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Gaming is changing, and there’s probably no going back to the “good old days” at this point. For many of you reading this article, Christmas was very likely defined by the carefully wrapped boxes nestled preciously under your tree. You’ll all have your own memories, of course, but for this author it’s The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in 1998 that specifically sticks out. Your humble host spent about a year exploring every polygon of the Nintendo 64 epic’s meticulously rendered Hyrule.
But for a new generation, in an era where free-to-play titans like Fortnite and Roblox rule the roost, it’s not those boxed blockbusters that youngsters want anymore. A survey conducted by the ESA polling 501 kids between the ages 10 and 17 found that of the 72 per cent asking for video game-related gifts, about 29 per cent desire in-game currency. That’s significantly more than the 22 per cent who want a new boxed game.
In fact, apparently 39 per cent are after game subscriptions, and while there’s not enough data available to corroborate our assumption, we’re guessing this is referring to services like GTA+ and Minecraft Realms – not necessarily PS Plus (although that’s probably included under this umbrella as well). To be fair, 38 per cent do want new hardware to play their favourite games on, which bodes well for PS5 sales – but it’s still those microtransactions and in-game memberships that are ruling supreme.
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We don’t know exactly how many people are asking for digital games this Xmas, so the survey does seem flawed, but with a whopping 23 per cent of PlayStation’s entire revenue coming from add-on content recently, none of this should come as a surprise. To put things into perspective, Sony is making roughly as much money from the fee it scrapes off the top of microtransactions than full digital and physical game sales combined.
And as we alluded to above, it may not be the industry you grew up with, but the way people play is changing. Games are no longer disposable forms of entertainment that you enjoy through to completion and then trade in; they’re platforms in their own right, designed to consume all of your attention and keep you engaged all-year round. We’ve seen how titles like Genshin Impact introduce entire sequels worth of content in epic update cycles; even No Man’s Sky, despite not charging a penny since launch, continues to evolve and transform at an unprecedented scale.
Many youngsters are fully satisfied playing two or three titles a year, and it stands to reason that they’re willing to ask for new content for their favourites, as opposed to fresh titles entirely. While the logic may seem bemusing to you, many kids actively want to splash out on new costumes or content for the games they’re already invested in, as opposed to starting over in something different. It’s a seismic shift in the industry, brought about by developers’ ability to iterate on titles that already exist.
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And to be honest, we somewhat wish we’d grown up in the era of ever-evolving, free-to-play games, too. Take the excellent Fortnite, for example: there’s always something new to experience every single month – and a lot of it can be enjoyed without spending a penny. This author used to bridge the long new game droughts between birthdays and Christmas with demo discs. Back then, the idea of an ever-changing experience loaded with new content every single week would have seemed like a total pipedream – it must be incredible to grow up with a title that can potentially entertain you for years rather than hours.
None of this is to take away the traditional model, of course, which is still alive and well: there have been many excellent one-and-done campaigns this year, from Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 to Alan Wake 2 – these titles still very much exist. But we have to accept and even appreciate that the industry is changing. There are obviously negatives to this service-led era: predatory microtransactions and gacha-style gambling among them. But games that can evolve, change, and improve for as long as there remains interest – it isn’t entirely a bad thing, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise that kids want to further their investment into these titles this Christmas.
What are your thoughts on kids asking for game subscriptions and currencies for Christmas? Are you planning to receive any in-game content this Christmas – and if so, for which games? Cough up on virtual cash in the comments section below.
Will you be getting any game currency this Christmas? (498 votes)
- Yes, I'm actually asking for some
- I may receive some, but won't ask for it
- No, I'm not interested in that at all
Comments 82
If i were a kid who couldn't buy 30-70€ games throughout the year, I'd definitely ask for a subscription like plus or game pass.
However, before I'd ask for store credit I think I'd still go with the universal credit, good old cash.
tbh if I was playing an online game I wouldn't complain if someone gave me currency for it, but it feels like the kind of gift you get in the stocking with deodorant and underwear.
I'd like to see a survey that gauges continued interest in games like Fortnite as players grow older.
My boss is adamant that it's mainly an age group thing. I should say that he bases that observation on his one little brother, who played the crap out of Fortnite until he was in his later teens, began to find the experience a little empty and then switched mostly to singleplayer games.
