What Are Kids Asking Santa For This Year? Digital Currency, Subscriptions — Not Video Games

This holiday season, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) unveiled data highlighting a shift in children's gift preferences.

Contrary to the expectation of physical video game requests, kids aged 10 to 17 in the U.S. are clamoring for digital currency and video game subscriptions.

According to the report: 72% of the desired gifts were video game-related with 86% of boys and 59% of girls expressing interest.

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Surprisingly, the most sought-after items aren't new physical Microsoft Corp.'s MSFT Xbox or Sony Group Corp.'s SONY PlayStation games but rather digital currencies like Vbucks and in-game subscriptions.

Specifically, 39% of respondents favored game subscriptions, 29% wanted in-game currency, and only 22% desired physical video games.

The term "game subscriptions" includes services like Game Pass and PS Plus, but it likely also involves premium subscriptions for games such as Roblox, Fortnite, and Grand Theft Auto Online.

The rising popularity of "forever games," regularly updated for years, influences this shift. Rather than asking for new games, children prefer additional content and benefits within the games they frequently play with friends.

The trend reflects the broader landscape of the gaming industry's digital evolution, where digital game sales have surged, constituting 90% of UK video game sales in 2022.

Parents and gift-givers are noticing this shift, with many sharing anecdotes about their kids' heightened interest in digital currency like Robux and subscriptions offering expanded content within their favorite games like Fortnite.

Notably, a report from Adobe Among highlights Roblox as being one of the hot products for the 2023 holiday shopping season. Roblox Corporation's RBLX gift cards are expected to be another hot ticket item as a gift, with players of the game spending on in-app purchases frequently.

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Image credits: Evgeny Atamanenko on Shutterstock.