Brussels (The Brussels Morning Newspaper) – European consumer groups have blamed the world’s biggest video game companies for “purposefully tricking” consumers, including youngsters, to push them to pay more.
Video games are extremely popular in Europe where more than half the people are players, according to industry figures published last month. Europe’s BEUC umbrella consumer rights group filed a complaint with the European Commission, with support from member institutions in 17 European countries including France, Germany and Italy.
How Are Virtual Currencies Manipulating Children in Europe?
The groups expressed companies behind games such as Fortnite, EA Sports FC 24 and Minecraft are culpable of “manipulative spending tactics” involving in-game virtual currencies, which they expressed children “are even more vulnerable to”. The video game giants anointed were Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Mojang Studios, Roblox Corporation, Supercell and Ubisoft.
What role do premium In-Game Currencies play in overspending?
Virtual currencies are digital items — such as rocks, points or coins — that can be purchased with real money, often in the games themselves or in an app marketplace. When the digital currency is then utilised to buy options or objects within a game, the consumer groups say players fail sight of the true sums involved, making them vulnerable to “overspending.”
“Today, premium in-game currencies are deliberately tricking consumers and taking a big toll on children. Companies are well mindful of children’s vulnerability and use tricks to attract younger consumers into spending more,”
said BEUC head Agustin Reyna.
The groups called for things to
“always be displayed in real money (eg euro), or at least they should portray the equivalence in real-world currency”.
According to BEUC, 84 per cent of those aged 11 to 14 play video games in Europe, while the in-game buys market was worth around $50 billion worldwide in 2020.
Children in Europe pay on average 39 euros ($43) a month on in-game buys, BEUC expressed.
“While they are among the ones playing the most, they have restricted financial literacy and are easily persuaded by virtual currencies,”
it stated in a statement. The groups claim the businesses are breaching European Union consumer protection laws.
“Regulators must act, making it clear that even though the gaming world is virtual, it still needs to abide by real-world rules,”
Reyna expressed.
