The United Kingdom has taken a firmer approach to game regulations than a lot of countries. Recently, the collection of nations investigated Electronic Arts and its loot box systems, ultimately concluding that gambling problems can arise from the practice. The Advertising Standards Authority in the UK has now begun to focus on mobile games and the misinformation that some adverts present. The result is new guidelines that content creator Playrix will have to follow.
Mobile phone games can be incredibly profitable and it is a busy market with a variety of titles that use different money-making methods. Playrix is responsible for games such as Homescapes and Gardenscapes which primarily rely on adverts in the app as well as in-app purchases to generate revenue. However, the way that the company is attracting these players is what The Advertising Standards Authority has an issue with, despite the company battling the decision.
The issue the governing body is drawing attention to is clips of gameplay, that requires players to slide pins, featuring in very little of the actual game. As a result, the government has decided that the adverts must have the notice “Not all images represent actual gameplay.” Playrix has now accepted that the puzzle-based pin sliding only appears ten times in its Homescapes game but it is still attempting to battle the claim that the game is advertised under false pretenses.
The ASA repeated the response of Playrix, stating, “Playrix believed consumers would take from the ads that the games contained the content seen, as well as similar content involving similar characters.” The company went on to claim that they believe that players would expect different puzzle-based games in addition to the infrequently appearing game that was advertised.
Many will feel that the mandatory note that states that “Not all images represent actual gameplay” is a fair response given that the gameplay does not feature very often. However, others would give Playrix the benefit of the doubt. Either way, Playrix will have to change its advertising practices, but with this advert being creative about featured content, it would not be surprising to see the company hide this message in some way.
In the UK these adverts will have to change and it will be interesting to see whether countries begin to take similar action against the company. For now many will hope that this is a step towards stopping misleading ads.
Source: The Advertising Standards Agency
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