6 Video Games Guilty Of Ripping Off Their Player Bases

Habbo Hotel isn't quite as expensive as previous entries, but it scores points for trying to take money from children. This game is set in an impractically large hotel where players can build their own rooms and spend money decorating them.

Furniture is sold for credits which are purchased with real cash. If your “payment is later cancelled or declined, you'll be banned,” says the interface; 'make sure your good-for-nothing parents don't try and swindle us, kids!'

Most furniture varies between one dollar and several in price, with the limited edition 'rare' items being among the priciest in the catalogue. But in the game's player marketplace, furniture can reach hundreds of dollars.

Back in 2012, business was clearly flourishing, because the company were too busy peddling virtual goods to children to do anything about the hotel's 'paedophile problem'. The issue was revealed in an investigative report by Channel 4 News, which described the hotel as a "haven for paedophiles" – If you're marketing a hotel to kids, this is very bad PR.

The game also struggled with various young upstart scam artists who tricked tweens into giving their furniture away. Elsewhere, a thriving virtual casino industry dealt in anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars in furniture per week.