Whether “play for free” or “free to play”: such promises often don’t last long with online games and apps.
Free games: Free to pay instead of free to play. At some point it can get expensive. Keyword “in-app purchases”!
the essentials in brief
- Many game apps are free – at least when you install them. The developers earn through in-app purchases, also known as in-game purchases.
- This means that you have to pay in the game to progress.
- In addition to a little self-control, there are other ways to protect yourself from high costs.
First of all, play for money, have fun, but when it comes down to it and you really get going, it costs something: many online games and apps work according to this principle. Additional equipment, tools, clothing, skills, weapons... - depending on the game, the goods can look very different. Then the incentive to continue is often great because you have already played so successfully up to this point.
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If you don't take good care of yourself, it can go very far. Some have already gambled away hundreds of euros in the gaming madness - and didn't even shy away from taking their credit cards out of their parents' pockets. At this point you should ask yourself whether something is completely out of control...
Whether you stick with a game or not shouldn't be left to chance: As you on heise.de , incentives in the course of the game and the relationship between success and failure are controlled as precisely as possible by the game providers - and you as well held on to the ball for as long as possible (see box). Which then leads to you paying at some point: the longer you stay, the more willing you are to pay.
It's worth it: In the first half of 2019, the gaming industry in Germany generated 1.1 billion euros from in-game purchases alone! In the first half of 2018 it was 866 million euros.
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So don't kid yourself, the game providers are not charities: they often want to milk you as much as possible. Your decision as to whether or how much you want this - or also the decision of your parents if you are under 18. Then they have a say in such expenses... We explain this in more detail in our article about the pocket money paragraph .
This is how you can protect yourself
First, self-control required. Is it really that important whether you advance a level today or tomorrow?
Then you have the option in the Apple App Store and Android Play Store to protect in-app purchases with a password or a PIN (can be found under “Settings”). This way you avoid accidentally spending real money with a thoughtless fingertip.
And last but not least, we recommend not saving any payment details in the stores. It's better to use prepaid cards , which you can get in supermarkets, gas stations and many other shops. This way you can keep a better overview.
You might also be interested in: Learning to recognize fake news through play in an online game
Source: checked4you
Article image: Shutterstock / By FOTOKITA
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