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DO YOU "DISLIKE" FACEBOOK CREDITS?

          Derek Newman explains why Facebook Credits are likely illegal

•   Virtual-currency competitors are frozen out

In the past, game developers could choose among several virtual-currency providers based upon price, service, and
other factors.

Facebook ended the competitive virtual-currency marketplace when it prohibited game developers from using any
virtual currency other than Facebook Credits.

Facebook forces game developers to use Facebook Credits if they want their game to run on Facebook. That means no other virtual-currency provider can compete with Facebook Credits.

•   Game developers are gouged

Facebook requires game developers to pay it 30% of every consumer dollar earned on Facebook. That's about six times more than alternative services like PayPal. It's double what competitive virtual-currency providers once charged for managing all aspects of in-game currency—not just transaction processing—before Facebook kicked them off its social-gaming platform.

•   Social gamers are cheated

Facebook doesn’t just require Facebook Credits for games on Facebook. It demands that game developers charge the same high price for virtual goods on all game platforms, including games offered off-Facebook. This means developers cannot offer discounts on non-Facebook platforms, even if another platform's currency has a lower fee than Facebook's. The result: gamers have fewer options and less discounts either on or off Facebook.

•   Everybody loses

      Facebook Credits:

•     Cost game developers tens of millions of dollars each month in excessive fees
•     Prevent every other virtual-currency provider from offering a competitive service for games on Facebook
•     Deny the gaming public a competitive marketplace