EA are money grabbing gits but if shes daft enough to give him her card details then shes daft enough to pay the bill. Wonder if he managed to buy Messi.
How can FIFA be scripted? Or are you just shite at it?
Its well known that the computer AI in the game will become very unfair in certain situations with certain teams. only deluded fanboys seem to think otherwise.
Since this isnt a videogaming forum i'll give some posters the benefit of the doubt. But before you all jump down the mother and child's throats, keep in mind this is par for the course of EA and their disgusting money grubbing tactics. Hence why they have been voted by the public as America's worst company 2 years running.
Undoubtedly. This doesn't change the minor detail that the kid is old enough to know better and the mother is whining because she's clearly dumber than a rock.
Micro-transactions are an absolute BS development in the gaming industry.
Totally agree, I have a policy of not downloading any game with IAP (I certainly wouldn't buy a game that had IAP however good it was), and if one slips through and I discover it has IAP it gets deleted.
In-app purchases are extremely cheeky by EA considering how much the person has splashed out on the xbox360 game. And even more cheeky with FIFA-that they have a brand (football) they can sell year after year with a loyal user base that will pay for that.-even though the changes to the game aren't to a very high degree.
How has my son not managed to run up a bill on my husbands card over the last couple of years playing Fifa?
Possibly by not being a complete idiot and knowing his guts would be had for garters if he dared even try to buy stuff on the card that was logged on the x-box.
It is so typical of many on DS to simply slate the mother.
Yes, she was naïve in giving her son her credit card details, but then he might have taken it without consent, but I would bet a considerable percentage of parents wouldn't know a game with an age rating of 3+ has the potential to run up such charges.
Personally I would make any game with "in play" charges an automatic 18 rating.
I think we can all agree that in game purchases and pay-to-play games are disgusting and need to go away. They are ruining the gaming industry. Even The Sims has them now, £10+ for a bunch of pixels? Shocking when you have already bought the game.
It's a form of gambling and children should be protected from it. 18 plus rating seems fair to me.
He's 13 not 3 he knew exactly what he was doing and the mother should have known better about giving a 13 year old her bank details. Maybe they both need educating in finances. Her because she obviously doesn't check her statements very often and him because his mother obviously has no financial sense.
My God I have my Itunes account password protected and it asks me every time if I want to proceed and then it emails me a bill at some point (I haven't used it for months), my Microsoft account doesn't have my bank details registered to it as I don't want to spend money on stupid games. It really isn't hard and it's about time people took responsibility for their own stupidity and stopped blaming game companies.
It is so typical of many on DS to simply slate the mother.
Because, more often than not, the mother - and father - are at fault for not actually paying any attention to what their child does after shoving them in front of the TV or PC Monitor.
If you need to purchase games from XBox live for whatever reason, you buy them on an as-needed basis - you don't just leave your card details attached to the account.
Same goes with in-app purchases. Remove your card from the account and any in-app purchases have to be asked for.
How is that complicated ? (not a question aimed at you directly glawster, but a general question..)
I do also agree that the whole freemium games model and in-app purchases idea is definitely an unwelcome direction the industry has gone in. Basically "hobbling" the game to the point where simple progress takes months, rather than days, is rather cynical but I still stand by my feeling that it's really not that complicated to actually keep a degree of control over it.
Because, more often than not, the mother - and father - are at fault for not actually paying any attention to what their child does after shoving them in front of the TV or PC Monitor.
If you need to purchase games from XBox live for whatever reason, you buy them on an as-needed basis - you don't just leave your card details attached to the account.
Same goes with in-app purchases. Remove your card from the account and any in-app purchases have to be asked for.
How is that complicated ? (not a question aimed at you directly glawster, but a general question..)
I do also agree that the whole freemium games model and in-app purchases idea is definitely an unwelcome direction the industry has gone in. Basically "hobbling" the game to the point where simple progress takes months, rather than days, is rather cynical but I still stand by my feeling that it's really not that complicated to actually keep a degree of control over it.
I didn't say the woman in this case was blameless in this instance, but most people aren't that "tech savvy". What you are saying isn't complicated at all if you know, but those who aren't aware of current gaming trends won't automatically know.
However as I also said, I think a considerable number of parents would be shocked to discover that a game with an age rating of 3+ has the potential to rack up in game costs in excess of £4000.
I didn't say the woman in this case was blameless in this instance, but most people aren't that "tech savvy". What you are saying isn't complicated at all if you know, but those who aren't aware of current gaming trends won't automatically know.
However as I also said, I think a considerable number of parents would be shocked to discover that a game with an age rating of 3+ has the potential to rack up in game costs in excess of £4000.
But then if you're savvy enough to link your card details to an account, you're savvy enough to remove them as well IMO ..
What should probably be done is that a call or text message should be sent to a registered phone number on the account if multiple purchases are made in a short space of time.
Most companies are quick enough to do it if there are any suspicions of fraud so why not just extend it to this as well ?
An even simpler way of doing it would be to ring the card company and advise them that any transactions that are from whichever game company it is are to be flagged for cardholder approval each time.