I know a lot of people here are in their 30s but since PS+ and Minecraft have been out this has been very very normal! I'm in my 20s, I've BEEN getting dumb vouchers and subscriptions for years and years, very interesting to see this come up as news
@Loamy Hope they won't be playing on them new-fangled flat-screen TV's, the Daily Mail readers will be getting their pitchforks ready, bloody layabouts!
I am saddened to read that the game journalist are praising the likes of Fortnite and Roblox.
For me, the concern is how reductive it must be to only play one lousy free-to-play game with the same gameplay loop and general surroundings all the time. What development does these games offer to kids, youngsters and adults? Are there any reason not to worry about this aspect?
Well, seems to me many kids have preferred to watch other people play on Twitch rather than play games themselves for many years now (was even a South Park episode about this), so in the words of Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking.
Tbh i am extremely glad i DIDNT grow up in the age of fortnite, genshin impact, and roblox. The thought of getting currency for those money sinks for xmas may be a sign of the times, but will never replace the magic of unwrapping my mega drive and sonic the hedgehog 2 back in the day, or getting my gameboy, or finding a PS2 and some games under the tree (GTA3). It simply does not compare.
Im looking forward to continuing the magic with my kids this christmas as they are now at the age where i have been able to get them a switch (yes i know a new one will be out next year), but having something physical for them to open and to see the joy on their faces playing through something like mario kart will be wonderful. I genuinely dread the day my daughter hears about roblox. As someone who has gamed for 30+ years, it simply is not for me. Give me my JRPG's that are launching in the spring over that any day of the week.
Obviously these games are very good at pitching themselves to the target market, but the bigger thing to remember is these MP social experiences are as much replacing "hanging out at the park" as they are replacing traditional game mindshare - it's how many kids socialise with their friends out of school hours nowadays.
No matter how good a given single-player game is, it won't be able to replicate that social aspect, hence why they're less interesting to children who want to interact with their friends.
I'm in my 40's and was saying the other day that back when I was younger we had computer games/video games, CD's, DVD's etc that were perfect price points for stocking fillers and presents etc. Now most of this media is consumed digitally it becomes so much harder to buy for someone!
my kids want sonic superstars ps5 version and mario wonderland. me after my son gave us all covid last year id settle for some socks this year
I'm looking to get a few games this Christmas 👀 🤔 😩 😬 which will add to my backlog 😆
From time to time I buy retro games from Ebay in order to complete my collection and afterwards I question my purchase because I spent more money on an old game than I would on a new one.
But then I read this and feel good about my decisions.
I blame the parents for bringing up children who would want that for Christmas.
It's nothing new. Money has always been a viable gift but children who are raised properly don't ask for money.
@get2sammyb Playing Manic Miner on the Spectrum - 48K required, loaded from cassette. And people moan about loading times!
Yes, I'm old.
@sanderson72 and there was no guarantee that the game would load, even after waiting 10 minutes for it. I remember any vibrations of the tape deck would crash the loading.
I had 5 Spectrums and it wasn't until the 128k+3 introduced disk drives we were safe 😊
@riceNpea Yes, it was a case of getting the volume at just the right level so it would load correctly!
Think I'd moved onto the Amiga by the time the +3 arrived? Kids these days don't know they're born!
"an ever-changing experience loaded with new content every single week"... but these can't compete with atmospheric, storytelling experiences like FF7, RE1, MGS1 and so on; games WE played as kids.
...time changes anyway.
Doesn't surprise me my Mrs teenager spent about £100 on fortnite in about 10 minutes last Xmas.
My li'l nephew always asks me to change the skin on my character in any game I'm playing. Thanks Fortnite.
My friends just wanted to play 16bit sports game x or WWF/WCW 64 endlessly so if I was given the choice of having to go back and do that again or playing Fortnite, a game I’ve never played I would pick Fortnite.
My Dad critiqued the games I was playing (f.e. Goldeneye) until he sat down, showed genuine interest and then we bonded by annihilating eachother in split screen MP.
Maybe we should get off our purist high horse and try to understand this gen instead.
I'm introducing my kids to my gaming experiences and they love everything Nintendo, but I'll also try to get where they
and their gen are coming from.
Everyone sounding like their parents on here!
"Back in my day..."
They thought the stuff we wanted as kids was odd too.
