Nearly half of US kids want in-game currency this Christmas
Nearly half of US kids want in-game currency this Christmas
www.gamesindustry.biz
Nearly half of US kids want in-game currency this Christmas
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Kids my age: Remember when you could just download a skin for Quake from a website, install it, and still have other players see it? And it was free?
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Remember the custom warehouse level filled with crates and everyone wearing a crate skin?
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My brother got minecraft to play with my niece and there are two versions now, from what I can tell one that’s like what I was playing a decade ago but updated, and one that has microtransactions. The old one lets you download skins and mods for free. It seemed like a no brainer but he went with the microtransaction one, and now my niece keeps asking for cosmetics.
There must be a reason to yoke yourself to the pay-for-skins version, but I’m really not sure.
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There must be a reason to yoke yourself to the pay-for-skins version, but I’m really not sure.
The MTX-filled version is the only thing you have on console.
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You also learned some valuable PC navigation and troubleshooting skills in the process of adding the skin to your game.
Kids today: why wouldn't I spend $20 to be able to dance the running-man as Goku in Fortnite?
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I made my own Quake skin for my clan!
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I worked hard to make my kids understand why that stuff is bad. They got their highs, crashes, and understanding, now they're not attracted to stuff like that any more 😅 but man, it should totally be illegal.
Especially for kids ffs.
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Damn this one stings.
Instead of wanting a video game as a present.. They want a bunch of resources for the video game they already play.
And here i was assuming that with all the gamer parents, kids where going to be guided towards actually good games.
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Kids want to play what their friends/community are playing.
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This. When all of your kids friends are playing the same game and it's all they talk about, forbidding it will just lead to them being left out. It fucking sucks
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"Hey look at this loser he's using a Jonsey skin!"
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Gamer uncle of kids with non-gamer parents here.
I did what I could.
My niece's taste in games is impeccable. She's 13 and among her favorites are Hollow Knight, the Ori games, Inscryption, Cult of the Lamb, and of course big mass kids appeal games like Pokemon and Mario.
My nephew (9) is a lost cause. It's all Roblox and mobile child casino garbage and he doesn't have even the slightest interest in anything else. I'm pretty sure my partner and I are the only people in his life who have never given him Robux.
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I went with my son to his friends house a few years ago, about 9. Me and his mom were hanging out while the kids gamed. Her son played roblox. I never liked the game, and know there are thousands of other games to play that aren't so predatory, so my kid was never introduced to it. Anyway, his friend was playing so I let my son play too for this day.
After a time, her son asked for $10 for Roblox. Mom said not today and the child had a full meltdown. It hurt my ears he was screeching so loud. My son just froze and stared at his friend. It looked similar to a panic attack crossed with a toddler temper tantrum. Once he calmed down, she let him back on the game, but we went home.
Certain games turn smaller children into addicts. Roblox is definitely one of those games, it seems.
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Kids want to play the games their friends are playing more than what their parents play.
I will play Fortnite and Roblox and Rocket League with my son and I’ve never had a skin or a battle pass and have tried to show him you can have fun with out wasting your money but that doesn’t stop a kids FOMO.
Publishers know kids have undeveloped abilities to delay gratification and are susceptible to peer pressure
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Yeah, for this reason i don't plan to outright ban roblox and the like. I don't want to be a fun-dictator.
Its also important that kids learn to deal with the reality that these games/practices do exist around them, and at some age i wont be there to guide every decision.
But there will definitely be “a talk” before i install anything remotely like it. Being capable of understanding the dangers is a requirement to get acces.
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I thought so too. I try with my boy I really do. Ive got him understanding that mtx are the work of Satan, but beyond that I cant help him.
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There aren't 50% of gamer parents anyway.
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The current landscape of gaming is so foreign to me. Gaming for me has always been an experience to get lost in a fantasy world — something akin to reading. Nowadays everyone seems obsessed with the online and competitive sides of it. It feels like you can't have a conversation about videogames without someone bringing up Fortnite and the new skins they unlocked by treating it as a job.
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because that's what the majority of people play.
the majority of people buy 1-2 games a year and play them all year. COD, sports games, the big popular shooters or whatever is trendy at the moment.
they are casual fans. they don't give a shit about stuff like Expedition 33 and would be totally uninterested in a game like that as boring and stupid. these are the same people who only watch marvel movies or hollywood action crap.
all my friends/family who play games think I'm a gay weirdo for liking non sports, non military, non racing games.
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Its partially lack of marketing. You have to have the time to be at least somewhat keyed into the gaming community to even know what exists and is good.
For example I don't have a lot of time to play, so I am ideally looking for something like 15-30 minute increments. All the mass produced things marketed on tv or whatever are that type of game. God forbid I find a game and then realize it has some punishing save system.
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It's 43% of 60% of US kids. So more like 25%. Still pretty bad.
