The association denounces methods that are misleading to consumers. It particularly criticizes the use of virtual currencies that would push players to spend “always more”.
Around twenty European consumer associations, including UFC-Que Choisir, sound the alarmthis Thursday, September 12, on the practices of video game publishers. The latter are targeted for their numerous in-game purchasing systems, which involve real sums of money.
UFC-Que choisi and the National Association of Consumers and Users (CLCV) announced in a press release that they were filing a complaint with the European Commission and the Fraud Control Authority (DGCCRF) against seven publishers for “deceptive commercial practices”.
Deceptive virtual currencies
In detail, the Federal Consumer Union (UFC) accuses Activision Blizzard (Diablo IV), Electronic Arts (EA Sport FC 24), Epic Games (Fortnite), Mojang Studios (Minecraft), Roblox Corporation (Roblox), Supercell (Clash of Clans) and Ubisoft (Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege) not to display in euros the prices of virtual objects that can be purchased.
Many of the most popular video game titles offer users the opportunity to acquire virtual money in order to unlock elements in the game, new modes or objects. All this in exchange for money that is very real. According to UFC-Que Choisir, nearly half of PC games and 81% of mobile games use these virtual currencies.
A practice deemed “misleading” by the association since this device would encourage players to “spend more and more”. It particularly points out the impossibility for players to “calculate precisely how much their spending in virtual currency has really cost them”. Indeed, tokens and other virtual coins are generally offered in packs and the exchange rate varies according to the number of coins.
For example, Clash of Clans offers six packs of “gems”, the game’s virtual currency. It is possible to buy 80 gems for 1.19 euros, or 14,000 gems for 119.99 euros. The price for 10 gems therefore varies between 9 and 15 cents, depending on the pack chosen.
A vicious circle
The amounts of the packs are also in the sights of UFC Que Choisir. The latter are accused of “encouraging consumers to spend more and more”. Indeed, the virtual currency packs rarely correspond to the value of the objects offered. To buy a virtual weapon or clothing, the consumer is therefore forced to buy more virtual currency than necessary.
Thus, in the game Fortnite, the consumer must buy a pack of 1,000 V-bucks, the virtual currency, to obtain the “hero shell” displayed at 400 V-bucks. This is therefore 2.5 times the displayed price. For UFC Que Choisir, these practices “significantly alter consumers’ freedom of choice”.
“Virtual currencies, by hiding the real cost of purchases, trap consumers in an opaque system that pushes them to spend more and more,” summarizes Marie-Amandine Stévenin, President of UFC-Que Choisir.
If the remaining amount of virtual currency is not lost, it will often be insufficient to obtain a new item. “It will therefore be necessary to reload the virtual currency wallet, which can create a real vicious circle,” the association specifies.
UFC Que Choisir is therefore calling for stricter regulation from the authorities and is urging the European Commission to put an end to these practices.
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