I dunno, man. If you don’t want to support this side of the industry, talk to your kids and explain why you feel how you do rather than just buy stuff because “times are changing.” I say this as someone who was a very early sub to Runescape too. I feel like gamers complain, but are also passive about the industry changing when we hold so much power by literally influencing trends by purchasing the content we want. If you want a future different from subs, buy other games and publicly support them, and don’t spend on the subs. Plain and simple. You’ll be making the difference you want.
@EfYI and yet as a kid all i did was replay single player games over and over “with the same loop” . it goes both ways dude , gaming is a loop.
Yeah, no, thank you very much.
Here on my family we have a policy of never giving cash as a gift because giving cash is a "good way of saying you don't care about that person enough to know his tastes" and giving subscriptions/premium currency is no different than giving cash.
The end is near! The industry keeps pushing products that are meant to make children addicted to such product. Used to be cigarettes now it is "free" games which over the course of a year end up costing more than an actual single-player game where you actually get to enjoy a story and patiently progress.
Agreed. Being a kid and getting just a few games a year, games ever evolving would've been more than money's worth. Just remembering how you could beat The Getaway on PS2 in a day, you beat it a couple more times and then the disc just sits there useless. Though games now are so huge and there's not really much time for all of them, I still prefer them to the 6hr games of the past. But I hat microtransactions on costumes and skins though! At least let's play the game and earn it not buy it.
OK I'll be honest way back I was one those kids that asked for xbox live and MS points for my 360 so I'm not too shocked. But can we be serious how small (and pathetic) a sample of 500 is being used to generalise a population? As a scientist I'm insulted.
@Yozora146_ it's only just slightly better than the 75-250 samples used to sell the makeup adverts 🙄
When I was a teenage (20 odd years ago) I was already playing an ever evolving game with a gaming subscription, it was call Dark Age of Camelot. The only real difference was that you didn't have to buy the skins, you earnt them by killing formidable foes, what is called 'raiding' these days.
Hands down thee best multiplayer game I've ever had the joy of playing, though extremely likely to have developed my addiction to games and subsequent poor academic performance 🤷♀️
@Ricky63 this is why it's sad though. When I was a kid-kid I was outside most of the time getting up to shenanigans, riding bikes, playing football, meeting new friends, getting into trouble, inventing random games, playing basketball, playing kirby, doing completely safe Wrestling moves, playing football, being a nuisance and then, dread of dread having to go in for tea before going back out again 😱 you can't buy those memories and life experiences with robux!?
And there were also times when people had new games, and everyone would cram around one tv and marvel at some of the digital stuff on offer. Which is still social gaming, but with the odd fight over who gets the control 😆
Like you say, these games are replacing something, but that something is invaluable.
@sanderson72 loved my Amigas. Had them all, the 1200 was amazing but very few games took advantage of the extra RAM. Amiga us easily Mty favourite machines and as far as I'm concerned those years were the best ever for gaming.
It is a brave new world and all that but gaming has become something very different, particularly in the last few years. Fortnite isn't popular because of gameplay or shooting mechanics. It's because it is a societal eco system.
1) The price of entry is largely a device capable of playing it.
2) It allows you to play with friends and have a social element to it.
3) It isn't just the game - there online communities on Twitch, Youtube, Tik Tok to bond and embrace in it.
As an oldie, I lament the loss of what I think of gaming as but ultimately, that still exists. As a kid growing up with no money and always a generation behind, my richer friends would be playing PS1 whilst I was on SNES. I couldn't afford lots of new titles so was never part of the current social topic. If I were growing up i could play on my parents phone or tablet and be able to join in.
The thing with these kind of "presents" is that it's a stupid present. It's like getting coupons, vouchers, or plain cash. It's just boring, no thought put into it. Might as well do a cash transaction.
I've bought my son a Roblox annual instead. The past meets the future.
This author writing some amazing game industry PR. Comes off like that's the gig he really wants. The idea that he wishes he grew up in this era of live service garbage is absolutely beyond ludicrous. You'd seriously rather get some skins in a sub par shooter for Christmas than a timeless masterpiece like Ocarina of Time or Final Fantasy 7? Get real. Here's the thing. In 20 to 30 years, people will still be talking about games like Ocarina of Time and Final Fantasy 7. Nobody will care about dead online live service games like Fortnight. Remember Pac-Man 99? Friday the 13th the Game? That's the future all of these live service games face.
This will be a controversial view... but the thing about kids and gaming is that it is all down to the parents. I grew up with games and have kept them in my adult life too. Therefore my kids play a wide range of stuff from Crash Bandicoot, LEGO, Mario, Kirby, Super Monkey Ball, Sonic. They play a wide range of consoles, old and new, too. They've been enjoying that Watermelon game recently.
