When I asked my kids to write me out their Christmas wish lists this year, they both turned in lists with games and game currency on them. My daughter handed mostly a long list of bizarre toys with a few Switch cartridges on it, and my son chiefly asked for console games and Undertale swag (not as easy to find legally as you’d think, either). All of this is to say that clearly my kids are in the minority, as a new report from the ESA claims that fewer than a quarter of kids in its recent survey asked for physical video games under the tree. Of course, the vast majority still want games and game-related stuff.
“The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) surveyed U.S. adults and children (ages 10-17) to find out what Americans are asking for this holiday season and learned that kids are most likely to ask their parents video game-related presents (72%),” the games lobbying group says.
“The majority of both girls (59%) and boys (86%) say they plan to ask for video game gifts for the holidays, with the top five specific asks being for game subscriptions (39%), game consoles (38%), game gear/accessories (32%), in-game currency (29%) and physical video games (22%). Meanwhile, about one in three (32%) adults say they plan to buy video game gifts for themselves or others for the holidays, with that number jumping to 57% for parents. Adults who say they will be buying video game-related presents are planning to spend an average of $485 on these gifts.”
It’s no secret why the ESA would want parents to think their kids want stacks and stacks of video games this Christmas, but it’s probably also true.
