Mobile gaming for kids: stay on the right side of the law

The UK government recently shone a light on the underhand techniques some developers used to get kids and their parents to spend more on in-app purchases. Here MEF’s Senior Advisor for Policy & Initiatives, Simon Bates takes a look at the right and the wrong ways to involve kids in the app experience. Earlier this year, the UK Office of Fair Trading investigated 38 mobile games aimed at children. It found a number of causes for concern, and not just for kids and their parents. It is likely that many of the games-makers in question were in breach of several different laws and …

Mobile gaming comes of age

MEF COO, Joanne Lacey was at the UK game’s industry conference Develop this week and was delighted to see mobile gaming leading the debate, driving innovation in both business models and technology. MEF was founded by a small group of member companies in 2000. Two members were mobile games companies, both pioneering a vertical that continues today to be a key market driver for mass-consumer mobile adoption, setting content & commerce agendas worldwide. And as the App Store celebrates its 5th anniversary, it appears the wider games industry’s attitude to mobile games has finally changed …