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PocketGamer.biz Week That Was: Ouya's public face, Helsinki week and won't someone please think of the children?

The past 7 days in bite-sized portions

PocketGamer.biz Week That Was: Ouya's public face, Helsinki week and won't someone please think of the children?
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The thorny subject of children and in-app purchases has been making headlines recently, as the mainstream media picks up on cases of little kids making big purchases on their parents' devices.

It's an issue that our Mobile Gaming Mavens discussed at the start of this week, and it highlighted how much opinions on this problem differ among industry professionals.

For Scott For of Big Head Mode, for instance, responsibility for hefty in-app purchase bills rests solely with parents.

"You wouldn't hand your two-year-old your credit card so why are you handing them your phone?" Scott exclaimed.

True or not, the wider issue is whether increased scrutiny on IAPs could lead to increased regulation.

That's an eventuality that could cause serious headaches for developers. UKIE CEO Jo Twist recently discussed this very issue on PocketGamer.biz, and concluded that parental education was the key to avoiding tighter controls.

But that's quite enough of our ruminating for now. Instead, let's cast our eyes back over the last seven days in mobile gaming.

Platform wars
Monetisation
  • This week, the PocketGamer.biz Mobile Gaming Mavens tackle the topical issue of children and in-app purchases, debating exactly where responsibility should lie.
  • Pocket Gamer editor-in-chief Kristan Reed argues Real Racing 3's console-quality free-to-play comes at a price.
  • Kiloo reveals that its free-to-play title Subway Surfers now boasts 25 million daily active users and has accumulated more than 130 million downloads…
  • …So we took a closer look at the game's performance in this week's edition of the Charticle.
  • Disney is simultaneously marketing movies and generating revenue aplenty with its tie-in mobile games.
Global Game: Helsinki
Industry voices
James Nouch
James Nouch
PocketGamer.biz's news editor 2012-2013