At National Online Safety we believe in empowering parents, carers and trusted adults with the information they need to hold an informed conversation about online safety with their children, should they feel it is needed. This guide focuses on one platform of many which we believe trusted adults should be aware of. Please visit www.nationalonlinesafety.com for further guides, hints and tips for adults.
You don't need to be the biggest football fan in the world to have heard of FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) - the governing body for football. And, the video game series bearing the organisation's name is one of the most successful ever. The lure of this football series is that o!cial licensing gives your child the opportunity to play games in the role of their favourite players. They can either work through a story mode version of the game or play online in competitions against other players. The game, released annually by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label, is available for a range of consoles, and there are also mobile versions available for smartphones and tablets.
3+ If under 18, supervision of a parent or legal guardian required.
FIFA20 17
CONSTANT SERIES REFRESHES The big selling point for the FIFA range of games is that it FIFA includes current players; a feature which no other football video game o"ers. However, this means that a new version of the game is released every year, with updated teams, players and stadia, plus newgameplay features and tweaks. And, with every annual update of the game, there is an expectation that it will be far better than the previous one, so the pressure to upgrade and buy the new version is likely to be immense!
FAKE EMAILS AND SCAMS Your childmay receive an email or see amessage on social media or in forums which appear to be a
JUST ONEMORE GAME Your child could be playing FIFA games on their computer or console for very long periods of time. That's not to say that computer-based matches are a full 90minutes long, but a series of 20-minutematches can very quickly #ll up a day! TheWorld HealthOrganisation has classi#ed 'gaming disorder' as amental health problem - this is when children have trouble controlling their gaming behaviour and let it reign over their lives and daily routine.
18
genuine FIFA promotion. While the linkmay seem like a FIFA login page, it's a phishing scam to capture a login name and password. Scammers may use names that sound legitimate, like 'EAAdmin' or 'FIFADeveloper’.
19
INGAME CHAT
BUYINGADD-ONS In-game purchases are to be expected in anymodern game and FIFA is no di"erent. FIFAUltimateTeam (commonly called FUT) is amode in FIFA that lets gamers build teams of players from any league, playing both o$ine and online towin coins. These can be used to buy better players or packs containing random players.While some purchases can bemade using in-game currency, other purchases involve spendingwith real world money, which could become expensive. There have been reports of parents receiving large credit card bills resulting from in-game purchasemade by their children.
FIFAGAMEPLAY The FIFA series has been criticised for the competitive nature of gameplay leading to aggression in some players. Add to this the chance to converse with other players via in-game chat, and the potential for anger levels is likely to rise... especially if you're losing heavily!
While the FIFA video game is suitable for children of all ages as it does not include any inappropriate content, there is the issue of in-game chat. Your child can play with other people online and chat with themusing headsets. As this is largely unregulated, it could mean that your child is exposed to language or conversations that you deemunsuitable.
MONITOR ACTIVITY The parental controls on consoles can be used to restrict the amount of time spent playing. Physicallymonitoring howmuch time your child is spending in FIFA is recommended - just as you might monitor howmuch time they spend watchingTV. Keep an eye out for warning signs, such as a lack of interest in other activities, tiredness or fatigue, neglect of personal hygiene, changes in character or anger issues whe your child is told to stop playing a game. ENCOURAGE BREAKS Monitoring in-game chat may be di!cult as you're likely to only be able to hear one side of a conversation. However, noticing how your child is reactingmay be a reasonable indicator of the general mood. Dealingwith both the frustrations of a game as well as troublesome people can serve as useful life lessons, but as a parent, you know your child better than anyone else. If you notice your child is getting too upset or angry, that's the time to intervene and try to encourage them to take a break from the game.
ABOUTTHE SERIES REFRESHES
STEER CLEAROF SCAMMERS You should teach your children to stay clear of scams. Explain to them that theymust be wary of any linkwhich asks them to either verify their username and password or provide other sensitive information; game developers will never send amessage asking for login information. Consolemessages, emails andwebsites, or social media posts promoting contests for in-game content, such as packs, players, or coins requiring login information are fake.
As a parent, the implications of this really depends on the age of your child and your relationshipwith them. It may be that playing and sharing games is part of your family life and so this isn't a problem, but just bemindful that being involvedwith the FIFA franchise is unlikely to be a one-o" event - it's the start of a gaming journey that could last for many, many years and involve numerous (potentially expensive) upgrades.
HAVETHEMREPORT ABUSE
RESTRICT PURCHASES
It's unlikely that you'll be able to convince your child to play FIFAwithout making use of the chat facility - it's something that adds to the experience. However, you should ensure your child is aware of how to silence any abusive players and how to report anyone who becomes problematic.
Tospend realmoney inFIFA, acredit ordebit cardmust be linked toagamingaccount, soensure that your card isnot beingused for this!There's alsosupport for PayPal payment, soalsocheckwho has [access to this typeof account. Dependingon theplatform your child isusing toplayFIFA, therearedi"erent parental controls that canbeput inplace to restrict spendingshouldyouallowthem to linkacard to their account.There is alsoapayment optioncalled Paysafecard,whichallows you tomakepaymentsonlinewithout theuseof abankaccount or credit card. As youcan topup balances, thismakes it easy tocontrol spending.
Meet our expert
Mark Foster has worked in the gaming industry for 5 years as a writer, editor and presenter. He is the current gaming editor of two of the biggest gaming news sites in the world, UNILADGaming and GAMINGbible. Starting gaming froma young age with his siblings, he has a passion for understanding how games and tech work, but more importantly, how tomake them safe and fun.
SOURCES
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/relationships/fatherhood/10886939/My-son-spent-hundreds-of-pounds-on-in-app-purchases-without-me-knowing.html ,
Users of this guide do so at their own discretion. No liability is entered into. Current as of the date of release: 06.11.2019
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker