phant0m
Member
Yarp. Even I, who consider gaming to be my #1 hobby, am guilty of just throwing on YouTube or doom scrolling at the end of the day just because I feel like I don't have the energy to game.
Young Americans Are Spending A Whole Lot Less On Video Games This Year
- Thread starter havoc00
- Start date
MiguelItUp
Member
Exactly. When I was 16-18 I had a hard enough time trying to buy video games with a minimum wage, and that was 23-25 years ago. I can't imagine how hard it is now, even after the "pay increase" with minimum wage.
Hell, I'm 41 now and I have a solid full time job, but I'm still keeping an eye on my spending because responsibilities > fun. It's absurd how expensive it's all gotten and continues to get.
Shifty1897
Member
A beefy 5 layer burrito was 89 cents 10 years ago, now it's $4.39 where I live, it's over $5 in cities.
Games just hit $80. I don't blame them for putting their money elsewhere.
Games just hit $80. I don't blame them for putting their money elsewhere.
Fbh
Member
Not that I don't believe there might be a drop in spending in the current economy when many young people struggle to just keep up with the basic bills.
But you'd have to look at the bigger picture at the end of the year instead of just a single 4 week period in April. Maybe this april just had less compelling releases for younger people, or they were saving up to spend $500 on a Switch 2 in 2 months.
But you'd have to look at the bigger picture at the end of the year instead of just a single 4 week period in April. Maybe this april just had less compelling releases for younger people, or they were saving up to spend $500 on a Switch 2 in 2 months.
dragonyeuw
Member
Not that I'm a young person, but frankly there's no real reason for me to buy any games or systems at the moment. I have backlogs on Steam, Switch, Xbox/Windows, PS4/5, hell I have like 20 free games on my Epic account just sitting there. Unless there's a really good deal like the $20 RE7/8 Gold bundle I got off PSN 2 weeks ago ( just finished my first play-through of Village yesterday), spending large sums of money on games right now really ain't a thing.
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lughnasadh123
Member
Does that mean we can stop making games targeted to them?
Wildebeest
Member
Even better they can lay off all their staff and stop making games completely.
falling into hell
Member
I can understand that. Today their are lots of games you can play for free. Companies like epic, amazon giving away games for free. You have things like game pass and lots of free entertainment online. Yeah if you don't have much money to spend, you save on things like video games.
Cyberpunkd
Banned
Today's youth gets anxiety attacks if they have to interact face-to-face with others, so it can't be that.
havoc00
Member
I wonder what that tastes like…
diffusionx
Gold Member
The job market is horrible for young people and nobody is talking about.
Aesius
Member
Gen Z pretty much only interacts with social media at this point. That's their entire existence. They don't drink, they don't game that much. They just doomscroll and have parasocial relationships with influencers. Shit's bussin though fr fr
diffusionx
Gold Member
Teenagers don't have jobs anymore. I don't want to get political but they've been pushed out of those low wage entry level jobs. You don't see teenagers working at McD's or whatever in the same way you used to.So they don't even have the money or gain the financial management skills that you or I got as teenagers.Exactly. When I was 16-18 I had a hard enough time trying to buy video games with a minimum wage, and that was 23-25 years ago. I can't imagine how hard it is now, even after the "pay increase" with minimum wage.
Hell, I'm 41 now and I have a solid full time job, but I'm still keeping an eye on my spending because responsibilities > fun. It's absurd how expensive it's all gotten and continues to get.
Punished Miku
Gaslighter Pro: 16.7 Fireflops
Yeah, literally just saw a video on that yesterday. Broad hiring requirements have been raised purposefully to end most entry level positions. Most raised requirements. Most want previous work experience. "Ghost jobs" that aren't even really intended to be filed, but listed by companies for other reasons. And this is prior to the full AI explosion. They're going to be hit super hard.
YeulEmeralda
Linux User
Saber
Newd Member
If gamers are holding down buying games for alot of reasons(high prices, disgrace state of games being broken at launch, predactory practices, social politicness, etc), how do you think young kids from gen z would ever get interest in this? Different from gamers, these younglings have different priorities, they can easly throw their money on something else.
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poodaddy
Gold Member
No games are worth $70.
This industry's pricing hobbyists out of the hobby. It's only gonna get worse. My honest hope is that the bubble fully bursts and the industry nearly burns to the ground. It was better when there were less fat cats fighting over "engagement" metrics and "modern audiences" anyway, so I genuinely look forward to an industry where AAA almost becomes a thing of the past and it's mostly carried by indie and aa titles. Get all the people in the industry who don't love games out of it, and the industry will fix itself, and I'll tell ya what, if the industry crashes, the same guys who ruined the industry by milking their customers through horse shit like micro transactions and GAAS will suddenly find the industry far less inviting to invest in.
A crash could lead to a vital rebirth, and I'd say the industry is long overdue.
Aesius
Member
I think part of it is because they don't want those jobs. At this point I would bet most teens and early 20s know at least a handful of people whose jobs are influencer or at least micro-influencer. And they get paid a shit ton more than people working in fast food restaurants or retail shops. So seeing their peers raking in cash via TikTok, IG, YouTube, etc., makes them think "why bother" with crap jobs. Not to mention that generation's interest in gambling, crypto, stocks, etc. They see all of these alternative ways to make significantly more money than grinding their youth away for $10/hr or whatever. Of course, they don't realize their chances of also succeeding are low, but it's enough to put them off of earning an "honest" living at that age.
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KenaiPhoenix
Member
Gaming has become a full time job so you can have all the live service crap they push. And the newer generation has less attention span.
I have also saying it here: gaming is slowing down and people are playing less. Today people prefer to get home and make/watch reels than play video games.
I have also saying it here: gaming is slowing down and people are playing less. Today people prefer to get home and make/watch reels than play video games.
MiguelItUp
Member
It must really depend on where you are because I most certainly see them where I live, at grocery stores, general retailers, and fast food chains. They're hard to miss as they're almost always on their phone when they shouldn't be, lmao. (Whole other topic that's wild to me, lol.)
Yeaaaah. I wouldn't be surprised if those variables play a factor as well. But it definitely depends on the area.
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StereoVsn
Gold Member
Or put in hundreds / thousands of hours into Strategy games and emulating old titles.
Thing is there are so many great games produced over last 30 years that I could stop buying games today and will have more than enough to play before I die.
I still buy new games though, just not till they drop in price, there is no hurry.
ShadyAcshuns
Gold Member
The past few years I've bought significantly less games, for many reasons. One, I don't have the time to play that many games. Two, there aren't that many games that interest me these days. Three, I have a ten ton backlog for multiple systems.
I keep seeing layoffs, closures, low game sales etc. and think I'm not alone in my loss of interest in the hobby I once had great passion for.
dragonyeuw
Member
I hear you, especially on your 2nd paragraph. There is something really icky about financially supporting the industry currently, especially the AAA publishers( case in point, the latest round of Xbox layoffs).
And it's not even a case of 'well if you don't spend money, you risk developers losing their jobs', because that's happening even with commercially successful games. It just doesn't seem to matter, the creative talent is whimsically tossed aside to please shareholders and keep CEO bonuses fat. The whole thing is toxic.
MALpractice311
Member
Job market sucks. Inflation sucks. Housing, whether renting or trying to be a first time home buyer, is fucking difficult. Trump's "will he, won't he" tariff threats have made us the enemy of all our former trading partners. We have multiple wars/armed conflicts going on around the world further destabilizing the global economy. Yeah, I'm not surprised lots of people have curbed their discretionary spending.
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