The reaction to free-to-play games that monetize by the use of in-app purchases (or IAPs, for short) depends on where you ask about them. They're a normal part of the gaming culture in Asia and looked upon with skepticism but warily accepted in North America.In Europe, though, they're now under the microscope. Eurogamer.net reported this morning that the European Commission is huddling with consumer protection groups in multiple nations to get some clarification on parts of the free-to-play model it finds troubling.The Commission's concerns include protecting children from IAPs (and preventing them from bugging parents to buy for them), games that opt-in players for IAPs without their consent, free games that aren't really free, and companies that don't provide a way for players to contact them by email for customer service purposes.
The Guardian is reporting that Facebook is in the process of creating a dedicated gaming team in Europe similar in scope to what they're already doing in the US. "In the US, we have a team of engineers, product managers and partnerships folks who only do gaming, from Zynga down to two-person shops," said Christian Hernandez, director of business development and partnerships at Facebook. "Now we're creating that same unit in Europe too."