Subscription under the Christmas tree – Kommersant FM

Kommersant FM columnist Alexander Levi talks about the results of a survey of children in the United States before Christmas and New Year.

Children dream of digital gifts – these are the results of a study shared by the American Entertainment Software Association (ESA). The organization asked respondents what they would like to receive as a Christmas present. Almost 2/3 of girls and almost 90% of boys aged 10 to 17 surveyed prefer video games.

An interesting thing, according to the researchers, happened after they tried to clarify the answer. To the question: “What exactly do you want?” The most popular option was game subscription. Almost 40% of survey participants mentioned it.

Another third were interested in in-game currency: V-bucks, Robux and other digital coins. Children also mentioned computer games themselves in physical form. The share of these interested parties was slightly more than 1/5.

The profile publication Kotaku sees a pattern as a result of the study. As an explanatory example, gaming site specialists cite statistics for the UK, where last year nine out of ten games sold were digital.

On the one hand, subscriptions to gaming consoles like Game Pass or PS Plus fall into this category. On the other hand, there is growing interest in premium products in games such as Roblox, Fortnite and Grand Theft Auto Online.

Such titles are regularly updated and receive new digital products, tasks and spaces. And it’s difficult for the audience of such games to give up the hours they’ve played, the missions they’ve completed, and the items they’ve earned or purchased. The community that has developed over the years is also of great importance.

So Santa Claus or Grandfather Frost can no longer put gifts under the tree, but with a clear conscience transfer them to the card.