They won't be playing any live action games. I don't care if their friends do. I have enough high quality games from present day through 20 years to ensure they never get bored or feel short changed.
The kids playing Roblox all weekend, and sinking all their pocket money into it are the unfortunate ones as far as I am concerned. I feel sorry for them.
@riceNpea Still got the A1200 in the loft with its mighty 340Mb hard drive!
My son's Christmas list this year is dominated by the Evercade console and some of the C64 & Amiga titles. Proves that graphics can be as shiny and spangly as anything on the PS5 but if the gameplay isn't there. Also, we're currently replaying Broforce in multiplayer mode - brilliant!
@johncalmc Unironically true though. Here's a hot take. Old people often know what they're talking about. Remember during the 80's and 90's all the older people decrying the rise of video games? Remember when they were saying that kids staying inside playing video games will lead to them not getting exercise? Being isolated? Not socializing with others? Not going outside and getting sunlight? All of that was absolutely 100% true. We have an epidemic of isolation and depression going on right now. People don't go out and socialize. Depression and feelings of loneliness are at an all time high. So is social anxiety. And all of this was obviously foreseeable to all of the old people that everyone else ignored regardless.
Whilst I freely admit I might suggest a PSN, Steam, or prepaid credit for GOG etc.,for digital sales, it's not I'm anti physical,far from it. It''ll usually be knowing time is a premium around Xmas & family etc.,struggle to find a physical bargain.
I do miss the older PS Gens Platinum or equivalent physical range,(the Greatest Hits PS4 Gen was a bit more limited than past gens. Though you still had varied price points like ps4 Ratchet, Medievil,or Concrete Genie.
Sadly,though you have a generation or so of younger players that were introduced not only to preorder bonus dlc,but then Season Passes, or "Ultimate team",(Fifa),Fighting & driving games having add on mtx for tracks,cars,fighters rather than unlocking them as you did pre-online. Then you have "crafting/sandbox" games built around live services,& obviously juggernauts like GTA Online that have abandoned single player dlc & the single player is built around introducing the online mtx (RDR 2 tried & when it didn't get the GTA audience Take-two washed their hands of it)..
I still love my single player games whether select Sony first party ala HZD,GOW,GOT,HFW or in the past like Detroit Become Human,Until Dawn, Motorstorm,LBP 2,Heavy Rain etc,or indie titles. I feel a bit sad though many usually younger gamers just live for online only stuff ala roblox, fornite, Minecraft etc ,devoid of any story modes & just after the latest gear.
That sample size is too small. I'm more curious about their geographic location, are they from the city or suburbs, etc.
We still got tons of amazing single player games also.
The industry is big enough so that everyone can have something - no need to "save" anyone from playing Fortnite
I can ignore an entire section of gaming and still be swimming in games on PS5/PC
Change is hard, I know, but here's a wild idea: maybe there's room for more than one way to enjoy games?
Gaming is really big and really diverse nowadays. Far, far more so than when a lot of us of a certain vintage were starting out decades ago. You can have a quick time waster on your phone, a subscription/free-to-play game for those times when you don't want to have to invest a bunch of time and energy into a brand new experience, and you can have whole-widget, brand new games on disc or cart or download or whatever when you're ready for that.
Perhaps I'm fortunate, but my own kid enjoys all of those things. She asks for Nintendo Switch games sometimes (lately, Fire Emblem and Tales RPGs), we're looking forward to FFVII Rebirth, and we've been having a blast with Mario Wonder together. She also really loves playing Minecraft with her friends, so we have a Realms subscription that adds new content pretty regularly. Services like PlayStation Plus allowed her to find really fun games like Tchia, or Stray, that maybe she might have been less incentivized to try out over something else. She also enjoys FFVII: Ever Crisis and various Apple Arcade games on her hand-me-down iPad when a quick fix is in order.
I'm certainly not about to tell other parents how they should approach anything to do with raising their kids, but I do think it's important to consider that our kids aren't merely extensions of ourselves — one of the best ways to build trust and respect with them is to allow them to explore their own interests, free of our own influence. Even if it isn't what we grew up with or what we prefer, meeting them where they're at, building that relationship, and enjoying that experience together is far more valuable than whether they'll still have Roblox on a cart or disc in 20 years.
