Video games, they aren't cheap. Popular titles like pokemon, unless you buy them in second hand stores, they can cost around 60 Euros. And this is particularly a fortune for their target audience who are often below 10 years old.
So it is very natural that many kids spend a lot of time investigating what games they should buy. In most cases, they have two occasions they could get their games they want: birthday and Christmas. While birthdays differ by children, Christmas, always come at the same time of the year. And I believe, that is why many game titles start appearing this time of the year. For example, new Pokemon titles, called Heart Gold and Soul Silver, have just hit the shelf this month (and sold out). It is a perfect time for trendsetter kids to show off and for mainstream kids to convince their parents that the Christmas present should be Pokemon.
When we ask children how they decide what games they would buy, most kids raise their two fundamental source of information: TV ads and their friends. While advertisements they see between their favorite anime broadcasting is a conventional game, the word of little mouths are growing stronger. Why? Because friends, they not only tell you how the game is like, but they let you try out the actual game.
Game cards, they are often taken out from the original package and placed in a small plastic card case. The case is carried everywhere and whenever they go out and play. Naturally, your friends will know what games you have and discuss about their impression of the game. And if you are really interested, you might as well ask if you can borrow the game, typically, in an exchange for another game. Exchanging game cards let children explore and identify a potential game to buy. I expected the exchange duration to be no more than a week, but some say card exchanges could go up to a few months.
And when game sharing takes place between multiple people, children start to lose track of where cards are. Nearly everyone I spoke to had an experience of losing a game or two. Some even lost the entire card case. Considering how much they have invested on these cards, this must be a really painful experience. Or let me put this way: If I were their parents, I would be absolutely mad!
What surprised me more, was how little these children were prepared for the presumed possibility of losing these cards. The owner of this card holder in the photo at least made an effort of writing his name on labels and placed small stickers as his identity. But these supposedly permanent inks, they wear out. And since these game cards go through card slots, putting stickers on the surface may not be the best idea.
I see there is a substantial space at the back of the card. How about creating a dedicated space, at least to put names? Or what is more, can't there be any digital solution, to safely identify the location of your card? After all, most kids, don't they give names to the characters in the games they play?
So it is very natural that many kids spend a lot of time investigating what games they should buy. In most cases, they have two occasions they could get their games they want: birthday and Christmas. While birthdays differ by children, Christmas, always come at the same time of the year. And I believe, that is why many game titles start appearing this time of the year. For example, new Pokemon titles, called Heart Gold and Soul Silver, have just hit the shelf this month (and sold out). It is a perfect time for trendsetter kids to show off and for mainstream kids to convince their parents that the Christmas present should be Pokemon.
When we ask children how they decide what games they would buy, most kids raise their two fundamental source of information: TV ads and their friends. While advertisements they see between their favorite anime broadcasting is a conventional game, the word of little mouths are growing stronger. Why? Because friends, they not only tell you how the game is like, but they let you try out the actual game.
Game cards, they are often taken out from the original package and placed in a small plastic card case. The case is carried everywhere and whenever they go out and play. Naturally, your friends will know what games you have and discuss about their impression of the game. And if you are really interested, you might as well ask if you can borrow the game, typically, in an exchange for another game. Exchanging game cards let children explore and identify a potential game to buy. I expected the exchange duration to be no more than a week, but some say card exchanges could go up to a few months.
And when game sharing takes place between multiple people, children start to lose track of where cards are. Nearly everyone I spoke to had an experience of losing a game or two. Some even lost the entire card case. Considering how much they have invested on these cards, this must be a really painful experience. Or let me put this way: If I were their parents, I would be absolutely mad!
What surprised me more, was how little these children were prepared for the presumed possibility of losing these cards. The owner of this card holder in the photo at least made an effort of writing his name on labels and placed small stickers as his identity. But these supposedly permanent inks, they wear out. And since these game cards go through card slots, putting stickers on the surface may not be the best idea.
I see there is a substantial space at the back of the card. How about creating a dedicated space, at least to put names? Or what is more, can't there be any digital solution, to safely identify the location of your card? After all, most kids, don't they give names to the characters in the games they play?
