Uncovering the gray industry chain of short-lived mobile games that suck money like crazy

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With the development of mobile Internet, mobile games that seize the fragmented time of mobile phone users seem to have blossomed everywhere overnight. However, they are born quickly and die quickly. When large game companies dominate the world, many small teams have a very difficult time surviving. Compared with the general life cycle of 2 to 3 years for terminal games, the life cycle of mobile games is generally half a year to 2 years. Therefore, many mobile game companies have begun to use various means to attract money crazily and make enough quick money while they are still alive.

The gray industrial chain of "hidden buttons"

When I open my phone when I’m bored, there are always a few small games I like to play. These games are basically "free" when they are downloaded. However, behind these seemingly free games, there are many deep and hidden traps waiting for users to jump into.

Unwarranted deductions from mobile phones are also called "hidden deductions". This phenomenon has been criticized many times but still persists. The principle of hidden deductions is mostly because malicious deduction codes are implanted in the games downloaded from the mobile phone. The so-called malicious deduction codes, commonly known as "black codes" in the industry, are built into the downloaded games. Once malicious deduction codes appear, they will directly deduct fees without user review, and can block the charge reminder text messages sent by communication operators (such as 10086). Usually, a user will only be charged about 2-4 yuan, so no one will know. If you don't check the phone consumption records, you will not know when the fees were deducted. But for companies that use malicious codes, the large number of users accumulated is also a considerable amount.

So how do these "malicious" deduction codes enter the mobile phone through the game?

First, game developers purchase billing platforms from SPs (services developed and provided by mobile phone production and operation service providers for users) and add ready-made deduction plug-ins to game applications. This step does not require any technical difficulty. Second, in order to trick users into downloading, developers usually choose popular games as tampering objects, such as the once very popular "Plants vs. Zombies", "Fishing Master", "Fruit Ninja", etc. Third, developers upload disguised games to third-party software application platforms. Since Android opens the underlying code, and the third-party software platforms and mobile phone forums above are mixed, the level of security control of software varies, and some do not even verify it, so these malicious games "run wildly" on the Android platform.

This method is actually the resurgence of the SP gray industrial chain that was once "severely cracked down" after it moved to the mobile game industry.

According to industry insiders, this huge profit chain stretches from SP companies to developers and then to third-party application markets. SP companies are responsible for providing charging codes and channels, while developers are responsible for adding plug-ins and promotion. When users generate information fees through SP channels, developers who add plug-ins can get 28% of the information fees. SP companies earn the difference in the middle, taking 20%.

As the traditional SP industry is becoming increasingly sluggish due to the crackdown, some larger SP companies have switched to making fee-charging APPs. In addition, Xiaobao also learned that SP companies themselves will choose some well-known games with large download volumes, add fee-charging plug-ins to them, and then directly push them to the third-party market in the name of Chinese version, cracked version, etc. Every time a user downloads a game, he pays 1.5 yuan to the third-party market. Judging from the huge number of users, the income of the third-party market in the profit chain is also considerable.

Consumer traps that are hard to guard against

Although many game companies spend a lot of money on R&D and channels, their ultimate goal is to turn mobile games into a money-making tool. There are usually three types of regular payment for a game: paid download, in-app purchase of value-added services, and purchase of consumables required in the game. However, there are too many unconventional payments. An ad that guides consumption and is clicked unintentionally can cost you a lot of money... Even some mobile games with the characteristics of "slot machines" and "fried golden flowers" deliberately take advantage of players' gambling mentality to make money.

Take Macau Slot Machine, a very popular "skin-changing mobile game" last year, for example. The article "Encircling the Land and Killing Pigs, the Road to Money-making of a Free Slot Machine Mobile Game" on Mobile Game Matrix has also revealed it. Today, Xiaobao will briefly talk about how it "makes money". Why is it called a "skin-changing mobile game"? Because the game content is almost the same as "Water Margin: Slot Machine", except for the change of the game icon and game name, but the download fee is 6 yuan, and even if you have to pay, there are still many people playing it.

First of all, just hearing the name "slot machine" will make players think of the magical machine that makes people rich overnight. At the same time, it also gives players a hint: the virtual currency in the game can be exchanged for cash RMB, which makes users who "want to gamble" very motivated to download it.

In addition, the introduction of the game states that “download and give a good review, and get 10 yuan in phone bills returned”, which makes users feel that they can actually earn 4 yuan by downloading, which is completely stress-free.

But now comes the problem. If players want to get a 10 yuan cashback on their phone bills, they must first join the game’s official QQ group and send a manual screenshot to the customer service in the group. The customer service will recharge the user’s provided mobile phone number the next day.

Of course, this is not the point. Don't forget that unlike other games, the users here are all hoping to "make money". Once you join the group, the customer service will constantly "instill" in you that only by becoming a VIP can you participate in some activities that only VIPs can participate in to "make money". For example: the highest game score rankings every month, World Cup predictions, etc. The price of VIP is: the minimum recharge is 648 yuan.

They take advantage of people’s greed and constantly emphasize the benefits of VIP users to attract money, and users who want to “make money” will only get deeper and deeper into trouble.

Leaking and selling user information

Last year, an app called "Crazy Communication" secretly recorded users' behaviors and automatically uploaded them to Youku without their permission, and even a large number of nude videos appeared, causing dissatisfaction among users. Although the incident was eventually resolved as if it had never happened thanks to Alibaba's strong public relations, it truly reflects the security risks of mobile games. In addition to "Crazy Communication" and "Fruit Ninja (Chinese Edition)", even mobile games such as WeChat fortune-telling tests have been exposed for leaking user privacy.

It is frightening to see users being left "naked" without any privacy. Through what channels do mobile games obtain users' privacy?

The first is the malicious deduction code mentioned above. While causing users to be charged, it also consumes traffic, reads privacy, etc. The industry also calls this behavior "packaging party."

Second, mobile games that call for too many permissions can also lead to user privacy leaks. 360 Internet Security Center once released data showing that nearly 40% of mobile games call for too many permissions, resulting in the arbitrary reading of sensitive user data such as contacts and text messages.

Third, users pay for mobile games mainly through SMS codes, bank cards, platform virtual currency, recharge cards, etc. Compared with recharge cards and platform virtual currency, the loopholes of short-term payment and bank cards are more easily exploited by criminals, who intercept short-term payment information and account information through the background for sale.

However, information leakage is not the point. What is important is that through this information and data, the user's consumption habits in the game can be analyzed, and these will serve as important "chips" for mobile game companies to attract investment and find advertisers and partners. The more detailed the information, the more accurate the advertising will be. Think about it, when you are playing games, you will often be harassed by promotional ads, and as soon as you click in, you will face the embarrassment of being charged. This is the reason.

In addition, if a game stops updating or shuts down, these user data can be packaged and sold at a good price.