Man spends stolen $1m on Game of War

[muriel_volestrangler]

A man went on a $1m (£800,000) spending spree on the Game of War app after stealing $4.8m from his employer.

Kevin Lee Co, 45, from Sacramento, California, pleaded guilty to fraudulently using company credit cards to steal the money.

Court documents reveal Mr Co spent about $1m of the embezzled funds on Game of War, one of the world's highest grossing mobile games.
...
It is estimated players spent $550 on average last year on Game of War, which has featured singer Mariah Carey and model Kate Upton in its adverts.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38290186

Wow. I was going to post this in 'Weird News', until I read that last sentence - $550 a year on average on one mobile game? No wonder I've seen so many ads for it - once they get someone hooked, it's a goldmine. Almost literally. That's like buying a console and several games for it every year, but all you get is a crappy game on your mobile in return.

[el_bryanto]

1. Your Mileage may vary - but this extra credits series talks about Video Game monetization

and how it's done wrong, and in some cases use predatory practices. It's not perfect, and the creators are starting from a standpoint that video games can be positive (they work in the industry), but it does give some stuff to think about.

Worth watching if you have an interest.

Bryant

[unblock]

2. "average" is a bit misleading; the distribution is extremely skewed.

most people pay zero, a few people pay a modest amount, and a rather small number pay completely insane amounts of money.

it's a bit like the old stats joke about bill gates walking into the room and suddenly the "average" person is a millionaire.

i have wondered, in fact, if many of those "whales" are actually using stolen credit cards.

[Initech]

3. In app purchases are the devil.

I won't play any game that has in app purchases for that very reason. If you expect me to pay that much to play a game, my response is fuck you.