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i have four nephews. 3 of them want fortnight/roblox money. the other one doesn't care about games at all.
i try to get them into different games and they won't have it. they are addicts for these freemium bullshit games. the concept of buying a game is weird to them. they expect them to be free, but they have normalized paying money for in game items.
and they have been playing these games for years now. 6+ years playing the same game. probably 10,000+ hours in them. but all they care about is playing with tehir friends and competing over who is best at fortnite.
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Crazy stuff. Just brings to mind how many kids are playing fortnite and the like. A lot probably just goes onto skins
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Hey I got an idea: what if we get all the kids addicted to smoking, gambling, and drinking!
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Help us European Union, you're our only hope.
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Oof.
Society peaked in 1999 and no one can tell me different.
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there was no fortnite in 1999 tho 🥺
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sad panda
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..and the world was a better place for it.
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Who are the parents of these kids ?? They clearly failed in life
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Its not the parents fault, its just how its going.
As a kid I wanted pokemon cards, because all the other kids had pokemon cards and were showing off how many pokemon cards they had and it was on TV that you GOTTA CATCH EM ALL and the cool kid had a shiny raichu and I was a loser because I didnt have one so I really wanted one so I needed pokemon cards.
It didnt mean my parents failed me. It means toy manufacturers have all but weaponised marketing/propaganda and children are especially susceptible.
In my example, replace shiny raichu card with Peter Griffin skin.
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yeah. it's like saying you shouldn't give you kid a smart phone.
you will basically destroy their social development because literally every kid has one. and the worst thing for a kid is to be socially excluded. children desperately crave peer acceptance.
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It means toy manufacturers have all but weaponised marketing/propaganda and children are especially susceptible.
When exactly does it switch over to be weaponized? What is the line?
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What a fedora screeching nerd take.
THE KIDS WANT VIDEO GAMES! THE PARENTS ARE FAILURES!
Jesus Christ 🤦♂️
More than half of US kids want to play more games with their parents, particularly children aged between 5 to 7 (73%).
Fucking ruined generation, awful parents, 🙄
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Probably the same parents that buy their kids GTA and then complain games are too violent. They just don't care that much to look into what their kids like.
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Really? Your parents never bought you worthless junk meant to be throw away like fart putty or those rubber bubbles you blow up with a straw that barely work or packs of Pokémon cards or baseball cards?
I don’t think it should be up to the parents to tell the kids what’s valuable to them. If the kid wants a vbucks card over a game then you can tell them that’s why they didn’t get a new game.
(I do recognize that the current monetization models have ruined modern gaming which is why I only play games that are 15 years old or older)
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Actually my parents never bought me anything, PERIOD
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Very environment friendly:)
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I didn't see a link to the survey in the article so I found it on the ESA website.
The survey says that 58% of kids want games, but it doesn't seem to specify what percentage of kids want in-game currency?; it simply says that in-game currency is one of the top five video-game related requests, at 43%. But 43% of what? 43% of kids who want games? It's not specific, which would make the news article meaningless.
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I would say 'no' on principle. No child of mine will EVER receive virtual currency as a present for Christmas. I would sooner buy them £120 worth of games than even £5 in Robux.
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While I agree that this is not a good thing, I have to say it is not much different to for example Pokemon cards. Sure you could sell physical cards - if you're lucky maybe even without loss - but I don't think it is so much different.
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Physical cards last for years. Maybe the online game will be around in ten years, but maybe not.
I have most of my magic cards from my youth. They're a thing I own. I can do what I want with them- play the game, use them for decorations, sell them. Digital shit is transient with few options for the buyer.
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See: Ubisoft. Pay for gane with own money, sorry fuck you games gone now.
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I understand that. But to be honest the value of these cards is in most cases much lower than the purchase price - so the real value is not what these cards are worth but the fun you have / had collecting them and playing with them. And I am willing to believe that the same fun can come from digital assets in a game. You're right that the company in charge can end this any time they want but usually this happens when nobody is playing it anymore. I don't like this development either but I nevertheless can imagine that a Fortnite gift card can bring the same joy as a booster pack of MtG.
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Yeah that's insanely fucked.
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I worry about how I would raise a child in this landscape. Two of the people I know with kids, the kids don't care about video games. One of the kids is super into iPad games, and that feels like a haazrd brewing.
Maybe I'd try to stick to real games for any child I was responsible for, but I don't think that would survive impact with peers.
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Company scrip is back lads
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Probably a decent investment. Haven’t checked, but the value is probably going up due to the amazing us economy and dollar.
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Sickning..
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Clickbait
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Using shiity stats to push narratives!! 🎉
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complaining about this one feels boomerish to me like "oh no! dem kids like the [new thing™]!!"
If that ain't proof microtransactions are a bane on society, then we're already too corrupt to care.
Not to mention there’s hardly any micro transactions left, a lot of these micro transactions are the prices of full games or more!
This is what I don't get, why would you get some in game currency or item that will help you for like five minutes for the same price as a game that will give you tens of hours of fun. Cosmetics I somewhat get, you wanna show off. Still think it's kinda dumb but I get it since I'm tf2 player.
Macro transactions 😎
If it isn't proof they target children, I don't know what is.
Microtransctions prove they should be illegal every time I read any article about them