Sometimes I still pop a disc into my old, original PlayStation and fire it up for a nice, nostalgic evening. Sometimes, I hop online for an hour or two to enjoy Final Fantasy XIV (a game that not only requires a full-game purchase every couple of years, but also a monthly subscription, and will go away entirely when they eventually spin the servers down for good).
It's easy to complain, sure; it's even easier to just enjoy whatever good game experiences you find, in whatever forms they come in.
@sanderson72 loved my Amiga! It's funny that in the article @get2sammyb talks about getting demo CDs, I remember demo cassettes from Commodore User! Loading them into the C64 was awesome, but nothing compared to the excitement of waiting for mum to return with the months Commodore User from the newsagents!
@Bingbongboyo One of my mates was addicted to the warp tunnel demo of Stardust that came on Amiga Format, developed for the Amiga by a little company called Housemarque!
Not that you have to have kids to have an opinion, but:
it's very telling who actually has kids versus the people who aren't parents. Fascinating watching the opinions from these two sides.
I think there's a generational aspect to this debate too. A lot of young parents, born in the 80s, will know more about games and gaming than the previous generation did.
There will always be a place in gaming for live action, don't get me wrong, but the growth and frankly outrageous profiteering that the likes of EA and Epic have enjoyed over the past 10 years will certainly not be sustained in the next 10 years. We Are better equipped to steer the pocket money away from these, largely but not entirely, fruitless endeavours.
@sanderson72 that sounds great, mate. Gameplay over graphics. I'm playing Rogue Legacy 2 at the moment 😊
I blame the parents.
Honest question - I know GTA is ridiculously big but are the 10-17 year olds in this survey really asking for GTA+ money? GTAV is about 10 years old, so this group was little kids when it started. I know video games are for kids but I guess I see GTA as older teens and 20 somethings.🤷🏻♂️
@Yozora146_ ditto
Most people who either raise kids or work with kids are familiar with the game currency phenomenon. I presume most other adults don't care too much about the leisure habits of kids.
@EvenStephen7 Indeed. Also missing from the context of a lot of these debates is an element of classism and means, frankly; the comments section here seems like a pretty fortunate group, overall, but a lot of families have to choose between something like a tablet that everyone can use for a variety of tasks, that is more likely to play Minecraft or Roblox or what have you, or an older used console that can still play some of the less resource-intensive live service games, than a shiny new PS5 that might be twice as expensive, and only ever buy complete games (maybe at full price, maybe not) that their kids might lose interest in not long after purchase. Conversely, many people live in areas that don't have the robust infrastructure needed to support downloaded and live service games, and can only really rely on physical releases on a dedicated system, expensive as it may be.
Any time one group starts to dictate to the other how things "should" be done is a bad time. That goes for those playing and buying games, and it goes for the platform owners investing in those ecosystems as well. Fortunately, again, gaming is a large and diverse community, so there's plenty of room for both.
I blame the parents. As a parent myself, I don't allow my children to fall into these brainwash schemes. They ask for them all the time, but I dont give in. The game industry is trying to normalize this type of behavior with the world's youth and I refuse to let my children fall into that trap.
My son loves Roblox and I get it. There’s probably hundreds of games to play so anyone can find something they’ll like and the games are free with the app. The robux is mainly for buying accessories to personalize your avatar and some games have game passes to purchase such as private servers or items in the game to give an advantage. Roblox is churning money hand over fist and it’s smart of Sony and Microsoft to put it on their consoles.
Jeez, what a bland stale choice (vouchers, gift cards) but I suppose its whatever makes them happy and occupied with a smile on their faces (whilst cooking the Christmas dinner eyy 😂), I used to get for christmas, from my grandmother, was some low grade cheap Genesis, NES, PS1/PS2 games, the games was snooker, chess and the like, I loved them and got plenty of hours out of it and those games was about the same price as skins & digital currencies, maybe even less.
If 2023 was the Genesis, Nes, PS1/PS2 era now, a gun for time crisis would be my choice.
@awaltzforvenus 100% agreed and you made some excellent points. Unfortunately, as much as I enjoy fan sites like these, they typically attract a very specific type of passionate user that doesn’t factor in these other scenarios beyond their own worldview.
I'm no fan of the live service thing, but I really don't get the bellyaching from people about how giving gifts "isn't the same", you're right it's not, it's more efficient. Instead of you buying a game for someone they may or may not like, you get them a card for the console they own (or Steam, or whatever, you get the point) and then they can get EXACTLY what they really want. I'm confused on how that's a bad thing.