Transaction comes in, SMS message is sent out with "Do you approve this transaction for £X.XX ? from <Game Company>. Reply Yes or No".
If the cardholder replies "Yes" then there really is nobody else to blame.
I didn't say the woman in this case was blameless in this instance, but most people aren't that "tech savvy". What you are saying isn't complicated at all if you know, but those who aren't aware of current gaming trends won't automatically know.
However as I also said, I think a considerable number of parents would be shocked to discover that a game with an age rating of 3+ has the potential to rack up in game costs in excess of £4000.
There is no need for being "tech savvy".
When the Xbox 360 came out I set my two sons accounts up. The initial setup had additional parental consent screens that you had to go through because my sons were under 18. On setup you have the option to just link your card to the subscription and not purchase of MS points. Where possible these were purchased via points cards but on the odd occasion I would use my debit card but I controlled the purchase.
In my view EA are not at fault. Microsoft are not at fault, nor is the Bank or Credit Card company at fault.
There are reams and reams of terms and conditions that every single person goes through, but never read, they just tick the box.
This is Parental responsibility, or lack of it in this case.
But then if you're savvy enough to link your card details to an account, you're savvy enough to remove them as well IMO ..
I wouldn't have said so. My mum is in her 70s and is far from "tech savvy" but she was more than capable of filling in the required details to set up her Amazon account, it isn't that difficult.
When the Xbox 360 came out I set my two sons accounts up. The initial setup had additional parental consent screens that you had to go through because my sons were under 18. On setup you have the option to just link your card to the subscription and not purchase of MS points. Where possible these were purchased via points cards but on the odd occasion I would use my debit card but I controlled the purchase.
In my view EA are not at fault. Microsoft are not at fault, nor is the Bank or Credit Card company at fault.
There are reams and reams of terms and conditions that every single person goes through, but never read, they just tick the box.
This is Parental responsibility, or lack of it in this case.
But then wouldn't it be better if the default position was that users were assumed to be under 18 and additional screens were required to change that?
I just find it strange that people are very happy to accept that under 18s have access to games that have the potential for players to run up charges in excess of £4000.....
When the Xbox 360 came out I set my two sons accounts up. The initial setup had additional parental consent screens that you had to go through because my sons were under 18. On setup you have the option to just link your card to the subscription and not purchase of MS points. Where possible these were purchased via points cards but on the odd occasion I would use my debit card but I controlled the purchase.
In my view EA are not at fault. Microsoft are not at fault, nor is the Bank or Credit Card company at fault.
There are reams and reams of terms and conditions that every single person goes through, but never read, they just tick the box.
This is Parental responsibility, or lack of it in this case.
Quite. It was made clear that my son had to but Microsoft points with his pocket money if he wanted them and he had to go to the local Game shop to do it. Nothing was purchased online.
What should probably be done is that a call or text message should be sent to a registered phone number on the account if multiple purchases are made in a short space of time.
Most companies are quick enough to do it if there are any suspicions of fraud so why not just extend it to this as well ?
An even simpler way of doing it would be to ring the card company and advise them that any transactions that are from whichever game company it is are to be flagged for cardholder approval each time.
Transaction comes in, SMS message is sent out with "Do you approve this transaction for £X.XX ? from <Game Company>. Reply Yes or No".
If the cardholder replies "Yes" then there really is nobody else to blame.
That sounds like a good idea, and quite plausible too I would have thought.
It doesn't actually say what system (console/PC) the kid was using but to rack up £4000 worth of stuff he hasn't just clicked on a handful of things, he's been buying hundreds of packs. He apparently spent £1000 in 24 hours. He'd have to be a complete idiot to not know what he was spending.
His mother is claiming he knew he was spending money he shouldn't but then trying to say it's just points so he wouldn't be aware. At some point in the buying process there will have been screens telling him how much the pack he was buying cost in monetary terms, or if he loaded up on in game points then he would have to have bought those first and they would have given a monetary value.
I don't play FIFA 14 personally but i googled how this Ultimate Team stuff works last night and it appears the packs are paid for by "FIFA Coins" which have to be bought beforehand. In order to spend £4000 on these things he'd have had to have bought something ike 40 million FIFA coins. Even the most expensive packs which apparently contain the best players in the game cost 50 thousand FIFA coins so he must have been clicking on everything and buying everything in there. Some gamers online are bemused as to how hes spent that much as there doesn't appear to be £4k worth of DLC so it's also possible he has bought some packs multiple times.
I don't see why the mother thinks it's solely EA's fault. If the card is connected to an account on the console/PC then the kid could easily have just bought loads of individual games. It's the fact he has access to her credit card that's caused the problem.
Comments
Its well known that the computer AI in the game will become very unfair in certain situations with certain teams. only deluded fanboys seem to think otherwise.
Undoubtedly. This doesn't change the minor detail that the kid is old enough to know better and the mother is whining because she's clearly dumber than a rock.
