After the mobile purchasing system in the iPhone game Smurfs' Village led Apple Inc. to set new spending restrictions for mobile apps, the game's developer has followed up with further restrictions for the game itself.
The changes came after complaints that children inadvertently charged hundreds of dollars to iTunes accounts for in-game purchases.
Beeline Interactive, Capcom Co. Ltd.'s mobile game development arm, updated the game May 9 to allow no more than five purchases every 15 minutes, the gaming website TouchArcade.com reported Wednesday.
The game is free to download, but users are charged as much as $99.99 for a wagon of virtual Smurfberries, which help players grow crops and expand their village. Apple's billing system did not require users to log in repeatedly to approve in-app purchases if they had recently provided their password to download the game.
After it received a deluge of complaints, Apple updated its payment system, requiring users to enter their password a second time to make a purchase in an app.
A TouchArcade.com reader using the handle Thicky posted a sarcastic comment indicating that Beeline's new policy is still too permissive. "Yay. It's great that I can only spend 500 dollars every 15 minutes!" Thicky wrote.
Another reader, Yrogerg212, said the restrictions go too far. "I for one am tired of entering my password … every time I buy an app" or make an in-app purchase.
Beeline Interactive did not respond to inquiries about the change before deadline Thursday.
