Common use of Mobile gaming Clause in Contracts

Mobile gaming. Further and in addition to pornography, there is an increasing concern in the gravity of violence that is emerging in on-line games109 and in videos clips shared between and amongst youngsters. For example, according to a German 2006 ▇▇▇ study, exchanging violent video via the mobile phone is a common practice of German adolescents. One out of three mobile phone owners has friends who have had violent video sent to them. 7% have themselves received violent videos. However, this section will focus on violent mobile games since mobile gaming is a major revenue source for the mobile gaming industry. Mobile phone games have come a long way since Snake was first embedded in Nokia devices in 1997. Though the market for mobile phone on- line games has not reached the levels experienced by the adult content market, statistics has indicated that the market for the mobile gaming sector will increase in the near future. It is apparent that the mobile gaming industry is seen as a growth industry with revenues reportedly hitting US$ 4.5 billion in 2008.110 Mobile application retailer, Handango indicate in their market survey that games and entertainment have surpassed their mobile business and professional applications. Games accessible via the mobile phone provide children and young people with (1) immediate gratification, (2) peer influence, 107 ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇. ▇., (2007) Trends in Youth Reports of Sexual Solicitation, harassment and unwanted exposure to Pornography on the Internet, Journal of Adolescent Health, p. 116-126 108 Some of the tactics used by these adult sites include a) Click-throughs: this is to increase the advertising revenue with every click. To increase the number of click-throughs, some sites use pop-up windows. Known as ’mouse napping,’ this technique traps users in an endless loop of porn, b) Home page hi-jacking involves planting a Java script command on computers to change the user’s default home page to a porn site, and c) using hidden key words that are picked up by search engines. Porn operators bury key words, including brand names of popular toys, in the code of their Web sites to attract children. See http:// ▇▇▇.▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇.▇▇/▇▇▇▇▇▇▇/▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇.▇▇▇▇#▇▇▇▇▇▇ 109 Video games are generally marketed primarily towards children. A number of video games attract the young audience by incorporating sexuality as the dominant theme where much of the action takes place in strip clubs and bars with scantily clad women. Examples of such videos include Playboy: The Mansion and Singles: Flirt Up Your Life. See Stock, P., (2004)The harmful effects on children of exposure to pornography, 2004 Canadian Institute for Education on the Family, available at ▇▇▇.▇▇▇▇.▇▇/▇▇▇/▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇.▇▇▇ 110 ▇▇▇▇▇, ▇., (2008) Handango partners with mobile games publishers, Information Week, December 2008, available at ▇▇▇▇://▇▇▇.▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇.▇▇▇/news/personal_tech/ smartphones/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212501891&subSection=All+Stories and (3) the convenience of not having to carry an additional electronic gaming device.111 This is further spurred on by developers of mobile phones who are increasingly customising their devices for games. Nowadays we see mobile phones with bigger screen displays, better sound quality, and a variety of game downloadable sites. In a 2006 ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Entertainment research commissioned by Nokia to provide an overview of the gaming habits and what mobile users are looking for in their mobile phones, it was reported that 80% of the mobile phone gamers played mobile games at least once a week with 34% playing every day.112 It is observed that mobile gaming is an popular feature of the mobile phones for two reasons: (1) games can be played anywhere whether you are on the move, waiting, or at home (this is evidenced by 61% who reportedly played games on the move, 56% whilst waiting and 61% whilst at home)113 and (2) users need not have a separate games console like a PlayStation (PSP) to play mobile games. However, there is concern that the increasing violence in traditional video games will be created for mobile consumption. While there is no research data available on violent mobile games, we opine that the concern is real. We find support for our position by noting what the legendary Nintendo game designer, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, correctly said in an interview with the UK’s television channel, Channel 4. “I don’t want to curb freedom of expression, but I am concerned that many devel- opers focus just on excessive violence in order to stimulate people’s mind”. “I believe that there are more ways of grabbing players’ attention than violence alone”. (▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, 2008)114 We surmise that what is important to note is that despite the impending growth of mobile gaming there does not appear to be adequate monitoring by the relevant authorities to ensure that the games offered are suitably appro- priate for the relevant age groups.