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US kids want games subscriptions and virtual currency more than games this Christmas

BlakeofT

Member
I'm not a child, but I told my family to give me eShop credit this year if they get me anything; not sure if that counts as virtual currency. I want to get two vouchers for the recent Mario releases.

But yeah, none of that micro transaction crap.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
Most kids these days play one or 2 games, incessantly. Weird when they have thousands of games available, they choose only a few and only play them. Fifa, Minecraft, Roblox, Fortnite are the big ones, and kids could have their own favorite. Mine is Zelda ToTK and BotW

It's not weird.

Games today have significantly more depth than the games we grew up with. Mario Bros 3 was a great game for us, but it doesn't land in the same stratosphere as Minecraft.

Todays kids intrinsically know that. Why jump from shallow game to shallow game when hour 1,255 of Minecraft is more fun and enjoyable than hour 10 of Minecraft?

People really need to wake up to how much better games have gotten.
 

OuterLimits

Member
To think that 30 years ago, we had congress hearings regarding violence in videogames. And one of the games pointed at the time, was something as mild as Night Trap.
Today we have games exploiting kids with micro-transactions and loot boxes, and politicians do almost nothing about it.
It takes a level of highly corrupt politicians, to have a much worse situation for children and do nothing about it.

Government loves gambling addicts as much as the corporations. I think we have all seen people in gas stations spending insane amounts of money on scratch tickets and other lottery games with shitty odds.

Loot boxes guarantees the state lotteries have even more customers in the near future.
 
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64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
I've tried getting them into next-gen console games like Mario Wonder, Spider-Man 2, Ratchet and Clank on the Switch and PS5. But honestly, these don't grab them like they do us. And it makes sense, right? These games are just souped-up versions of what we played as kids. They don't have the same nostalgia factor for today's kids.
Well, no. It doesn't. These games are timeless and have timeless gameplay, for the most part. There is no reason why a kid in 2023 shouldn't have fun playing Mario wonder the same way a kid in 1993 had fun playing Mario World. Mario Wonder sold super well too, as does spiderman 2.
The big hits in my house? Fortnite, Roblox, Minecraft. What they've got going is the social play factor. They're easy to jump into, they're on every device imaginable, and there's no sitting through long cutscenes or slogging through a one-hour tutorial. The games we dig are basically updates of our childhood faves, so obviously, kids today are going to find their own thing.

There is nothing wrong with those games, on a gameplay level. The issue is their monetization. Getting kids to spend money on skins and virtual currency is just bad. we shouldn't let it be happening.
 
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Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
If the kids are playing exclusively 3 video games, 2 of which are more than a decade old, it stands to reason that it's not gaming as a whole but these 3 games that are doing well.

Hi Rez Studios is still updating Paladins with maps, heroes, skins etc...

You don't even know what Paladins is in 2023 because the game is so unpopular.

Hi Rez Studios is updating it because Paladins is bringing in the money.

There are waaaaay more than 3 successful Live Service games folks. XBox places Fallout 76 expansions in their June showcases because...the critics were wrong. That game is making bank.
 

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
Hi Rez Studios is still updating Paladins with maps, heroes, skins etc...

You don't even know what Paladins is in 2023 because the game is so unpopular.
It's in my library and i've played it.

XBox places Fallout 76 expansions in their June showcases because...the critics were wrong. That game is making bank.
Do you know what "sunk cost fallacy" is? Because that's a better explanation for the xbox support of fallout 76 than "The game's successful guys!"
 

Interfectum

Member
Well, no. It doesn't. These games are timeless and have timeless gameplay, for the most part. There is no reason why a kid in 2023 shouldn't have fun playing Mario wonder the same way a kid in 1993 had fun playing Mario World. Mario Wonder sold super well too, as does spiderman 2.
They are timeless to you. Most kids today most likely see these games as one and dones before they go back to their main games (Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox). They have no 80s/90s nostalgia for these characters.

There is nothing wrong with those games, on a gameplay level. The issue is their monetization. Getting kids to spend money on skins and virtual currency is just bad. we shouldn't let it be happening.
These are free games, played across almost every device, played by tens of millions of gamers concurrently where only 10% max even participate in buying anything. If my kids want $15 to run around as Jack Skellington in Fortnite with their buddies instead of buying some throw away indie on Steam, I'm okay with it. Most of the time my kids are drawing, reading and wrestling anyway and they view gaming as more "dad's hobby" than anything else.

I'd also imagine at some point if kids truly get a passion for gaming they will dive deeper into different genres as they get older.
 
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Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
It's in my library and i've played it.


Do you know what "sunk cost fallacy" is? Because that's a better explanation for the xbox support of fallout 76 than "The game's successful guys!"