Totally agree, I have a policy of not downloading any game with IAP (I certainly wouldn't buy a game that had IAP however good it was), and if one slips through and I discover it has IAP it gets deleted.
Yep. Pretty much.
I had password protection set and my son still managed to make an £80 IAP. Google play store agreed a refund almost instantly.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/henry-hanged-himself-after-running-3187103
Possibly by not being a complete idiot and knowing his guts would be had for garters if he dared even try to buy stuff on the card that was logged on the x-box.
Yes, she was naïve in giving her son her credit card details, but then he might have taken it without consent, but I would bet a considerable percentage of parents wouldn't know a game with an age rating of 3+ has the potential to run up such charges.
Personally I would make any game with "in play" charges an automatic 18 rating.
It's a form of gambling and children should be protected from it. 18 plus rating seems fair to me.
My God I have my Itunes account password protected and it asks me every time if I want to proceed and then it emails me a bill at some point (I haven't used it for months), my Microsoft account doesn't have my bank details registered to it as I don't want to spend money on stupid games. It really isn't hard and it's about time people took responsibility for their own stupidity and stopped blaming game companies.
Because, more often than not, the mother - and father - are at fault for not actually paying any attention to what their child does after shoving them in front of the TV or PC Monitor.
If you need to purchase games from XBox live for whatever reason, you buy them on an as-needed basis - you don't just leave your card details attached to the account.
Same goes with in-app purchases. Remove your card from the account and any in-app purchases have to be asked for.
How is that complicated ? (not a question aimed at you directly glawster, but a general question..)
I do also agree that the whole freemium games model and in-app purchases idea is definitely an unwelcome direction the industry has gone in. Basically "hobbling" the game to the point where simple progress takes months, rather than days, is rather cynical but I still stand by my feeling that it's really not that complicated to actually keep a degree of control over it.
I didn't say the woman in this case was blameless in this instance, but most people aren't that "tech savvy". What you are saying isn't complicated at all if you know, but those who aren't aware of current gaming trends won't automatically know.
However as I also said, I think a considerable number of parents would be shocked to discover that a game with an age rating of 3+ has the potential to rack up in game costs in excess of £4000.
But then if you're savvy enough to link your card details to an account, you're savvy enough to remove them as well IMO ..
When are these parents going to learn?
I would bet my right arm that the kid knew what he was doing too.
I do think game/credit card companies should flag such high spending rates though.
Most companies are quick enough to do it if there are any suspicions of fraud so why not just extend it to this as well ?
An even simpler way of doing it would be to ring the card company and advise them that any transactions that are from whichever game company it is are to be flagged for cardholder approval each time.
Transaction comes in, SMS message is sent out with "Do you approve this transaction for £X.XX ? from <Game Company>. Reply Yes or No".
If the cardholder replies "Yes" then there really is nobody else to blame.
There is no need for being "tech savvy".
When the Xbox 360 came out I set my two sons accounts up. The initial setup had additional parental consent screens that you had to go through because my sons were under 18. On setup you have the option to just link your card to the subscription and not purchase of MS points. Where possible these were purchased via points cards but on the odd occasion I would use my debit card but I controlled the purchase.
In my view EA are not at fault. Microsoft are not at fault, nor is the Bank or Credit Card company at fault.
There are reams and reams of terms and conditions that every single person goes through, but never read, they just tick the box.
This is Parental responsibility, or lack of it in this case.
I wouldn't have said so. My mum is in her 70s and is far from "tech savvy" but she was more than capable of filling in the required details to set up her Amazon account, it isn't that difficult.
But then wouldn't it be better if the default position was that users were assumed to be under 18 and additional screens were required to change that?
I just find it strange that people are very happy to accept that under 18s have access to games that have the potential for players to run up charges in excess of £4000.....
Quite. It was made clear that my son had to but Microsoft points with his pocket money if he wanted them and he had to go to the local Game shop to do it. Nothing was purchased online.
So its perpetuating and thus never.
:rolleyes:
That sounds like a good idea, and quite plausible too I would have thought.
Yes, that sounds correct.
His mother is claiming he knew he was spending money he shouldn't but then trying to say it's just points so he wouldn't be aware. At some point in the buying process there will have been screens telling him how much the pack he was buying cost in monetary terms, or if he loaded up on in game points then he would have to have bought those first and they would have given a monetary value.
I don't play FIFA 14 personally but i googled how this Ultimate Team stuff works last night and it appears the packs are paid for by "FIFA Coins" which have to be bought beforehand. In order to spend £4000 on these things he'd have had to have bought something ike 40 million FIFA coins. Even the most expensive packs which apparently contain the best players in the game cost 50 thousand FIFA coins so he must have been clicking on everything and buying everything in there. Some gamers online are bemused as to how hes spent that much as there doesn't appear to be £4k worth of DLC so it's also possible he has bought some packs multiple times.
I don't see why the mother thinks it's solely EA's fault. If the card is connected to an account on the console/PC then the kid could easily have just bought loads of individual games. It's the fact he has access to her credit card that's caused the problem.