Games like Fortnite use ‘predatory’ gambling techniques to make children spend, experts warn | Tech News
“Predatory” payments in hugely popular computer games like Fortnite and Hearthstone are equivalent to gambling but are unregulated and could lead young people to addiction and financial difficulty, experts are warning.
In the wake of gaming addiction being recognised by the World Health Organisation, psychologists have drawn attention to what they describe as the “increasing similarity of gaming and gambling” in what has rapidly grown into a multi-billion-pound entertainment sector.
They single out a type of in-game micropayment known as “loot boxes”, where players buy a random reward, potentially including rare characters or powerful weapons.
In an editorial published on Thursday in the journal Addiction, Dr Daniel King and Professor Paul Delfabbro, of the University of Adelaide, said: “These schemes may entice some players with access to credit cards to spend more money than they can afford.”
Younger players in particular are “less equipped” to reign in their spending, the pair warned.
In Fortnite, the wildly popular survival shoot-’em-up which has a free to play version, players can access a campaign to play alongside friends and use the game’s “V-Buck” currency to buy quirky llama loot piñatas, which give a random reward.
Coins can be bought with real money or won more slowly through the game. More expensive llamas, such as the Legendary Troll Loot Truck Lllama, cost at least £10 in V-bucks but include 20 items.
While Hearthstone, an online card game from World of Warcraft developers Blizzard, users can pay for packs of cards with a random selection of rare characters or skills to battle other players.
Accessing these top-tier items can be vital to progress or improve rankings in the game, which may require beating experienced players with better upgrades and making earning credits in the game harder.
The need to overcome this paywall only becomes apparent after players have committed a substantial amount of time playing for free, and amounts to “entrapment”, the authors note.
“Game monetisation schemes have become increasingly sophisticated and have been featured more prominently within popular online games,” the authors write. “In our view, some of these schemes could be considered predatory.
“Predatory monetization schemes typically involve in‐game purchasing systems that disguise or withhold the true long‐term cost of the activity until players are already financially and psychologically committed.”
These build in other tactics used in the gambling industry, such as – seemingly – time-limited sales, invasive promotional adverts, and the imbalanced of information on the player’s side about the rarity of items.
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Getty Images/iStockphoto
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A fifth of Japan’s workforce are at risk of death by overwork, known as karoshi, as they work more than 80 hours of overtime each month, according to a government survey.
Getty Images
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Getty Images/iStockphoto
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Getty Images/iStockphoto
40/50 Most child antidepressants are ineffective and can lead to suicidal thoughts
The majority of antidepressants are ineffective and may be unsafe, for children and teenager with major depression, experts have warned. In what is the most comprehensive comparison of 14 commonly prescribed antidepressant drugs to date, researchers found that only one brand was more effective at relieving symptoms of depression than a placebo. Another popular drug, venlafaxine, was shown increase the risk users engaging in suicidal thoughts and attempts at suicide
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41/50 ‘Universal cancer vaccine’ breakthrough claimed by experts
Scientists have taken a “very positive step” towards creating a universal vaccine against cancer that makes the body’s immune system attack tumours as if they were a virus, experts have said. Writing in Nature, an international team of researchers described how they had taken pieces of cancer’s genetic RNA code, put them into tiny nanoparticles of fat and then injected the mixture into the bloodstreams of three patients in the advanced stages of the disease. The patients’ immune systems responded by producing “killer” T-cells designed to attack cancer. The vaccine was also found to be effective in fighting “aggressively growing” tumours in mice, according to researchers, who were led by Professor Ugur Sahin from Johannes Gutenberg University in Germany
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42/50 Green tea could be used to treat brain issues caused by Down’s Syndrome
A compound found in green tea could improve the cognitive abilities of those with Down’s syndrome, a team of scientists has discovered. Researchers found epigallocatechin gallate – which is especially present in green tea but can also be found in white and black teas – combined with cognitive stimulation, improved visual memory and led to more adaptive behaviour. Dr Rafael de la Torre, who led the year-long clinical trial along with Dr Mara Dierrssen, said: “The results suggest that individuals who received treatment with the green tea compound, together with the cognitive stimulation protocol, had better scores in their cognitive capacities”