You think XBox is keeping Bethesda on FO76 because of sunk cost fallacy and not because the game is earning money?

Don't be ridiculous.
 

Sushi_Combo

Member
The laws allow this kind of behaviour to perpetuate. We're raising a new generation of kids around gambling and instant gratification. Not sure how they will survive when they reach a period in their life when they need to be on their own.
 
Not surprised. My nephew is constantly asking for vbucks, cod points to buy season passes/skins. He doesn't even have fun really playing those games it seems, buying the cosmetic is the fun. He plays with what he gets a few times and is then already ready for the new one.

I've just never gotten the appeal of the cosmetics, my character can wear a trash bag for all I care. Makes zero difference to me. :messenger_tears_of_joy:
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
The kids wanting is only part of the problem. It's the parents saying yes which is the other.
True.

Parents are lazy and have no balls to limit their kid's YT or Fortnite. I see it myself when I have dinner at my siblings' houses and the kids are goofing off on their tablet phone at dinner table. Parents barely care. And they even tell me it's even worse when I'm not there. When I see my nephews and nieces they seem pretty good overall and listen to what I say, but when I'm gone they say the kids always act worse. lol. And I thought their dinnertimes were bad enough already when I see it. lol

If my mom or dad saw one of us playing a Gameboy at the dinner table trying to eat meatballs and play Tetris at the same time, they'd say knock it off and play after dinner.

Now, a lot of parents just dont give a shit. You'd think if you got yelled at as a kid to not play handhelds at dinner, you'd teach your own kids the same thing 20 or 30 years later. Nope.
 
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R6Rider

Gold Member
Sub makes sense for a kid, especially when normally they'd only get a game(s) for Christmas and Birthday.

The online currency is disgusting though.
 

Interfectum

Member
True.

Parents are lazy and have no balls to limit their kid's YT or Fortnite. I see it myself when I have dinner at my siblings' houses and the kids are goofing off on their tablet phone at dinner table. Parents barely care. And they even tell me it's even worse when I'm not there. When I see my nephews and nieces they seem pretty good overall and listen to what I say, but when I'm gone they say the kids always act worse. lol. And I thought their dinnertimes were bad enough already when I see it. lol

If my mom or dad saw one of us playing a Gameboy at the dinner table trying to eat meatballs and play Tetris at the same time, they'd say knock it off and play after dinner.

Now, a lot of parents just dont give a shit. You'd think if you got yelled at as a kid to not play handhelds at dinner, you'd teach your own kids the same thing 20 or 30 years later. Nope.
My kids all have iPads that are locked to 1 hour of gaming a day, unlimited access to music and books. They are not allowed to bring anything to the table or any event that is family focused. Their Switches are also locked to a small amount of time per day that I will manually bump up if they are playing a long battle royale session with their friends. Youtube is banned from all of their devices until they are old enough to understand the things they will run into on there.

It's possible to be a good parent and still allow your kids to play modern games that other kids play.
 
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Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
The laws allow this kind of behaviour to perpetuate. We're raising a new generation of kids around gambling and instant gratification. Not sure how they will survive when they reach a period in their life when they need to be on their own.

The kids playing Minecraft are the exact opposite of what you're describing.

That game forces players to plan, manage materials, react to a wider degree of stimuli. It calls for exponentially more creativity from the player than the games we played as kids.
 

Sushi_Combo

Member
The kids playing Minecraft are the exact opposite of what you're describing.

That game forces players to plan, manage materials, react to a wider degree of stimuli. It calls for exponentially more creativity from the player than the games we played as kids.
I'm speaking more on Fortnite, Roblox that have created a fostered this addicting environment. I've seen it personally with friends and families kids.
 

Interfectum

Member
The kids playing Minecraft are the exact opposite of what you're describing.

That game forces players to plan, manage materials, react to a wider degree of stimuli. It calls for exponentially more creativity from the player than the games we played as kids.
One of my kids gets into this creative cycle with Minecraft... he'll draw on paper what he wants to make in the game, then play the game, then go back to paper and draw what he made in the game. lol

It's amazing to see the creativity it can pull out of him. He'll also recreate what he made in Minecraft using legos.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
I'm speaking more on Fortnite, Roblox that have created a fostered this addicting environment. I've seen it personally with friends and families kids.

With the MTX sure. The gameplay for both games is exponentially more complex and varied than the games we grew up with though.
 

dem

Member
Can confirm

My kids want Vbucks


Hate all you want... but most games fucking suck. They are boring and you are done with them in a few days.

So yeah.. they want to buy a skin or dance in Fortnite to flex on their friends.
 
