The video game industry has become, by far the most profitable sector in the world of entertainment.surpassing the film and music industries. In Spain, it is not uncommon to find that people of all ages have installed a game on their smartphone or tablet.
In part, thanks to mobile games, the industry has grown in such a big way. After all, in order to play video games in console format you need to have either one of these or a sufficiently powerful computer. to play the titles you want to play. In the case of mobile games, the barrier to entry that marks the device with which to play is not so great, since at the end of the day practically everyone has a smartphone.
This makes that there are a large number of titles to play on mobile, and these can be of different kinds. There are both free and paid alternatives, and there are times when the first time can be really dangerous, especially for the little ones.
Logically, the creators of free games also seek to receive compensation for their work and creativity, and therefore, most of these titles have microtransactions. Basically, it is a matter of the possibility of buying with real money some item in the game to help you progress faster. In some cases these are specific items, and in other cases “loot boxes“which are random in nature and will soon be limited.
These are something quite common in free gamesThe fact that you don’t have to pay to download them makes them more attractive to the public. In this way, downloading and trying it out is accessible to everyone, even if they are not going to buy any in-game elements, but it allows the creators to capture an audience that could pay in the future.
Pay to win
This is the term by which this type of video games, which have spread a lot on smartphones, and not so much on consoles or computers, is really known. Most of these usually follow a common strategy when it comes to hooking users..
It is quite common to find advertisements for mobile games on social networks. In these, users usually see how someone controls the game, usually quite badly, and how they lose a relatively easy level. The most common is that these games are to some extent satisfying and with a quick return.
Micropayments in an Android game
The Free Android
Once the user has downloaded the game to try it out, he or she will be able to play fairly continuously and with few interruptions beyond the occasional ad that pops up. During this stage the progress is abysmally fast.giving the user that feeling of having won and advanced that is so appreciated when we are in a video game.
However, there always comes a breaking point where this progress is stopped in its tracks. This can produce a feeling of frustration in some players, and even more so after seeing that up to that point they have been able to move forward with ease. and with relative speed. This is the point at which you are looking to get users to checkout, and this is where you have to be especially careful with the little ones.
Prevent your children from spending
A large number of cases have come to light in which children, using their parents’ cell phones, have spent a large amount of money buying credits on video games for the mobile, and this is something that can be avoided in a relatively simple way. To begin with, it is necessary to configure the security so that Google asks for the password every time we want to make a purchase with the account.
This way, no one will be able to make a transaction without entering the account password or without using biometric login. To do this you will have to go to Google Play and then access the settings section and activate the verification request when making payments within the app. This will ensure that if at any time payments are made within a game, it will be by consensus and with parental approval, and not because the child has taken the mobile without permission.
It is also worthwhile break a lance in favor of paid video games that can be found on Android.. These have an entry cost to be able to play, but in most cases they do not have in-game micropayments that serve users to be able to advance, which makes progress within the game more level and fair.
In any case, it is always important to talk to your children to educate them on the topic and establish certain rules regarding video games. Micropayments, in and of themselves, are not necessarily bad, and there are games, such as Fortnite or Rocket League, in which they only unlock aesthetic elements and do not help in any way to win games. However, the immediate return offered by this type of practice should not be customary either, so the rules can be of great help.