As a parent myself, I will never buy in-game currency for my kids. They will never be allowed to spend their own money on it. I will not allow it.
I've not just banned it but I have explained why. It's wasted money and if the game shuts down all your purchases are gone, with no recourse. At least when you buy a DLC or something, you get something that you keep. Anything consumable is out of the question.
I personally think in-game currency should be treated like counterfeit currency by government and dealt with accordingly.
I highly disagree with the premise of the article. These are not signs of the times that we have to just "get to grips with".
@Bkzgr8ezt Roblox takes advantage of the children who create all these games for them and generates the content and takes a cut of all the fake currency they sell. The children can sell their robux on a black market for real money and many treat these games/servers like a job. It's rife for scamming and when these kids are scammed and ripped off, Roblox don't want to know about it.
It's a highly reprehensible company and you shouldn't let your kids play it and most definitely shouldn't spend money on it.
@MattBoothDev any kid that plays any game with microtransactions can be ripe for that. Minecraft has had many scams and I’m sure the same thing can be said about Fortnite. Personally my son doesn’t have access to funds to even get caught up so as a parent you have to monitor that stuff like anything else your kids are into.
I bought my nephews and niece a Switch years ago, along with Mario Odyssey. Months later, I found out my youngest nephew only was using it, and he was only playing Fortnite with it. No one had touched Mario Odyssey. That was the final time I bought them any gaming items. It was a sad day.
I’m in my late 30’s and the whole currency stuff with games like Fornite just doesn’t interest me. I’m not against though.
I would like to know how many of the people who voted not interested at all would spend the money on a digital game or a season pass for Modern Warfart 22.
Please be honest with yourselves and say that you WOULD ask for it if it was for the correct game. Be it Shark Cards, Ultimate Team, or season passes, you're saying 90% of you wouldn't want any of this in your stocking at all. I smell lies.
This kinda makes me sad, but then again I’ve been an an-and-off again World of Warcraft subscriber since 2005, so….maybe gaming is just picking your poison?
@EvenStephen7
Even if it DOES factor in they are too interested in being a contrarian edge-lord who poo-poos anything anyone else enjoys or finds value in. I really find it hard to believe that 90% of the people who voted on here really have 0 interest in this stuff.
@sanderson72 when you spent 15 minutes for it to load,and then it crashed was the worse,I finished manic miner back in the day ,I tried it again recently and couldn't get past the 3rd level,the collison detection is awful ha ha ha
@Kwehst
RIGHT!? I used to ask for WOW cards all the time for birthdays and Christmas
@MikeOrator no I would not ,I won't even buy my kids this crap.
@Mephisto2869
ok, but you are not 90%. As successful as this type of digital purchasing is for these companies if still find it odd, even for the usual suspects in the comment section, that 90% of us do not even at least find it to be a nice surprise.
@doctommaso I bought my Nephew a TV last year for him to watch Oscar winning movies and Emmy award winning shows. Then I found out he was watching YouTube videos and I disowned him. I alone decide what he enjoys and makes him happy.
Sounds silly doesn’t it 😂
This is hamfisted as heck.
It's a sample of 501. It is not representative of the population of children at large.
This poll is contaminated. We don't know which 501 kids were polled. Did they interview kids from all classes or 501 rich kids? Honestly i did more intensive polls in university. You need to poll at least 2k people to get representative results. This is very amateurish and if i'm honest seems to be trying to hamfist a narrative.
@ItsBritneyB_tch Didn't disown them, that's the part that sounds silly. I also don't tell them what to enjoy, which also sounds silly. But I don't have to pay for their bad taste.
I just get them gift cards now.
90% good to see. I may get additional money but that's still cash in a card/envelope. It's part of the birthday/Christmas budget and that's it. No way in-game currency. If people get gift cards for other games that's understandable though I just buy physical so it's going to physical games I can easily keep/play for years singleplayer or offline bots.
