if the company does not provide specific obligations and treatments to comply with it.
“With this procedure, CPC emphasizes the need for video games and commercial practices to adapt to children and not to use their weaknesses,” as stated in the press statement.
However, CPCN goals do not stop at Stable Stable. With the help of EC, she has Published Guidelines for all game developers to follow up. The proposed framework generally focuses on transparency. The game that includes a product or service in the virtual currency should include the “target” price in the unoccupied euro.
The guidelines also require developers to end the predatory practice of selling coins in packages and then prosecuting the virtual goods to leave a permanent balance on players’ accounts. This tactic manipulates players to buy more coins to avoid wasting their remaining balance.
Similar measures were brewing in the United States for years. The latest was a rule that was proposed in January by the Financial Consumer Protection Office, which is looking to extend the real world banking bases into the coin accounts inside the game. Players will be allowed to transfer cash inside and outside their games accounts. However, we have seen the proposed treatments for marketing the predatory game come and go in the United States without doing a lot.
It will be interesting to see how Stable Stable and whether this procedure will affect other game makers. This executive procedure does not seem to have enough teeth for effective change, so we will have to see the “additional procedures” that are taking into account CPCN.