Freemium, a controversial monetization system for content aimed at younger ages
October, 03; 2016. By Arscodex
"Freemium", the popular application monetization system is nowadays being studied because it may not be the optimal process for apps aimed at kids, teens and young adults.
Why? The system, which we all already know, is simple. You offer a littlebit of the game for free but you later have to pay to access new worlds, costumes for your character or powerful weapons. Problem is, you never know how much are you going to spend on the game, so the system is not very frank we could say. In our opinion, it's better to pay in advance for the whole game, at least you know how much is it from the very beginning.
Videogames companies, especially those who make "casual" and multiplayer games, try to hide how much you will pay at the end; they are even building complete gameplay systems in order to make you pay, in a model in which the whole game stands for earning more money, they are even charging big sums for a better costume in games designed for kids under 7!
This system is truly something that is not good when we think about kids, it enters the realm of bad taste when trying to charge money for items to kids under 7 years old. But the problem persists, too, when talking about teens and young adults.
Why? The system, which we all already know, is simple. You offer a littlebit of the game for free but you later have to pay to access new worlds, costumes for your character or powerful weapons. Problem is, you never know how much are you going to spend on the game, so the system is not very frank we could say. In our opinion, it's better to pay in advance for the whole game, at least you know how much is it from the very beginning.
Videogames companies, especially those who make "casual" and multiplayer games, try to hide how much you will pay at the end; they are even building complete gameplay systems in order to make you pay, in a model in which the whole game stands for earning more money, they are even charging big sums for a better costume in games designed for kids under 7!
This system is truly something that is not good when we think about kids, it enters the realm of bad taste when trying to charge money for items to kids under 7 years old. But the problem persists, too, when talking about teens and young adults.