I play Minecraft on PC modded, all free fan content. Not the console version with a marketplace. Sure content creators for the game (not talking Youtubers/Streamers) get a cut besides Mojang but I mean on PC Java Edition the EULA says those creators can't get money, on console they can, logic there I know, donations they get but that's it. All Bedrock PC/mobile importable (not on console only mobile/PC versions of it) stuff is on a third party website (if you know where to look correctly and what your doing so it's a bit of a hassle if you don't know how), same with Java Edition, all free on Curseforge and other sources 'if you know how'. I made videos/wikis in a response to sort of help the fan modders and others/give my thanks to the community besides just using so many for free over 10 years (in the last few years the wikis/videos I mean). Why would I use the console versions for not because saving money but because the game is meant to be played with it's base game with free updates after the paid game (aka like No Man's Sky or others no marketplace just base game/Workshop or whatever modding methods) or free content modifications not exploited for money on console because Microsoft made it happen or third party servers on console/PC that do that and aren't related.
I ask for games physical as gifts or other items. I have gotten toys, not so much books/tv shows as I know my tastes and other family members don't so that limits things and making sure I get the right volumes in a series/start a new series but I can buy most of what I need to now. Only more expensive stuff or ones I think can have some meaning do I have others gift me. I don't mind gifting a book, tv show or something else that appeals to them.
While likely. Gift cards sure but for different games on the eshops or subscriptions services with the many games to play I think is fair. For the 1 game/multiplayer subscription ones ok that is bad and more self control/change of mind there.
But if the average parent (there is some valid comments by those above, I may not fit the parent situation myself but I agree with them as anyone can telling a friend or other family members why not to waste their money like that on multiplayer/live service games that can shut down then an Assassin's Creed or something where the purchases for DLC are fair I guess but you still get the base game easily not the others that can die easily, purchases are reduneant and cosmetics have no meaning then looks not a gameplay/practical purpose with quests/other stuff worth keeping)...
...isn't informed and just does it to please them/get the kid doing other things, or kids steal the credit card or whatever other factors then well that's on them than other people into gaming that understand the medium more.
How many people actually explain things or go yeah you don't need to join in on this trend. The average person doesn't care even besides the parents that do prevent too many credit card purchases. But with those that have them play other games for kids, teen, etc. then whatever trending games to be cool then well yeah there is a difference.
For people into multiplayer sure it makes sense but singleplayer well many of us still exist. For people that move on quickly sure, if they want to go back to old multiplayer and servers go down and they understand that then the oh you can play this still offline/bots/modded consoles private servers or something then well they can.
I mean how many of us grew up with sixth/seventh gen and ignored our old consoles for new trends for phones and other things? Many people likely, only some of us actually care about or still have those old consoles/people rebought them.
How many had access to an NES at a grandparent or parents? Some people did.
My point there is oh no we only focus on our generation oh we don't care about physical media. Some of us cared about old ways not because their old but because they still have value. I appreciate many old values then I do some business focused new values. Some new values makes sense others don't.
Not all young generations are this way. The current youngest sure it's what they know but the further up many knowing what before the internet was like, many knowing what certain tv shows, ads and more were. What certain key life experiences were. Who remembers the sports were more a thing then games to be cool period many people.
Tell me why I am buying DVDs/Blu-rays for tv shows as much as games and I may watch streaming services but I more so watch whatever and buy up the physical in a 1-2 years however long it takes to localise them, old shows if they get a reprint or streaming service only shows that do end up with a physical and you go, sweet can't wait to get that.
Why am I because I like games physical, I don't like the digital methods, it's not an 'oh I want to be old fashion' it's because it's more suitable to me then the digital future they want us to have. Getting up to put the disk in doesn't bother me then the awkwardness of digital from my perspective in more ways then just oh it's easy to use or oh we don't own anything, just the payment methods I'm like eh no thanks, or oh it's this storefront discount period then the physical, physical has been way better fro discounts to me then oh digital it's discounted, oh full price, physical never keeps it the full price after years just the 'new' lower full price, digital doesn't do that it's full price at launch/discount and that's it not lower and lower or if rare up and up or second hand common games but nonsense price gouging.
So I have many tv shows I enjoy, bought the key ones I like.
Some of us still like physical media, we research old technology gaming or otherwise if we care. Trend follower people do what they do, the rest of us do our own thing regardless of generation we are.
Also it depends who and what. If someone had old consoels they got access to an NES. I never did I only had PS2 onwards but at the same time I still had PS1 games, I bought GT 1 & 2 as my first older games in a PS2 maybe PS3 gen, I don't count that as my collecting period, as have been collecting since 2017+ more so but still if people from any generation have access to something for kids they will understand it besides just only looking forward/what their generation has.
