Answer: 75%

Questions:

• What mobile games do you currently play?
• Have you ever made any in-app purchases? Explain what you bought and the reasons why.
• What are the ways that game developers “nudge” players to make in-app purchases?
  

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (Statista):

The gaming software industry depends on three monetization models to make such mammoth profits: consumers may simply buy games, revenues can be generated via in-game advertising, or gamers spend money on microtransactions and downloadable content (DLC) within the game.

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Looking to extend this activity? Here's a PDF and website describing the strategies that developers use to get people to spend their money on their games. Have your students read about the strategies and then analyze the games that they play.

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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