43/50 Taking antidepressants in pregnancy ‘could double the risk of autism in toddlers’
Taking antidepressants during pregnancy could almost double the risk of a child being diagnosed with autism in the first years of life, a major study of nearly 150,000 pregnancies has suggested. Researchers have found a link between women in the later stages of pregnancy who were prescribed one of the most common types of antidepressant drugs, and autism diagnosed in children under seven years of age
44/50 Warning over Calpol
Parents have been warned that giving children paracetamol-based medicines such as Calpol and Disprol too often could lead to serious health issues later in life. Leading paediatrician and professor of general paediatrics at University College London, Alastair Sutcliffe, said parents were overusing paracetamol to treat mild fevers. As a result, the risk of developing asthma, as well as kidney, heart and liver damage is heightened
45/50 Connections between brain cells destroyed in early stages of Alzheimer’s disease
Scientists have pinpointed how connections in the brain are destroyed in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, in a study which it is hoped will help in the development of treatments for the debilitating condition. At the early stages of the development of Alzheimer’s disease the synapses – which connect the neurons in the brain – are destroyed, according to researchers at the University of New South Wales, Australia. The synapses are vital for brain function, particularly learning and forming memories
46/50 A prosthetic hand that lets people actually feel through
The technology lets paralysed people feel actual sensations when touching objects — including light taps on the mechanical finger — and could be a huge breakthrough for prosthetics, according to its makers. The tool was used to let a 28-year-old man who has been paralysed for more than a decade. While prosthetics have previously been able to be controlled directly from the brain, it is the first time that signals have been successfully sent the other way
47/50 Research shows that diabetes drug can be used to stop first signs of Parkinson’s
Scientists in a new study show that the first signs of Parkinson’s can be stopped. The UCL study is still in its research period but the team are ‘excited’. Today’s Parkinson’s drugs manage the symptoms of the disease but ultimately do not stop its progression in the brain.
PA
48/50 Drinking alcohol could reduce risk of diabetes
A new study shows that drinking alcohol three to four days a week could reduce the risk of diabetes. Wine was found to be most effective in reducing the risk due to the chemical compounds that balance blood sugar levels.
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49/50 NHS agree, after loosing legal battle, to fund HIV prevention drug
Having lost the legal battle over who was to pay for the drug the NHS have finally agreed to fund the HIV prevention treatment. National Aids Trust, whom Princess Diana supported, said that it was a ‘pivotal moment’.
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50/50 Scientists discover biological fat-switch
Scientists have discovered that the switch is controlled in the hypothalamus area of the brain. The switch acts on insulin receptors and involves the protein TCPTP. Scientists have discovered the switch in mice and are hopeful but yet to find out if the switch would be the same in humans.
PA
These can be used alone or in combination with information about the player’s preferences, playing traits and available funds to “maximise the likelihood of eliciting player spending”.
Last year, Activision Blizzard said it made some $4bn (£3bn) – more than half its income in 2017 – from micro-transactions in free games such as Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm.
Fortnite’s publisher, Epic Games, made $296m (£227m) from the game in April alone. Even though it’s free to play, the average spend per person is $58.25 (£44.62), and 69 per cent of players have made an in-game purchase.
This massive cash-generation potential is a huge incentive to incorporate such retailing strategies into games, while the lack of any physical or monetary reward means they circumvent traditional gaming classification and cost publishers nothing.
However Belgium’s gambling commission has already said this feature is tantamount to betting, and said it is damaging the mental health of its young audience. The Chinese government has passed legislation to require the odds of certain types of loot crates to be disclosed.
“Such responses appear necessary, given that gaming companies have implemented little to nothing by way of social responsibility measures,” Professor Delfabbro and Dr King wrote.
Epic Games said its free-to-play version of Fortnite: Battle Royale does not include loot crates but allows purchases of cosmetic items.