Gaming News This teenager spends $64,000 on mobile games, all her parents’ savings are gone!
China has been implementing a system to regulate video game use among young people for several years. But it doesn’t always work out, like this kid who managed to steal more than $60,000 from his parents through game purchases and microtransactions.
Money donated to classmates
If the recent success of Black Myth: Wukong suggests otherwise, China is not the first country we think of, at least not in France, when we think of video games. In fact, it is important to remember that the country is taking measures that some would describe as drastic when it comes to the practice of online video gaming. For some time now, minors have only been allowed to play online video games for a maximum of three hours per week and at certain times. To prove that you are not cheating, you will also need to provide an ID card to prove your age.
A system that would have worked and saved Chinese parents from complete disappointment: their eleven-year-old daughter spent almost $60,000 on video games using her credit card. It’s the media South Morning China Post who researched at the time and explained the distribution of expenses in detail. $15,900 for paid game purchases, $27,500 for microtransactions (Honor of Kings would have been singled out), and the rest…is given to his classmates for buying video games. When asked, the little girl explains:
When they asked me to pay for their games, I did, although I was hesitant at first. But if I hadn’t given them the money, they would have harassed me all day. If I had told my teacher, I would have been afraid that he would tell my parents and they would be angry with me.
The most surprising thing about this story remains the origin of the alarm bell. It wasn’t her bank account that alerted the parents, but the teacher. The latter was concerned about the time her daughter spent on the phone and the video games she recognized as being paid for.
Children who play a lot of video games
An isolated incident considering the insane amount of money the young girl spent. In comments still being reported by South Morning China Post, the mother says she gave her credit card codes to her daughter just in case “would need money if they (his parents) weren’t there”. A bank card that was probably linked to a savings account where they had savings, which would also explain the long period of time between their daughter’s spending and the day they noticed it. Then she noticed there was less than a dollar left in the account.
A case that can raise awareness among parents around the world. In France, the mobile market accounts for 24.2% of video game sales according to SELL with 1.4 billion dollars in sales in 2023. An increase of 4.8% compared to 2022. A thriving sector with more and more consumers… one of the most playful is that of 10 to 17 year olds. In France, 5.7 million children play video games (including PCs and consoles): that is 93% of this population, of which 92% play at least once or twice a week.