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
- Russian search giant Yandex goes head-to-head with Google Play with the launch of Yandex.Store.
- Sony announces that the company is selling its in DeNA for $440 million as part of a wider restructuring.
- ABI Research reckons 2013 will be the year that sees smartphone devs adopt an 'Android-first' policy.
- The market cap of Puzzle & Dragons dev GungHo Online overtakes platform holders GREE, Zynga and DeNA.
- Amazon unveils its mobile ads API for Kindle Fire and Android devices.
- Despite its dominant share of the US market, Android still lacks a dominant device, according to Android-focused dev Animoca.
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
- PocketGamer.biz contributor Joseph Barron examines how Helsinki became the mobile industry's hit factory.
- Helsinki is "the centre of gravity for the future of games," according to Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen.
- PocketGamer.biz talks to the Ubisoft-owned developer RedLynx, and MD Tero Virtala explains how the Helsinki community contributed to his company's success.
- Helsinki's gaming success goes all the way back to its demoscene in the early 90s, according to Applifier CEO Jussi Laakkonen.
- And if, after reading all that, you fancy a job in Helsinki, why not apply for one of the openings at Supercell?
Industry voices
- AppGratis CEO Simon Dawlat delivers 13 top tips for launching and marketing your mobile game.
- Ouya may talk a good game, says US contributor Carter Dotson, but is the company making it up as it goes along?
- Simogo gives PocketGamer.biz the story behind the making of Year Walk, its critically acclaimed horror game.
- PocketGamer.biz editor-at-large Jon Jordan outlines the 18 must-see talks taking place later this month at GDC 2013.
- Taptica continues its soup to nuts series on mobile app analytics with a column outlining some of the key questions to ask of your data.
- Women in Games Jobs CEO Gina Jackson asks, if half of all gamers are female, so why do women make up just 6 percent of the games industry?