I appreciate old music, I've heard old music, never hated it going oh this is old, it's not for my generation. I don't go out of my way to listen to it much but at the same time I listen to genres that continue it then cut it off too. I'll enjoy some Nu Disco just as a much as 70-80s disco.
We aren't all oh digital, oh trends. Some generations still appreciate the old, I see the comments with people into old tech. I've learned about a lot of old media formats for music/video from certain places.
How can the poll results differ so much from this “report”?
I know it’s a smaller sample size but still.
@tameshiyaku
You say that as if it’s their choice, and not the influence of huge publishers wanting to push constant engagement through drip fed content and FOMO in order to make more and more money.
The problem with this is not the poor decision skills of kids, that’s a given, it’s the success companies have had taking advantage of that to push higher and higher profit at the cost of diversity of world and gameplay. Kids these days do the same thing day in day out for years on end, with limited cosmetic change, simply because that makes more money for the publisher. They know no better. Then we get an industry pushing for that. Games of my teen years, like GTA, turned into online, engagement seeking, money hungry cesspools. But this is what happens in a profit driven society looking for exponential growth, products continually get worse for the consumer, and those old enough to see that are just labelled as out of touch.
@ChromaticDracula - Most likely explanation: the survey was asking kids/teens, whereas this poll is drawing from PushSquare visitors, who are probably a bit older on average.
@MikeOrator - To be fair, buying a digital game or dlc isn’t the same as in-game currency. Also, the poll asks if we’re getting it for Christmas, not in general, which is a different situation.
Finally, I can’t speak for anyone else, but to give you feedback from one person who voted no; I regularly buy digital games and dlc, but I almost never buy game currency, and when it comes to Christmas, I almost always ask for physical stuff, especially recently. Why? Because digital content, especially currency, feels empty as a present, especially compared to something physical (also, most games I play don’t have much in the way of microtransactions, so it’s pretty easy to avoid).
@thefourfoldroot1 they're not being held by gunpoint, but yeah, these experiences are oftentimes tailored for the feeble minded developing brain that just seeks quick dopamine highs. There are many bad examples, but at the same time I've been sporadically enjoying genshin and honkai without ever paying or grinding, in a story driven single player RPG setting. It's not all bad.
It's also up to parents to not just hand their kids a phone and let their brains melt with endless social media, bad mtx mobile games, etc. Parents should curate how and what kids consume.
@MikeOrator
Mate, these digital currencies and other scams are basically the same as email spammers.
If no one bought them, they wouldn't do them. But a select few so, at we call have to put up with them. Likewise, if no one replied to the email spammers, they wouldn't bother.
It's well known that most people don't buy these things, but the select few who do go ape ***** for it.
@MattBoothDev
If a person finds value for themselves in these types of purchases who is to say otherwise? It's not a rip-off or a scam to them.
I also think you might be underestimating how many people are purchasing this stuff. It's not a few whales keeping these currencies afloat. It is many people making many transactions.
Aside from us "hardcore" gaming types there are maybe millions more people that game casually and use this free-to-play gatcha-style content differently than we view it. I would even say that a Fortnight or Genshin player might be even more hardcore than a lot of us. They put in more hours and spend more money on their hobby than some of us buying 6 new games a year and here we are as the "hardcore" crowd complaining about a tenner increase on a few games or not getting a free upgrade to the PS5 version.
@MikeOrator right, but, that people buy them doesn't mean they all perceive a positive value from having done so.
Anecdotal as this is, one of my mates described having to buy FUT packs because if you didn't, you'd fall behind. To him, not buying them was putting himself at a disadvantage, so it was more of a necessity than a thing he sought out for pleasure.
If those digital currencies disappeared overnight (say, because of legislation) and games that included them were forced to rebalance their economies away from purchasing, who would miss them? Are any FIFA players going to complain about not having to buy FUT packs anymore? Will Diablo players complain about not having to spend money on whatever stuff they sell there?
I don't think they will. There's prior examples of this - Lord of the Rings: Shadow of War was forced to remove microtransactions, which were quite tame compared to stuff we see today. Afterwards the game quality improved massively once the game economy was rebalanced towards fun, not purchasing.
I'm sure you can find someone who's happy with their Nigerian Prince dealings but honestly, MTX are no better then spam emails. They're a stain on the industry that we'd be better off without. Gaming is worse for their inclusion. The fact that they sel doesn't change that.
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