15 Year Old Drops $46,000 in F2P Title
In the "How on earth did they manage to do that" section of the news, a Belgium boy has reportedly spent almost $46,000 USD (37,000 Euros) in the "free to play" mobile game "Game of War."
While we've heard stories like this in the past, they are usually tied to children of younger ages who, arguably, don't know any better. This particular story has a slew of things going awry in my opinion. While we don't know much about the teenage boy, in most cases this boy probably knew better (barring of course a learning issue or other developmental concern). Second, the account used was his mother's account so there's certainly a concern with the parents maybe not watching as closely as they should have been. Third, how did Game of War allow this to happen?
While all of us may focus on all three of those points, the Belgian Gaming Commission has focused on that final question by saying that they "need stricter rules" to keep this from happening to other families.
In the original Flemish article, the boy's mother claims that her account was not put on the tablet for the purposes of gaming. She asked her son to install some e-books for her since she was planning a vacation and she supplied her son with her card number to purchase the books. The card numbers found their way to the boy's iTunes account and many (MANY) one touch "Buy" clicks later the $46,000 bill was tallied up.
Heads would roll at may house for this, but Google and Apple have issued refunds for similar situations in the past. Should they issue a refund in this case? Let me know your thoughts below!
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About the Author
Mike “Magicman” Byrne has been a part of the MMOBomb family for years and serves as the site’s current Editor-in-Chief. His love for MMOs and gaming in general has led him to covering games for numerous gaming websites including Gamebreaker TV and XIV Nation where he proudly displays his fanboy flag for FFXIV:ARR.
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Nope, I don't think the parents should get a refund. No, I think the kid just needs a good ass whooping. Once upon a time you could beat your kids--I distinctly remember children listening a good deal better back then...
No refund, just whoop his ass.
Here:
http://www.insidemobileapps.com/2012/05/08/how-japans-social-game-regulations-will-impact-gree-dena-and-the-u-s/
"a boy in middle school racked up more than $5,000 (400,000 yen) in charges in a single month"
i will say it & don't mistake the understand.
i have bought many things, and i got many times cheated from a trusted company, even when i report or i call the police they always get some way to get out of the problem.
so she lost 46.000 USA, it's her problem. they must not got any refunds back.
Maybe there is a real obscured reason for his actions... He's at an age where you seem to know what you're doing. It's possible that he was mistreated by his parents (or at least his mother). Maybe his parents didn't care about him at all.
I really believe one needs be better informed to be able to judge this case.
If he were 9 or 12 this is excusable. But come on, ask yourself were you that ignorant at that age? Big chance that your teenage self is way smarter than this boy
Wake up lil ones and say hello to the real world.
2. That kid isn't Grounded...he's more than likely already dead.
"Third, how did Game of War allow this to happen?" They did the exact right thing, getting rich. Cruel world is cruel.
Now for my own rant that should be ignored. That kid needs a slap in the face, as soon as he got into that game he should have known that there are micro transactions EVERYWHERE. One click of a button and "WOOPS" you just spent 100 dollars.
On a side note, if you can understand ebooks and want to read it. It's not that hard to go do it yourself... Unless of course... you're my parents and... you don't... understand English all that much. Which if you're investing in an e-book cannot be the case.
To wrap up, Yes refund the money, that kid needs a lecture, and some additional measures should be put in place if you're under the age of 18. Like requiring the credit card number every time. (Tedious but hey, it's safer!)
However, there DO need to be stricter policies and security measures in place so this doesn't happen in the first place. No game should allow people to spend that much money especially if the transactions are all in a short time frame.
I don't think they realize how incredibly screwed they would be if someone spammed thousands of dollars worth of purchases then issued a chargeback for all of them... Another question is why did the bank not freeze the credit or debit card? Either way, screw em. Give the people their money back and maybe game developers will learn to be sensible with microtransactions and game design. Or at the very least put in a max amount you can spend per week/month so stupid shit like this doesn't happen since it's unlikely people will ever learn themselves.
Once another player kills your army, who has likely spent money, because only players much more powerful than you attack you, you have to backtrack about a week to re-build up the resources to afford re-building your massive army. Honestly, in the month I've been playing, I've never been attacked by someone with equal power, and I joined a realm 3 days into its start. Many people spend hundreds and even thousands on this game. Even a guild member of mine was spending $100 a day to build and research faster to get revenge on people who attacked. It's a joke. You spend $100 to save a weeks worth of time, when the game has years worth of upgrades making it so people who are comfortable spending money, will never be satisfied and continue to do so. People who plan on playing for free, can look forward to wasting a few years of their life waiting to be viable enough for PvP.