Recently, I ran into a mobile game called Plague Inc. The objective is to create a plague (bacteria, virus, fungus, bio-weapon, etc.) and kill every living person on the planet. As your disease progresses, the world attempts to find a cure for your plague, and it’s your job to stop that from happening. The game, although engaging, is not appropriate for children, which make up a sizable portion of the mobile game market.
The strategy is captivating, as you use your game currency to work against the world that tries to cure the plague you create. The game does a good job of making the gruesome nature of the game less personal by avoiding pictures and personal accounts of the people dying.
That notwithstanding, the strategy component, or even the presentation, aren’t the problem, but rather, the content. For instance, creepy audio pops to let you know about your progress. For instance, the song, “Ring Around The Rosie” plays after many kills have been reported.
Mature content, even on mobile devices, should not be so easy for children to get their hands on. Currently, 91% of US children between 2-17 play video games, many of them gravitate to mobile gaming. The problem is that mobile games don’t have a rating system that helps shield children from mature content.
Like other forms of entertainment, mobile game distributors, like iTunes or Google Play Store, need to help ensure that mature content stays out of the reach of children.