[casual_games] Speaking of Evil Games. ; ) Apple, Capcom, Smurfs and in-game transactions...

[oscar is oscar]

Was this game's transaction system designed poorly, or maliciously?

http://www.pocketgamer.biz/r/PG.Biz/Smurf's+Village/news.asp?c=27568

Apple calls in Capcom over Smurfs' Village IAP controversy
Might reduce iTunes log in time period to pacify disquiet

by Jon Jordan

Smurfs' Village is a top grossing iPhone game, but one which has
proved controversial in terms of claims that many in-app purchases
have been made accidentally.

And now it seems that Apple has had strong words with publisher Capcom
about such purchases.

According to a well placed source, Apple has told Capcom in no
uncertain terms that its freemium childrens' game has been causing
problems with an increasingly significant number of parents who have
complained that their children have been racking up large amounts of
in-app purchases without their knowledge.

This is mainly due to Apple's iTunes protocol that means that once
your account password has been entered, all subsequent downloads, paid
or free, don't require the password to be re-entered for 15 minutes.

Not so freemium

It's a situation that has seen some parents getting bills of hundreds
and thousands of dollars from their children who have unwittingly
purchased in-app items - in this case Smurfberries - without realising
the consequences.

Indeed, we hear that many parents have been refunded these "accidental
purchases" although it's not entirely clear whether this is due to
action from Apple, credit card companies or Capcom.

However, the rumour is that Apple is looking to tighten up its iTunes
log in procedure, with the current 15 minutes default before relogging
in reduced to around five minutes so that accidental purchases are
limited.

Obviously, nothing is as yet confirmed, but with the number of
freemium games for kids and adult exploding on the App Store, this
seems like a logical move from Apple to control the flow of bad
publicity from parents whose credit cards have been wacked by their
free spending offspring.