As mentioned in our analysis of Microtransactions in Mobile Gaming and our Review of King’s Choice, it is no secret that mobile gaming has a huge problem with misleading ads baiting people into playing games. Now we actually really enjoy a few of these games that make use of these tactics, but there is no denying that basically scamming people into trying a game and hoping they become a Whale is certainly not a moral business model. As such, it was great to see Asmongold reacting to a video diving into this murky topic of fake ads. Even better was his great reaction to the Evony ads that we are all too familiar with and possibly the reason we got into the game in the first place!
Table of Contents
The Scam Ad Problem
Calling these mobile ads misleading is being very charitable, you’d be forgiven for outright calling them fake ads, or even scam ads. The basic idea is that the developers of a mobile game will launch video ads on platforms like YouTube whereby they show an exciting fast-paced-looking runner/shooter or puzzle game to draw people in.
Once installed you’ll quickly discover that the game you installed is nothing like that game from the ad. Instead, they are normally base builder or gacha-type games that are built from the ground up to be as addictive as possible, whilst using every trick in the book to try and get you to spend money at every opportunity.
Why They Do It
Unfortunately, this problem doesn’t seem to be getting better, with ads like these seeming to increase by the day. Indeed, watch any content creator in this space and you’ll likely be hit by one of these ads trying to get you. Although it seems obvious to those reading this article that these ads don’t show the real game, it is not hard to see why more and more games are pursuing them as a marketing strategy.
It is estimated that 2% of players will become Whales upon joining one of these games. As such, the huge sum of money that can be made by encouraging people to play your game by any means. Take a quick look at the top games on the Google PlayStore and you’ll see that Evony has over 100 million installs meaning that at least 2m of those went on to become whales and easily spend high 5 figures on the game. Or for one of the craziest examples of Whale check out this video from jtisallbusiness who spent over $100,000 on Diablo Immortal and who basically did the impossible and completed a live service mobile game by being too OP!
In addition to the huge profitability from players spending, there seems to be little in the way of actual legal measures in place to combat the issue. By simply adding a small minigame into the game that resembles the ad, developers are able to claim that the ads are not fake as it does actually appear in the game even if it is basically just 2 minutes of content. Even more dodgy is that ads will often be A/B tested with different mini-games with the most successful ad then being run and the minigame simply created and put in the game whilst the ad runs.
Asmongold Reacts
With the scale of the problem seeming to show no sign of abating, it was great to see Asmongold, one of gaming’s biggest streamers, shining a light on this issue by reacting to this YouTube video on fake ads, and his reaction did not disappoint, especially when he realized the Evony ad bore no relation to the actual game apart from a tiny side game hidden away. Check out the video below for his full reaction to this issue.
What Can Be Done?
Due to the bending of the rules by gaming ads, it is hard to get them with current regulations around false advertising. Indeed, for something to be done about it, we either need new regulations specifically focused on this issue or more awareness and backlash from players led by content creators such as Asmongold. Although it seems like a hard issue to tackle, there is hope. Just look at the Backlash Against Microtransaction, where both anti-gambling regulations in certain countries and fierce opposition from gaming communities have helped to see many games row back on their aggressive monetization strategies. So, get out there and spread the message not to fall for these ads, or at least don’t reward them by coming Whales!
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