7 ms·

Italy investigates Activision Blizzard for pushing in-game purchases

121 points by 7777777phil 9mo ago

Hamuko 9mo ago
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 more expensive (which I’d imagine leading to retention issues), they need to put more and more games on rivaling platforms, they've shuttered studios they've previously purchased, and these days I imagine they’d rather use that cash on AI instead.
- add-sub-mul-div 9mo ago
  > 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.
  - deleted 9mo ago
    [deleted]
- techpression 9mo ago
  I expect Xbox is nothing but a subscription service in five years, no studios and no consoles. The acquisition feels like someone was bored and wanted to spend some money, once they had it they immediately lost interest and now it’s all just fading into obscurity.
b65e8bee43c2ed0 9mo ago
>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?
- mslate 9mo ago
  Not sure if you have children, but this is exactly what a healthy government regulatory framework looks like.
  - JasonADrury 9mo ago
    What does healthy parenting look like then?
    - mslate 9mo ago
      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?
      - jajuuka 9mo ago
        This is riddled with fearmongering. You don't need to be a cybersecurity expert to take interest in your own child. It doesn't take a PhD to enable parental controls or tell your child "no" if they want something that is inappropriate for them. You might as well have said that you need to be a police officer to make sure your child isn't hit by a drunk driver, kidnapped by creeps or attacked by someone on the street. Children are under the care of parents or guardians for a reason. It's not to fist fight criminals or design their own security system.
        mslate 9mo ago
        Your analogy about drunk drivers actually makes my point: we don't just tell parents "be vigilant". We have DUI laws, road design standards, and enforcement--systemic solutions, not just individual responsibility. With tech, we've largely abdicated that, placing the entire burden on parents to defend against industrial-scale manipulation. Expecting individual parents to successfully counter industrial-scale behavioral engineering is a systems failure, not a parenting failure.
ungreased0675 9mo ago
I wish the Italian regulators wild success beyond their imagination.
deleted 9mo ago
[deleted]
mattmaroon 9mo ago
Now they just need a cartoon camel.
NorwegianDude 9mo ago
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.
- tokai 9mo ago
  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.
- HWR_14 9mo ago
  > Bigger purchases give more, because the percentage lost to fees are lower. So you sell $100 of in game currency for $85. It's all the same except 1 coin equals one cent when you buy it in the smallest bundle. > I'd be a financial institution and break the rules of all major card networks. It's measured in dollars but it is a gift card. It's not that serious.
- 9mo ago
constantcrying 9mo ago
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.
- tokai 9mo ago
  Consumers also want opioids and toxic childrens toys, among other harmful things.
  - constantcrying 9mo ago
    An opioid addiction is no where close to dropping a hundred Euros a month on video games. I doubt that many people on here actually would want to ban adults from spending "too much" money on video games. And my comment is in response to the general sentiment that this represents some kind of "anti-consumer" behavior, when there is a large organic market for this and consumer actively want these features. Personally I am very paternalistic and would support a total ban on these mechanics, together with legal limits of how much money people are allowed to spend on activities like these. Of course making any of these activities available to kids, should be banned as well. This is obviously an extremely unpopular position, since, as I said, consumers really enjoy these mechanics.
    - swiftcoder 9mo ago
      > I doubt that many people on here actually would want to ban adults from spending "too much" money on video games The problem is not "spending too much" on videos games. It's the reward structure designed to incentivise one to spend unbounded amounts - just like a casino. And just like a casino, I don't know that making them fully illegal is the correct way to go. But we surely shouldn't let kids in the casino, or let casinos advertise to kids, etc.
wang_li 9mo ago
Europe seems to have adopted the practice of looting American companies.
PlanksVariable 9mo ago
[flagged]
Lapsa 9mo ago
"The Immoral Design of Diablo Immortal" by Josh Strife Hayes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o17lBUZgjTs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o17lBUZgjTs
- Lapsa 9mo ago
  "(..) twenty two different in-game currencies (..)"

