26 September 2013 – London, United Kingdom – Games trade body, Ukie, welcomes chance to respond to proposed principles
Ukie has today given its initial comments on the Office of Fair Trading’s (OFT) consultation on Children’s Online Games:
Ukie CEO, Jo Twist has said: “All Ukie members take their responsibility to their players, particularly children, very seriously and are fully committed to complying with all legal obligations. We welcome any guidance from the OFT to clarify how they are interpreting the law and shall be taking our time to digest the proposed guidelines before responding fully to the OFT’s consultation.”
“It is vital that any final guidelines, whilst primarily considering the best interests of children, do not inadvertently isolate UK consumers from accessing the games that they want to play, stifle the creativity of games developers or prevent the growth of the UK games industry.
“Consumers are now often able to download and play the latest games for free. In-app purchasing is optional within many of these games and is a way for millions of players to access the extra content that they want. The games industry takes its responsibility to children very seriously and most devices and digital marketplaces have safeguards in place, such as password locks and parental controls, that can prevent children from being able to access in-app purchases.”
“We will continue to do everything that we can to raise awareness of in-app purchasing and will be working with the OFT to make sure that their guidelines consider the needs of consumers and the UK’s games industry.”