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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."
A bigger failure in logic is that kids 2-17 "choose" their gaming platform. As a parent, it is MY choice. I let my kids play with my iPad in the backseat, so they will shutup and let me drive. No way am I shelling out for a console.
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...
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.
Us techies always think it's about power or performance, but mobility is a transformative feature. Many people prioritize it over nearly every customer experience feature we can offer in products today. It's largely why Apple came to dominate smartphones. They offered the world's most mobile handheld computer first.
If I were Microsoft or Sony, I would be very worried. Most of my gaming time used to be on PC games. Then I progressed to consoles and now nearly all of my gaming time is on my iPad or iPhone with minimal laptop time for games not on iOS. Smart gaming companies are already pivoting into mobile gaming where the majority of the money is in the gaming industry.