Web game extras get Office of Fair Trading scrutiny

Web game extras get Office of Fair Trading scrutiny(bbc.co.uk)

3 points by hugorodgerbrown 13 years ago | 1 comment

DanBC 13 years ago |

> Mr Elithorn said the OFT did not want to ban in-game purchases, but wanted to be sure that games-makers are complying with relevant laws. Consumer groups or parents with evidence of games aggressively marketing in-game extras should contact the OFT, it said.

The UK has strict laws about advertising. Many reports to the Advertising Standards Authority are from competing firms. Company_A see an advert from Company_B, and they report it. Sometimes this is because they're domain experts and know what's realistic or not in an advert. Sometimes it's because they're a competing firm and they're doing whatever they can to cause pressure for the competition.

It'll be interesting to see who reports sleazy games.

Also, advertising codes are easy to find. It's not so easy to find a list of rules for in-game purchases aimed at children.