$65 for Smurfberries? You’ve Got to Be Kidding Me

Saturday, 11 December 2010 | by Pat's Picks

I downloaded a free iPhone game a few days ago called Smurfs Village for my daughter. Watching over her shoulder, I was horrified to see her make it to a screen inviting her to make something called an “in app purchase.” Apparently, I’m not the only parent uncomfortable with my child being offered Smurfberries for a price.

There was a picture in the New York Daily News yesterday of woman who turned the game over to her four-year-old boy…and then realized he’d bought $67 dollars worth of Smurfberries.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says these micro-transactions are what the gaming industry is betting on. The logic is that people won’t mind paying $2 or $4 for a perk mid-game. Obviously, kids don’t mind spending $65 mid-game.

To be fair, Apple posts a note at the top of the Smurf Village app page warning parents about being charged “real money for additional in-app content.” But they do it in their trademark gray font that is, needless to say, less eye-catching than the colorful Smurf Village screen grabs below it.

You can adjust the settings to block the in-app purchases but seriously, what parent wants to tell their kid they can’t buy some essential Smurfberries in the heat of a Smurf Village adventure? Instead, I surreptitiously deleted the game, despite my daughter’s promise to not buy anything.