The download buttons for free-to-play games now say “get” instead of “free.”
After being called out by the European Commission this summer, Apple is joining its rival Google in complying with the Commission’s request to do more to halt inadvertent in-app purchases. To that end, Apple has changed the download buttons for free-to-download games in its app store to say “get” instead of “free.”
The apps are still free to play, at least initially, but Apple hopes the tweak will alert users to the possibility that they may be hit with in-game purchases or other charges down the road. Although critics have long warned that “free-to-play” games can be designed in ways that manipulate players into making unnecessary purchases, according to Re/code, “free-to-play” remains overwhelmingly the business model of choice in mobile app stores, representing 92 percent of all revenue on iOS and 98 percent of revenue on Google Play in 2013.
“The Commission is very supportive of innovation in the app sector,” said European Commission VP Neelie Kroes in a July news release. “In-app purchases are a legitimate business model, but it’s essential for app-makers to understand and respect EU law while they develop these new business models.”
The Commission went on to congratulate Google for making a “number of changes” to address its concerns, including not using the word “free” when games contain in-app purchases. Not so much for Apple though. “Regrettably, no concrete and immediate solutions have been made by Apple to date to address the[ese] concerns,” the Commission stated.
With the latest moves, Apple is now once again aligned with Google when it comes to properly identifying free to play games in their respective app stores.
Back in the United States meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission is currently suing Amazon for similar problems with its own app store. The FTC alleges that the online retailer has billed parents and other account holders for millions of dollars in unauthorized in-app charges incurred by children.
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