Smurf controversy raises age questions again

Not so long ago, Megabits mentioned in its ‘Out of iTouch when it comes to modern tech’ article about how easy it is to get financially caught out via the free Capcom Smurf’s Village Apple app for the iTouch and iPhone.

Today, this story has also been covered by Kotaku - ‘Is Apple A Little Upset With Capcom?’ - and POCKET GAMER.biz - ‘Apple calls in Capcom over Smurfs' Village IAP controversy’.

The articles highlight the need for Apple to tighten its iTunes log in, as the current 15 minutes default isn’t short enough, and is allowing a number of children to unknowingly notch up a list of purchases while playing the free app. I know from my own experience just how risky this can be!!!

Here at Megabits we can fully understand the need to hone in on the current iTunes log in. However, does this open up a wider issue of how old a child should be to be to be allowed to play on an iTunes app – or any game for that matter? The old debate over age restrictions raises it’s ugly head once again…

(Photo credit: Vik Nanda)