1 of 5 How many kids love Nara Ward’s kids online games Photo: Personal Archive/via BBC How many kids love Nara Ward’s kids online games Photo: Personal Archive/via BBC
For Nara Ward, supervising her children’s computer game spending is a fulltime job.
She lives in Barbados with her husband and children Finn, 14, and Leif, 12.
Leif asked his family for money to buy ingame currency, which he could use to level up his character and buy virtual items. His grandparents gave him a $200 app store credit for Christmas.
“To my surprise, he gave it all out in a matter of days,” Nara Ward recalls. “After that, I wouldn’t give him more than $10 in game currency a month. He quickly became frustrated and bored with the game.”
Leif moved on to another game that also requires players to upgrade their weapons with credits.
“However, this game offers the opportunity to watch ads to earn credits,” explains the mother.
“He did it out of desperation when he ran out of his monthly play money.”
Ward says his youngest son has yet to master selfcontrol or money management.
2 of 5 Nara Ward was amazed at how quickly her children were spending money on games Photo: Personal Archive/via BBC Nara Ward was amazed at how quickly her children were spending money on games Photo: Personal Archive/via BBC
“It’s something I have to constantly monitor.”
Instead of only profiting from the purchase of a video game, as in the past, many companies in the industry now depend on the income from purchases made during the game and from socalled microtransactions.
This purchased content can be purely aesthetic in nature, such as dance moves and new clothing for a character.
But purchases can also bring tactical advantages, such as extra lives, character upgrades, and new weapons advantages over players who don’t purchase these additional features.
The global online microtransactions market is expected to grow from US$67.94 billion in 2022 to US$76.66 billion in 2023 (approx. R$330 billion in 2022 to R$370 billion in 2023 ).
However, some experts and consumers are reacting to this trend. Some companies are also promising rereleases that do not involve ingame purchases.
3 out of 5 Mills says gamers are ashamed of how much they’ve spent Photo: Handout/Loughborough University/via BBC Mills says gamers are ashamed of how much they’ve spent Photo: Handout/Loughborough University /via BBC
Gaming companies, says Professor Sarah Mills, are using behavioral psychology to get users to spend.
The line between gaming and gambling is “increasingly blurring,” she says.
Mills is Professor of Human Geography at Loughborough University (UK). His research suggests that gambling techniques are being incorporated into games, causing users to gamble longer, spend more, and make small, sequential purchases.
Vicki Shotbolt, executive director of Parent Zone, an organization that helps parents navigate their children’s digital lives, shares some of the ways games encourage purchase.
First, spending allows players to “cut out the hustle”: an ingame purchase means they don’t have to spend hours in a monotonous game to level up.
The strategy behind it is called “fun pain” something like “painful fun”: if you don’t make a purchase, you might miss something important or even more fun.
Meanwhile, “obfuscation techniques” like ingame currencies make it difficult to see how much you’re really spending.
Another tactic is the use of loot boxes (“loot boxes”): players buy a box without knowing what’s inside. It may contain a groundbreaking item but in most cases the price is nothing more than an irrelevant adjustment.
“Young people are embarrassed when they think about how much money they spent to get a rare item, even if they were successful at it,” says Mills.
Although spending has risen, some argue the Games can still benefit young people and that fears are overdone.
Research has already shown that games can reduce stress to a certain extent, help develop cognitive skills and combat loneliness.
4 of 5 Zhenghua Yang argues that digital games can be beneficial for children and young people Photo: Personal Archive/via BBC Zhenghua Yang argues that digital games can be beneficial for children and young people Photo: Personal Archive/via BBC
As a teenager, Zhenghua Yang spent two years in the hospital.
“I played a lot of video games. Games have made me feel like a hero. Multiplayer games connected me to other people. I’ve made lifelong friends from all over the world.”
In 2014, Yang founded Serenity Forge in the United States, a gaming company with a mission to help people.
“Our business is to expand people’s horizons,” he explains.
Serenity Forge does not use microtransactions. But Yang says that could change if these features are found to contribute to “meaningful, emotionally impactful games that challenge your mindset.”
The impact of microtransactions depends on the user’s vulnerability, according to Yang.
“Just as a credit card can be dangerous to someone in an inappropriate context, so can microtransactions. However, credit cards can also play an important role, and ingame purchases can be just as important to a player engaging in their favorite game.”
5 out of 5 Image from a Serenity Forge game Photo: Disclosure/via BBC Image from a Serenity Forge game Photo: Disclosure/via BBC
Sarah Loya’s 14yearold son Andrew spends almost all of his pocket money on gaming. But this is not a problem for the mother and games make the teenager happy.
“He plays every day, after school and on weekends. I really don’t see anything too negative. He’s a smart boy and knows the difference between reality and fantasy.”
Sarah Loya lives in Texas, USA with Andrew and his 6yearold brother Rex.
“My bank account is linked to Andrew’s signature, so I can see if he bought anything without permission,” says the 43yearold mother. “But he always consults with me before he makes a purchase.”
While it can be difficult for parents to keep track of emails, passwords, and credit cards registered across multiple platforms and devices, there are ways to keep your child and your bank account safe.
Accounts for minors on social networks and gaming platforms, in addition to parental controls, often allow you to cancel purchases or set a spending limit.
Parents can also adjust settings to receive purchase notifications by email and use gift cards instead of credit cards.
But perhaps most importantly, Yang suggests, is talking to your child.
“In my experience, the problems stem from the lack of parental attendance,” he says.
“Now I have two kids and instead of using games like a babysitter, I make sure I’m present while they consume media content.”
Back in Barbados, Ward said he limited screen time and instituted passwords to control Leif’s use of games.
“The password is required for all purchases and if he wants to deposit money into his account he has to ask me. Microtransactions are annoying, but it’s all a life lesson.”