121 points by 7777777phil 9mo ago

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 more expensive (which I’d imagine leading to retention issues), they need to put more and more games on rivaling platforms, they've shuttered studios they've previously purchased, and these days I imagine they’d rather use that cash on AI instead.

add-sub-mul-div 9mo ago
> 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.
- deleted 9mo ago
  [deleted]
techpression 9mo ago
I expect Xbox is nothing but a subscription service in five years, no studios and no consoles. The acquisition feels like someone was bored and wanted to spend some money, once they had it they immediately lost interest and now it’s all just fading into obscurity.

b65e8bee43c2ed0 9mo ago

>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?

mslate 9mo ago
Not sure if you have children, but this is exactly what a healthy government regulatory framework looks like.
- JasonADrury 9mo ago
  What does healthy parenting look like then?
  - mslate 9mo ago
    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?
    - jajuuka 9mo ago
      This is riddled with fearmongering. You don't need to be a cybersecurity expert to take interest in your own child. It doesn't take a PhD to enable parental controls or tell your child "no" if they want something that is inappropriate for them. You might as well have said that you need to be a police officer to make sure your child isn't hit by a drunk driver, kidnapped by creeps or attacked by someone on the street. Children are under the care of parents or guardians for a reason. It's not to fist fight criminals or design their own security system.
      - mslate 9mo ago
        Your analogy about drunk drivers actually makes my point: we don't just tell parents "be vigilant". We have DUI laws, road design standards, and enforcement--systemic solutions, not just individual responsibility. With tech, we've largely abdicated that, placing the entire burden on parents to defend against industrial-scale manipulation. Expecting individual parents to successfully counter industrial-scale behavioral engineering is a systems failure, not a parenting failure.

ungreased0675 9mo ago

I wish the Italian regulators wild success beyond their imagination.

deleted 9mo ago

[deleted]

mattmaroon 9mo ago

Now they just need a cartoon camel.

NorwegianDude 9mo ago

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.

tokai 9mo ago
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.
HWR_14 9mo ago
> Bigger purchases give more, because the percentage lost to fees are lower. So you sell $100 of in game currency for $85. It's all the same except 1 coin equals one cent when you buy it in the smallest bundle. > I'd be a financial institution and break the rules of all major card networks. It's measured in dollars but it is a gift card. It's not that serious.
9mo ago

constantcrying 9mo ago

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.

tokai 9mo ago
Consumers also want opioids and toxic childrens toys, among other harmful things.
- constantcrying 9mo ago
  An opioid addiction is no where close to dropping a hundred Euros a month on video games. I doubt that many people on here actually would want to ban adults from spending "too much" money on video games. And my comment is in response to the general sentiment that this represents some kind of "anti-consumer" behavior, when there is a large organic market for this and consumer actively want these features. Personally I am very paternalistic and would support a total ban on these mechanics, together with legal limits of how much money people are allowed to spend on activities like these. Of course making any of these activities available to kids, should be banned as well. This is obviously an extremely unpopular position, since, as I said, consumers really enjoy these mechanics.
  - swiftcoder 9mo ago
    > I doubt that many people on here actually would want to ban adults from spending "too much" money on video games The problem is not "spending too much" on videos games. It's the reward structure designed to incentivise one to spend unbounded amounts - just like a casino. And just like a casino, I don't know that making them fully illegal is the correct way to go. But we surely shouldn't let kids in the casino, or let casinos advertise to kids, etc.

wang_li 9mo ago

Europe seems to have adopted the practice of looting American companies.

PlanksVariable 9mo ago

[flagged]

Lapsa 9mo ago

"The Immoral Design of Diablo Immortal" by Josh Strife Hayes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o17lBUZgjTs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o17lBUZgjTs

Lapsa 9mo ago
"(..) twenty two different in-game currencies (..)"