Walking around streets of the central districts in Manila, I would see countless people — children and older adults alike — indulging on smartphone games throughout the day, many of which appear to be pay-to-win freemium titles.

For a country with a daily minimum wage of $10, I wonder how much on average do low income workers spend on these games, given that the pricing scheme is likely optimized to prey on small but frequent spenders.

Insidious cycle indeed.