The topic that I would like to address is the changing mobile gaming industry. Lately, many games that are at the top of the app store charts are games like Candy Crush, Simpsons Tapped Out, and Clash of Clans, which are free to play, but make it far too easy to spend exorbitant amounts of money on a game that involves very little from players aside from dedicating large amounts of time to the game. The mobile gaming industry's steady move towards pay-to-play, freemium business models are maximizing profits while marginalizing player experience, leaving consumers with little choice for mobile entertainment.
With the way these games work, the player has 2 options: they can either wait out the time constraints of the game to upgrade various structures or regain lives, or players can pay to speed up this process, with fees ranging from $1 to $100 for extra hearts, treasures, or other perks. Within the game, this creates a class system of haves and have-nots, those who can afford to speed up the upgrade process and perform better, and those who are unable or unwilling to spend money on the game and do not do as well in the game. In addition to this, the game has completely eliminated any sort of skill or strategy involved in the game, and instead being successful in the game is determined how long you're willing to wait or how much money you are willing to spend. .
This problem stems from one major source: greed. The mobile gaming industry is highly unregulated, and highly dependent on revenue. As a result, games can create a system that charges players whatever they deem fair, and also leave players with little choice in terms of playing games with a large player base. Since there are no regulations on anything in the game, players are paying for the game with little to no knowledge of what they're paying for (mostly advertising spots and legal fees garnished against similar games).
