Explained: How Candy Crush, Angry Birds get your money

Candy Crush Saga, the most popular game which topped the list on Facebook, iOS and the Android Play store at the same time, not only keeps you hooked but also grabs your money.

The game, which turned out to be a top grosser worldwide, is free to download, addictive and has been played 151 billion times since its launch as an app on mobile devices in November 2012. It became number one within six months, including ten million downloads in December 2012 alone.  Candy Crush’s creator, King, a Stockholm-based company, which emerged as the world’s most popular social gaming firm, says that one in every twenty three Facebook users plays it. Once a player has downloaded a free game, he becomes addictively glued to it, spending hours playing and even paying to avoiding waiting 24 hours to move to next level.

“There is a certain amount of that addictive gambling type psychology about it but for the most part people just want to play the game. They like it,” Brian Blau, analyst at technology research house Gartner Inc. said. Britain’s Office of Fair Trading has released new principles to ensure that the parents authorise children’s in-app purchases and to prevent aggressive sales techniques to which minors may be susceptible.

Emil Hodzic, a psychologist who treats video game addiction in Sydney says that Video games use “operant conditioning” to reward players for certain behaviours. “For example, you get a reward every time you hit your enemy with a sword,” he said.

Candy Crush rakes in $875,382 per day when compared to Angry Birds, another addictive video game saga, which takes in an estimated $6,381 daily. Angry Birds by Rovio had topped the mobile app charts, along with Imangi’s Temple Run. King now has more than 66 million players worldwide, with more than 15 million playing Candy Crush on Facebook on a daily basis. Games can be synced, means you could start on one platform and continue on another.

Infoeditor