Look at this gree! Now!

[Reece Clem Leishman]

GREE, you are breaking apples term and services on this game! How? Gambling. Why! Forcing players to spend,
https://developer.apple.com/app-stor...ew/guidelines/ I advise everyone to report GREE for this action,


P.s GREE, remove this, and then you are proving you just want people to spend.

I don't want players to get refunds, I don't want y'all to loose war of nations, I love the game. But you're killin this game.

P.S Apple are investigating your game soon! Sent a message and screenshots and your game ID!

Stop this, you are loosing people. I knew someone who spent around 3K every world, and quit!

[sporky123]

I never spent a penny... So much for GREE forcing players to spend.

[SIU_Herb]

GREE, you are breaking apples term and services on this game! How? Gambling. Why! Forcing players to spend,
https://developer.apple.com/app-stor...ew/guidelines/ I advise everyone to report GREE for this action,


P.s GREE, remove this, and then you are proving you just want people to spend.

I don't want players to get refunds, I don't want y'all to loose war of nations, I love the game. But you're killin this game.

P.S Apple are investigating your game soon! Sent a message and screenshots and your game ID!

Stop this, you are loosing people. I knew someone who spent around 3K every world, and quit!

Apple gets 30% of all in app purchases. Trust me, they want you to spend too.

[Zac Landry]

Gambling definition:

1: Playing a game of chance for money
2: Take Risky action in hopes of getting desired result.

Neither say anything about forcing to spend. You are paying them to get something that you want.

[Lolsies]

Indeed, this is not 'gambling'. You have a choice as to whether or not you should spend, it is not forced upon you.

[Rexhom]

I have a choice to bet on a horse race, boxing match, football game, two flies crawling up the wall etc. A bet is not forced on me yet it is still gambling.

[Zac Landry]

you bet on all of the above with the intention of possibly gaining monetarily. In gree if you spend, you are spending money for a product they are selling and receiving that product. In events, you are spending to receive "better" rewards. you can still get rewards if you do not spend.

[Rexhom]

you bet on all of the above with the intention of possibly gaining monetarily. In gree if you spend, you are spending money for a product they are selling and receiving that product. In events, you are spending to receive "better" rewards. you can still get rewards if you do not spend.

Correction...you are spending money for a chance at a product.

[Sandra Malley]

Indeed, this is not 'gambling'. You have a choice as to whether or not you should spend, it is not forced upon you.

1. Experimental upgrades are a gamble. Whilst not forced upon anyone, they are an essential feature of the game if you want to compete.
2. The crates for sale are a gamble. When the contents inside the crates vary in value it becomes a gamble.
3. Casinos at least give the odds of success of winning, Gree do not place an accurate odds of success on the products they are marketing for sale.

Of course nobody forces anybody to gamble with anything in life, but when you market a free game but make it impossible to play unless you spend then you put yourselves into the realms of competitions rules.

[Lolsies]

1. Experimental upgrades are a gamble. Whilst not forced upon anyone, they are an essential feature of the game if you want to compete.
2. The crates for sale are a gamble. When the contents inside the crates vary in value it becomes a gamble.
3. Casinos at least give the odds of success of winning, Gree do not place an accurate odds of success on the products they are marketing for sale.

Of course nobody forces anybody to gamble with anything in life, but when you market a free game but make it impossible to play unless you spend then you put yourselves into the realms of competitions rules.

But again, it is your choice to spend. Sure, once you buy it or spend power cells, it becomes a gamble, but in the end, it's all up to that one click of a button as to whether or not you want to gamble for the prizes or for a higher experimental upgrade.

[Pro]

But again, it is your choice to spend. Sure, once you buy it or spend power cells, it becomes a gamble, but in the end, it's all up to that one click of a button as to whether or not you want to gamble for the prizes or for a higher experimental upgrade.

This is like gambling but without any real gain if you win. The correct term is Compu Gotcha. This is illegal in Japan and allowed in most others places.

[Kerean]

You forgot your original quote, which I would quote here again for easy reference. The key is not about a choice, but whether it is gambling.

Indeed, this is not 'gambling'. You have a choice as to whether or not you should spend, it is not forced upon you.

[Qc-Slayers]

GREE, you are breaking apples term and services on this game! How? Gambling. Why! Forcing players to spend,
https://developer.apple.com/app-stor...ew/guidelines/ I advise everyone to report GREE for this action,


P.s GREE, remove this, and then you are proving you just want people to spend.

I don't want players to get refunds, I don't want y'all to loose war of nations, I love the game. But you're killin this game.

P.S Apple are investigating your game soon! Sent a message and screenshots and your game ID!

Stop this, you are loosing people. I knew someone who spent around 3K every world, and quit!

