Kids to Santa: give us V-bucks this Christmas

polygon.com:

Kids in the United States really want video game gifts for Christmas, according to survey results published on Nov. 20 by the Electronic Software Association. Video game-related gifts top wish lists — just eking out asks for money, clothes, and non-games electronics. But of the kids surveyed, 39% of kids plan to ask for game subscriptions, followed by consoles (38%), gear and accessories (32%), in-game currency (29%), and physical video games (22%).

The ESA surveyed 501 children ages 10 to 17 from Sept. 20 to Oct. 6, as well as 500 adults ages 18 to 65 — all from the United States — to get these results. Fifty-nine percent of girls and 86% are looking for video game gifts under the Christmas tree.

Digital video game sales have only continued to overtake physical sales since the COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of digital-only consoles. But beyond how much easier it is to buy games directly from a console, the shift is further evidence of much of the industry’s push toward live-service games paying off — at least for the money line. Subscriptions and virtual, in-game items count for half of console spending, according to Ampere Analysis and as reported by Financial Times. You can see this reflected in the stuff kids are asking for in their stockings: game subscriptions and in-game currency, like Fortnite’s V-bucks or Roblox’s Robux, to spend on the games they’re already playing.

Games like Fortnite,Apex Legends, and Destiny 2 act as “forever” games for players to access for free; the companies that make these games make money by selling access to virtual rewards, like skins to customize avatars. A platform like Roblox is similarly free-to-play, but gives players access to a number of different games via the platform,