Here is a novel idea. If parents do not want their kids to buy stuff through iTunes, make it clear (to the kids) that if they do, the money will be taken out of their allowance. Such an approach reinforces good parenting practices and teaches kids about financial responsibility and the consequences of financial irresponsibility.
I would venture to guess that many of the kids who are using these games, were too young to be getting allowances.... heck, a lot were too young to understand the difference between real and game money.
Even if they did, some of these games intentionally blurred the distinction.
There's just no way to defend getting kids to buy hundreds of dollars of addons.
A little earlier today I received a presser from Canalys on just how important these freemium apps are. Some here will probably be surprised at just how pervasiveness .
"A study of the top apps in Apple’s App Store in the United States in January 2013 reveals the extent to which the freemium model has now become an established feature of app market dynamics. Over the 31 days of January, the top 300 free iPhone apps included, on average, 38% that were monetized solely or in part through in-app purchases. Of the top 300 grossing iPhone apps, 58% on average were freemium apps, while a further 13% were paid-for apps offering additional in-app purchases.
A similar picture can be seen with iPad apps. 41% of the top 300 free apps, on average, make use of the freemium model, along with 59% of the top 300 grossing iPad apps. 12% more were paid apps with in-app purchases on offer.
Notably, these proportions tend to grow in the upper echelons of the top grossing lists, while remaining fairly static in the top free app list. 64% of the top 100 grossing iPhone apps, and 85% of the top 10, are monetized via the freemium model. Among iPad apps, on average, 68% of the top 100 and 85% of the top 10 grossing titles were freemium. Evidently, there are plenty of freemium apps – almost half - among the most popular downloaded titles, and, what is more, freemium apps are some of the highest revenue-generating apps in the US App Store."
Comments
Quote:
Originally Posted by lkbryan
Here is a novel idea. If parents do not want their kids to buy stuff through iTunes, make it clear (to the kids) that if they do, the money will be taken out of their allowance. Such an approach reinforces good parenting practices and teaches kids about financial responsibility and the consequences of financial irresponsibility.
I would venture to guess that many of the kids who are using these games, were too young to be getting allowances.... heck, a lot were too young to understand the difference between real and game money.
Even if they did, some of these games intentionally blurred the distinction.
There's just no way to defend getting kids to buy hundreds of dollars of addons.
A little earlier today I received a presser from Canalys on just how important these freemium apps are. Some here will probably be surprised at just how pervasiveness .
"A study of the top apps in Apple’s App Store in the United States in January 2013 reveals the extent to which the freemium model has now become an established feature of app market dynamics. Over the 31 days of January, the top 300 free iPhone apps included, on average, 38% that were monetized solely or in part through in-app purchases. Of the top 300 grossing iPhone apps, 58% on average were freemium apps, while a further 13% were paid-for apps offering additional in-app purchases.
A similar picture can be seen with iPad apps. 41% of the top 300 free apps, on average, make use of the freemium model, along with 59% of the top 300 grossing iPad apps. 12% more were paid apps with in-app purchases on offer.
Notably, these proportions tend to grow in the upper echelons of the top grossing lists, while remaining fairly static in the top free app list. 64% of the top 100 grossing iPhone apps, and 85% of the top 10, are monetized via the freemium model. Among iPad apps, on average, 68% of the top 100 and 85% of the top 10 grossing titles were freemium. Evidently, there are plenty of freemium apps – almost half - among the most popular downloaded titles, and, what is more, freemium apps are some of the highest revenue-generating apps in the US App Store."
Originally Posted by KDarling
There's just no way to defend getting kids to buy hundreds of dollars of addons.
I have to applaud the construction of this sentence in context. It's subtle.
Originally Posted by dasanman69
People that give their kids allowances don't watch their own kids the nanny does.
Ha! That's unnecessarily (and illogically) sweeping.