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

[Gamernyc78]

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

A report by the Entertainment Software Association has found that 72% of children in the US want games-related products…

www.gamesindustry.biz

Subscriptions were the most popular gift idea at 39%, followed closely by consoles (38%), games accessories (32%), and in-game currency (29%). Surprisingly, only 22% of the children surveyed wanted physical games this Christmas.

The ESA also surveyed more than 500 adults for this study, which found that one in three plan to buy video games for themselves or others, with 57% of parents considering buying video game-related presents for their children.

 

[AllBizness]

We dont believe you you need more people

 

[Eternal_Wings]

Doesn’t surprise me. Subscription services have so far the highest portion in North America.

 

[Alabtrosmyster]

Well yeah, if you had told me as a kid that I could have my parents guarantee games rental for a year.... I would have taken this over a single game, this is too risky when you can't go out and buy the ones you want on a whim.

Also, so many kids ask for Roblox box and other crap of this kind, this is really sad .

 

[Bryank75]

Did they soecifically ask Timdog and Colteastwoods friends?

Industry is going to hell in a handbasket if these trends continue.

 

[voke]

I'm 26 and I did this back 09 all the way up until I got a job. Just get PSN cards as a gift and save them through the year to get the big releases.

 

[8BiTw0LF]

I get it. Never did before playing Destiny in 2014. In a 3 year period I played that game for ~4000 hours.
When Apex Legends came out in 2019 I played that for 3 years, clocking in around ~3500 hours.

If you only play one or two games in 10 years, you're willing to invest in those games.

I don't see anything wrong with that. What's wrong are kids who wants everything in the store - and companies shoving it right in their faces. There needs to be legislation on that part - like parents should be able to block ads, pop-ups etc.

 

[Bryank75]

 

[Snes nes]

You want proof each generation of people are getting dumber than here you go. There is no better proof than this.

 

[Sircaw]

i will be lucky to get a pair of socks this Christmas.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Something tells me this isn't a very accurate study and it also directly goes against industry data showing that subscription growth rates have stalled & petered out for the better part of a whole year if not longer.

Also why did the survey only include physical games? Why not digital games? I bet you if digital games were included the results would have heavily skewed that way. The survey just seems like a way to caress a meta opinion in favor of subscription service growth that isn't reflective of full market data. Almost like it wants sub growth to fit a narrative rather than reflect reality.

Also is it possible these kids might be under the wrong assumption they need a subscription service to access or buy some of these games? Like, do they think you need PS+ in order to buy games off the PS Store (or Game Pass to buy games off Xbox Marketplace)? Do they think you need a sub service to play F2P games like Fortnite and Apex Legends? They might've had misconceptions that skewed the results.

Now the gift cards and game currency stuff? Very believable. Games like Fortnite and Roblox move tons of that stuff regularly, but especially during the holidays.

 

[GachaMadeMeBroke]

Something tells me this isn't a very accurate study and it also directly goes against industry data showing that subscription growth rates have stalled & petered out for the better part of a whole year if not longer.

Also why did the survey only include physical games? Why not digital games? I bet you if digital games were included the results would have heavily skewed that way. The survey just seems like a way to caress a meta opinion in favor of subscription service growth that isn't reflective of full market data. Almost like it wants sub growth to fit a narrative rather than reflect reality.

Also is it possible these kids might be under the wrong assumption they need a subscription service to access or buy some of these games? Like, do they think you need PS+ in order to buy games off the PS Store (or Game Pass to buy games off Xbox Marketplace)? Do they think you need a sub service to play F2P games like Fortnite and Apex Legends? They might've had misconceptions that skewed the results.

Now the gift cards and game currency stuff? Very believable. Games like Fortnite and Roblox move tons of that stuff regularly, but especially during the holidays.

I don’t think that percentage necessarily just means game pass and ps+. Every F2P game has a subscription . Roblox has a premium sub service. GTA Online has GTA+. Fortnite has Crew etc while I’m sure gp and ps+ has some growing appeal, kids these days hardly care about that when all their friends and family are just playing Fortnite, Roblox etc.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

I don’t think that percentage necessarily just means game pass and ps+. Every F2P game has a subscription . Roblox has a premium sub service. GTA Online has GTA+. Fortnite has Crew etc while I’m sure gp and ps+ has some growing appeal, kids these days hardly care about that when all their friends and family are just playing Fortnite, Roblox etc.

Good point. From that POV I can see why kids are asking for sub services. Would've been nice if the article differentiated between game-specific ones and multi-game services, though. Industry news is mainly geared to the latter even from places like GI.biz, so a report like this could lead to assuming it's centric to multi-game services.

At least, that's how I interpreted it, hence the questioning.

 

[Gods&Monsters]

Mat NPD says every month "premium" games are selling really well and subscriptions keep going down.

Sony broke records with Ragnarok and SM2. Zelda too. Most Nintendo releases are selling more than ever. Hogwarts is still number 1 since February.

That survey is just weird and doesn't match the reality. I bet it's sponsored by Microsoft to sell GP to kids.

 

[Johnic]

@thicc_girls_are_teh_best

Shh, must not interfere with PR.

 

[Killer_Sakoman]

Lol these websites are cashing Microsoft's christmas cheques

 

[Alabtrosmyster]

Mat NPD says every month "premium" games are selling really well and subscriptions keep going down.

Sony broke records with Ragnarok and SM2. Zelda too. Most Nintendo releases are selling more than ever. Hogwarts is still number 1 since February.

That survey is just weird and doesn't match the reality. I bet it's sponsored by Microsoft to sell GP to kids.

It's because we need to see these services (GP, PS+ and what not) as replacement for what Blockbusters did back in the days with games rental.

I used to be able to nag my parents into giving me a few $$$ every week-end to rent some game (and drive to the video store to get them, which was a half-hour drive).

The difference is that they can ask for the service upfront once a year, if they get the game the only benefit is that you can play it as long as the platform owner allows it to work with the DRM. Which is something that may not concern them when they are kids.

 

[ethomaz]

Subscription here means the game subscription that most mobile F2P games have.

Not services like Gamepass.

My nephew asks me the same for Freefire… he doesn’t care about services like Gamepass at all. But he moved to Fortnite and Roblox (both have subscription too if you want).

Edit - When I said cousin I was thinking in “sobrinho” that translate to nephew and not cousin

 

[Gamernyc78]

Subscription here means the game subscription that most mobile F2P games have.

Not services like Gamepass.

My nephew asks me the same for Freefire… he doesn’t care about services like Gamepass at all. But he moved to Fortnite and Roblox (both have subscription too if you want).

Edit - When I said cousin I was thinking in “sobrinho” that translate to nephew and not cousin

It's both unless otherwise specified which has not been done. Psplus as a subscription is at the top of the pack every year.

 

[anonpuffs]

You want proof each generation of people are getting dumber than here you go. There is no better proof than this.

I don't think it's that the kids are dumber per se.
It's that the parenting has gotten worse.