First of all, thanks for this post. It is a legal issue indeed. Although, there is only one point you mentionned that can be reported. Your argument about being forced to spend is invalid. Why? First, the company does not require any payments in order to play this game, even when you download it for the first time. It is a free game and it can be played without buying any extra content. It would have been a valid argument if they would have offered it for nothing in the App Store and then, after a X period of time, blocked your account because you had to buy an in-game pack. The valid argument you expressed is about gambling. GREE is, in War of Nations, making the players gamble with a various amount of items. How is this illegal? Well, it isn't. BUT! First, they need a license in order to offer this option and it has to be approved by Apple. Secondly, they need to give the exact odds of what should be earned in all their crates (Like the boxes, the special crates, etc.) like the experimentals. Saying Common, Uncommon, Rare & Epic doesn't express clear possibilities and the odds can be manipulated by the company in order to increase their sales, which is clearly illegal and mentionned in Apple Terms & Service (Developping an App). This issue can lead to legal procedures because it isn't mentionned in any sphere of the specified app (War of Nations) and it is clearly oriented towards gambling.

— The definition of gambling in the Oxford dictionary :
An act of gambling; an enterprise undertaken or attempted with a risk of loss and a chance of profit or success.

— The definition of gambling in the Chambers 21st Century dictionnary :
gambling noun 1 making a bet. 2 playing a game of chance. 3 taking a risk.

The definitions are clear and don't subject any other interpretation.

In conclusion, based on Apple Terms & Service (Developping an App), War of Nations is and has been, since its creation, illegal.

Now, what does that mean?
Well, the game should be removed from the App Store and shut down till it's legal and meet every single requirement in Apple Terms & Service concerning App development.

Who's to blame?
Both actors, Apple & Gree, are to blame. Apple didn't correctly review the app and its content, which didn't meet its authorization criterias, and still released it publicly. GREE Inc., responsible for War of Nations, is also responsible because it didn't have the proper license to offer gambling content in its game. Moreover, it didn't allow the user to know the exact odds he had of winning the offered content, which allowed the company to manipulate those odds in order to increase its sales, which is a criminal offense that could lead to pursuits of its users.

[Vile Lynn]

First of all, thanks for this post. It is a legal issue indeed. Although, there is only one point you mentionned that can be reported. Your argument about being forced to spend is invalid. Why? First, the company does not require any payments in order to play this game, even when you download it for the first time. It is a free game and it can be played without buying any extra content. It would have been a valid argument if they would have offered it for nothing in the App Store and then, after a X period of time, blocked your account because you had to buy an in-game pack. The valid argument you expressed is about gambling. GREE is, in War of Nations, making the players gamble with a various amount of items. How is this illegal? Well, it isn't. BUT! First, they need a license in order to offer this option and it has to be approved by Apple. Secondly, they need to give the exact odds of what should be earned in all their crates (Like the boxes, the special crates, etc.) like the experimentals. Saying Common, Uncommon, Rare & Epic doesn't express clear possibilities and the odds can be manipulated by the company in order to increase their sales, which is clearly illegal and mentionned in Apple Terms & Service (Developping an App). This issue can lead to legal procedures because it isn't mentionned in any sphere of the specified app (War of Nations) and it is clearly oriented towards gambling.

— The definition of gambling in the Oxford dictionary :
An act of gambling; an enterprise undertaken or attempted with a risk of loss and a chance of profit or success.

— The definition of gambling in the Chambers 21st Century dictionnary :
gambling noun 1 making a bet. 2 playing a game of chance. 3 taking a risk.

The definitions are clear and don't subject any other interpretation.

In conclusion, based on Apple Terms & Service (Developping an App), War of Nations is and has been, since its creation, illegal.

Now, what does that mean?
Well, the game should be removed from the App Store and shut down till it's legal and meet every single requirement in Apple Terms & Service concerning App development.

Who's to blame?
Both actors, Apple & Gree, are to blame. Apple didn't correctly review the app and its content, which didn't meet its authorization criterias, and still released it publicly. GREE Inc., responsible for War of Nations, is also responsible because it didn't have the proper license to offer gambling content in its game. Moreover, it didn't allow the user to know the exact odds he had of winning the offered content, which allowed the company to manipulate those odds in order to increase its sales, which is a criminal offense that could lead to pursuits of its users.

Let me stop this...

The quote above is, for the most part, FALSE.

These F2P apps are NOT considered gambling in any legal way, shape or form.

Players can buy in-game currency, and that is all we buy: the gold or gems (aka pixels), depending on the game. These pixels have no cash value after purchase. Read the ToS.
How you choose to use that in-game currency, if you choose to buy it, is your own choice.

[Qc-Slayers]

Let me stop this...

The quote above is, for the most part, FALSE.

These F2P apps are NOT considered gambling in any legal way, shape or form.

Players can buy in-game currency, and that is all we buy: the gold or gems (aka pixels), depending on the game. These pixels have no cash value after purchase. Read the ToS.
How you choose to use that in-game currency, if you choose to buy it, is your own choice.

I read the ToS and here's what I think (Only my opinion! )
The ToS only apply if the the app was developped correctly by following the requirements and restrictions in the "App Store Review Guidelines", because if it "jams" there, the app doesn't go public and we don't need the ToS.

Best regards,
Slayers