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Kids Prefer To Play Games On Mobile Devices Over Consoles
New submitter chloealsop writes: The NPD Group has published a report showing that more kids age 2-17 are playing games on phones and tablets than on consoles in the U.S.. 45 percent of kids use a home PC for gaming, a drop of 22 points since 2013. "The largest and most surprising shift in the 2015 gaming ecosystem was kids' move away from the computer," NPD Group analyst Liam Callahan said in a press release. "In the past, the computer was considered the entry point for gaming for most kids, but the game has changed now that mobile has moved into that position. This may be related to a change in the behavior of parents that are likely utilizing mobile devices for tasks that were once reserved for computers."
Can't exactly bring the console to Red Lobster, but you can bring the phone. It's not really about what's a better platform - it's what's available when kids have time to fill or be entertained. This is a dumb post...
It is tough to play games on a PC.
I suspect as micropayments and other in-game purchase models become more common it might make more sense to make use of the TV built in to a lot of newer vehicles to do in-vehicle gaming with some kind of in-car console.
On the other hand I wonder if being able to fill every idle moment with some easily provided stimulus is not terribly good for us. I'm certainly not immune to seeking diversion myself, but having to figure out how to entertain myself by reflecting on my thoughts or my environment can be very calming and can help bring me back down to earth when I get too caught-up in things. For me, road trips and vacations to remote areas are a way to find that calm and to detach from my every day life for awhile, and have been since I was an adolescent.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
Also there's a crap ton of free/free-2-pay-more titles on mobile... kids don't have money, they go where it's free... huge leap in logic there. Also, no console tax.
Price is definitely a big factor. If my boys want a new console game, it will cost me around $60. A new tablet game, though, is usually under $1.99 if not totally free. I could buy my boys a new tablet game every two weeks for an entire year for less than the cost of one console game.
My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
Child labour laws don't prevent children from working and earning money, it just limits what they can do and how much they can work.
And until 16, that's pretty close to zero, even during summer vacation in jurisdictions that have one. I'll summarize the situation in Indiana:
So unless the parent teaches the child how to seek out those few jobs available to a child under 16, the child is out of luck. In fact, my parents actively discouraged me from such. Nor are children allowed to drive a car to and from work.
Also, don't you give your children an allowance?
A lot of parents restrict what their children can buy with an allowance. From a legal standpoint, they don't give the child an allowance as much as allocate an allowance to a trust benefiting the child. Besides, children don't own real estate in which to store a modern console. "My house, my rules."
Agreed that kids are in way more control than adults are. Buy the age of 5 I asked my parents to stop having big birthday parties with a dozen plus neighborhood/school kids for me. Instead I asked for dinner and a movie with 2-3 of my closest friends. For years my parents thought I was anti-social and screwed up until I let them in on the secret that I had figured out those random classmates never get you the gifts you want, but instead get gifts they wanted so they can open and play with them at your party. I knew if I asked for fewer kids and less hoopla then I would get more gifts directly from my parents and made sure the list was both top shelf and small enough to be non-negotiable. Worked like a charm.