Video games are the hot holiday gift for children this year: report
AUSTIN, Texas - The big holiday gift this year isn't a traditional toy off a shelf. According to a report from the Entertainment Software Association, video games are the number one requested holiday gift for kids.
The games are not just for boys. The ESA survey indicates 67% of girls are asking for video-game related gifts.
"When we ask kids what they want. Nearly half of them still say they want a console. So, if you don't have the switch, Xbox or PlayStation at home, they want that. But a shocking number want Game Pass subscriptions," said Aubrey Quinn, a Senior Vice President with ESA.
ESA has a Holiday Guide website that provides additional information for parents.
Video games are not your traditional toy off the shelf for the holidays. There are a few things to know about video games, like having ratings similar to movies and TV shows.
"The good news for parents is that the Entertainment Software Rating board, or ESRB, has been rating video games for over 30 years. So, if your kid asks for a specific game, I say look at the ESRP age rating of that game. Also, good news for parents. Over 80% of video games are rated EA for everyone. EA ten plus or T 14. The small minority of games are rated M for mature.
A shopper carries a Sony PlayStation 5 and controller inside a Best Buy store on Black Friday in Pinole, California, US, on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. Economists will be paying close attention to Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales to get a sense of cons
The ESRP Rating symbol is located on two places on a game box: the front and the back.
"And if your kid wants to download the game directly to their device or to their phone, those games are also on all the digital or these ratings are on all the digital storefronts," said Quinn.
The devices that play the games all come with parental blocking capabilities. The features can also limit how much time games can be played on the devices.
"I depend on parental controls in my own house, so every device you can play video games on allows you to set time limits as well as time of day limits. You can limit the games the kids can see by those ESRB age ratings. You also can limit or entirely block in-game purchases. You can limit or entirely block player to player communication. And so, figure out what rules are right for your family in your house with video games, and then let the parental controls help you enforce those rules at home," said Quinn.
The parental controls are designed for parents who are not tech-savvy. For how to control different gaming systems, click here.
"It is really easy to set up parental controls, and it's also really easy to manage them. They're all connected to an app that you can put on your phone. And so as soon as you've set up those controls on your device, you can have the app on your phone. And so, when my daughter wants more time, if she wants to request a specific game, I just get an alert. It's like getting a text message pops up right on my phone and I can accept. I usually decline. I think it more time today. She doesn't get the game, but everything comes to my phone. It's password or pin protected, and I also get weekly updates about how much time she's spending. So, there's so much information and it's really so easy. If you can use a smartphone, you can use the parental controls," said Quinn.
ESA provided links to information about the video game industry and advice on talking with kids about video gaming:
The Source: Information from an interview conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Rudy Koski and from a survey