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Interfectum

Member
The perfect consumer. Top CEOs in the industry must be thrilled.
I don't think they will be. I don't see these kids sticking around these games as adults. From what I've seen these kids have little interest in video games outside of Fortnite which tells me once they lose interest they could tap out of gaming entirely. I'm already seeing it with my oldest... wants nothing gaming related this Christmas.
 

BennyBlanco

aka IMurRIVAL69
And people wonder why Sony is chasing GaaS. Boomers like us are not the biggest demographic. It’s kids borrowing mommy’s credit card to buy shark cards.
 

Northeastmonk

Gold Member
Kids don’t want to lose. Once they see the Game Over screen, they’re done. They also don’t want to try again. I’d imagine the skins and Robucks hide the fact that they either aren’t winning or that they can’t stream video games for a living.

My kid wants Roblox Gift Cards. They don’t like to lose in strategy games or stick to a plot they can’t escape from. Games like Zelda are too hard for them because the objective is hidden, the path is blocked, and they can’t switch genders on the fly.

I’d imagine it’s far worse with kids growing up with iPads and streaming services. They’re impatient and they demand a game evolve to whatever they want. They don’t want the game designers vision for the journey, they want to change the journey without any consequences.
 
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MacReady13

Member
makes sense more games for months.. if only i had this shit back in the snes megadrive days.

hey you want free games every months for 1 year long? instead of 1 game right now?
Until those "free" games are all of a sudden taken off you, when you could've had that 1 game that you'd enjoy and play the shit out of for as long as you wanted. Then you'd go and play outside with real life friends... You remember those days- you didn't need a backlog to enjoy gaming. You appreciated what you had.
 

MagnesD3

Member
God kids/younger gen are boring/dumb, didnt it used to be the other way around for generational development, its very unusual. If it wasnt incredibly destructive to the greatest artform Id find it kind of fascinating that this could occur.
 
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It makes sense to me. Kids are money limited but less time limited. A sub gives them access to a lot more content than a single game would. In terms of quality and what's available on a service, that might be another story.
 

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
Nobody gets mad at Fortnite or Roblox for their actual game content. Everyone here (with the exception of like Danjin44 Danjin44 ) loves multiplayer games.

People are angry because these games are fucking predatory. Especially Roblox with how it treats both the people who play games and the people who create them
 

dem

Member
I'm offended that people put Fortnite in the same category as Roblox.

Roblox is like if a pop up ad was a game. Half of the "games" on there are scams that try to trick you into pushing the wrong button and spending money.
 
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Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
Until those "free" games are all of a sudden taken off you, when you could've had that 1 game that you'd enjoy and play the shit out of for as long as you wanted. Then you'd go and play outside with real life friends... You remember those days- you didn't need a backlog to enjoy gaming. You appreciated what you had.
dude i sold my games as fast as i could back in the day because i wanted to play more than 1 game a year
 

Darsxx82

Member
The education, mentality and vision of the world (video games too) is very different in children today compared to what we had when we were children.... It's that simple for better or worse.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
Yep. I’ve been adding funds to my 9yo nephew steam wallet and little fucker is spending everything on some singing monsters shit. He buys some gems there.
Kids are so stupid they don’t know what real games are. They only know fake gems.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
the forspoken fanboy is trying to gatekeep what real games are.


Let’s be real. Forspoken is more of a game than most shit nowadays :p

btw little fucker already spent like 50$ from me on that gems… during steam sale he was buying gems….
 

Cyberpunkd

Gold Member
People really need to wake up to how much better games have gotten.
You decided to ignore the fact F2P games are designed with PhDs in psychology to maximise how addictive there are as part of its design on purpose or you don’t know better? Because you can be sure that loot chest look and the sparkles after you open it has been A/B tested to infinity for maximum engagement and conversion.
 

diffusionx

Gold Member
It's not weird.

Games today have significantly more depth than the games we grew up with. Mario Bros 3 was a great game for us, but it doesn't land in the same stratosphere as Minecraft.

Todays kids intrinsically know that. Why jump from shallow game to shallow game when hour 1,255 of Minecraft is more fun and enjoyable than hour 10 of Minecraft?

People really need to wake up to how much better games have gotten.

We kids got a game or two for Christmas and a game or two for our birthday and that was it. We played Super Mario Bros. 3 for months if not a year. Renting and borrowing games here and there but yea that was it.

If you look at something like Roblox, by the company's own admission, kids are playing the "games" on there for like 20-30 minutes in many cases and hopping around. So it's almostl ike they are getting that experience within a single service. As for Minecraft, I think it's great and it's cool that kids have glommed onto it the way they do, but so many other games funnel kids into this really unhealthy FOMO addict microtransaction hellscape.
 
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