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> Video games are like the cheapest way to keep a kid busy for low income working parents Source on that? Video games (console or pc) is very expensive and not

> Video games are like the cheapest way to keep a kid busy for low income working parents Source on that? Video games (console or pc) is very expensive and not something low income folks can generally afford for their kids.

Laremere 4y ago
The high end gets expensive, but the low end is pretty cheap. Considering that a game can keep a child entertained for a hundred hours or more, the overall cost can easily drop below $1/hour. Compared to the cost of a movie or other activities, it comes out cheap.
hot_gril 4y ago
Not if they're old/used. Even new games are cheaper than sports lessons, music lessons, or living in a nice area for other activities. Of course, without video games either, kids will find a way to have fun regardless. My grim apartment complex still had kids kicking around a soccer ball or riding bikes in the parking lot.
- notch656a 4y ago
  And it wouldn't surprise me if after adjusting for soccer and bike related medical costs, video games still beat those out in cost per unit time.
  - hot_gril 4y ago
    I don't know. As a kid, I very rarely heard of other kids being injured from soccer or biking in a way that requires a doctor's visit. People broke limbs skiing or something. The kids playing in the parking lot could've had govt-supplied health coverage anyway; they lived in 2br apartments shared by two families.
fragmede 4y ago
Maybe not for the truely destitute, but the $350 for a Nintendo switch and another $150 for some games is way cheaper than private piano lessons or math tutoring where the sky's the limit. The cheapest is probably Roblox on a school-provided Chromebook, both of which are close to free.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
yieldcrv 4y ago
Different person here and I'm also not going to provide external information, only more perspective and I'm more so curious on what your first counterpoints in your mind would be, absent any source: Video games are the cheapest form of paid entertainment for the amount of time that a single purchase occupies. Despite their audience being extremely price sensitive (which has nothing to do with socioeconomics, just consumer expectations), all stakeholders recognize this and extract value in other ways.
- imran-iq 4y ago
  > I'm more so curious on what your first counterpoints in your mind would be Just some anec-data. I did not have any consoles growing up simply because we could not afford them. Eventually we got a single very old very slow machine that was shared among the family. I know a few other people in the same situation (usually 1st/2nd generation immigrants). Thus in my mind, video games are luxury products, which are not affordable to low income households.
  - yieldcrv 4y ago
    yeah the upfront costs can be a lot and never get prioritized or easy to rationalize if you’re focused on survival
  - badpun 4y ago
    A $500 PC/gaming laptop and pirated games can occupy a kid for thousands of hours over a course of years. Sure, it requires an up-front investment, but in terms of dollars per hour it's hard to beat.
bergenty 4y ago
A PC and free pirated games is pretty inexpensive.
stevenwoo 4y ago
The study combines all forms of game playing no matter the platform. They used self reported studies of all participants who were 9-10 at the time of the study, but used MRI for part of the cognitive testing response measurement.
deleted 4y ago
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userbinator 4y ago
I think that you probably have in your mind what "gamers" would call "real games", those with highly detailed 3D graphics and requiring significant hardware (especially GPU) power, but what's considered a video game is far broader than that, and can be as simple as a basic puzzle game needing not more than 80s-era hardware.

Laremere 4y ago

The high end gets expensive, but the low end is pretty cheap. Considering that a game can keep a child entertained for a hundred hours or more, the overall cost can easily drop below $1/hour. Compared to the cost of a movie or other activities, it comes out cheap.

hot_gril 4y ago

Not if they're old/used. Even new games are cheaper than sports lessons, music lessons, or living in a nice area for other activities. Of course, without video games either, kids will find a way to have fun regardless. My grim apartment complex still had kids kicking around a soccer ball or riding bikes in the parking lot.

notch656a 4y ago
And it wouldn't surprise me if after adjusting for soccer and bike related medical costs, video games still beat those out in cost per unit time.
- hot_gril 4y ago
  I don't know. As a kid, I very rarely heard of other kids being injured from soccer or biking in a way that requires a doctor's visit. People broke limbs skiing or something. The kids playing in the parking lot could've had govt-supplied health coverage anyway; they lived in 2br apartments shared by two families.

fragmede 4y ago

Maybe not for the truely destitute, but the $350 for a Nintendo switch and another $150 for some games is way cheaper than private piano lessons or math tutoring where the sky's the limit. The cheapest is probably Roblox on a school-provided Chromebook, both of which are close to free.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

yieldcrv 4y ago

Different person here and I'm also not going to provide external information, only more perspective and I'm more so curious on what your first counterpoints in your mind would be, absent any source: Video games are the cheapest form of paid entertainment for the amount of time that a single purchase occupies. Despite their audience being extremely price sensitive (which has nothing to do with socioeconomics, just consumer expectations), all stakeholders recognize this and extract value in other ways.

imran-iq 4y ago
> I'm more so curious on what your first counterpoints in your mind would be Just some anec-data. I did not have any consoles growing up simply because we could not afford them. Eventually we got a single very old very slow machine that was shared among the family. I know a few other people in the same situation (usually 1st/2nd generation immigrants). Thus in my mind, video games are luxury products, which are not affordable to low income households.
- yieldcrv 4y ago
  yeah the upfront costs can be a lot and never get prioritized or easy to rationalize if you’re focused on survival
- badpun 4y ago
  A $500 PC/gaming laptop and pirated games can occupy a kid for thousands of hours over a course of years. Sure, it requires an up-front investment, but in terms of dollars per hour it's hard to beat.

bergenty 4y ago

A PC and free pirated games is pretty inexpensive.

stevenwoo 4y ago

The study combines all forms of game playing no matter the platform. They used self reported studies of all participants who were 9-10 at the time of the study, but used MRI for part of the cognitive testing response measurement.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

userbinator 4y ago

I think that you probably have in your mind what "gamers" would call "real games", those with highly detailed 3D graphics and requiring significant hardware (especially GPU) power, but what's considered a video game is far broader than that, and can be as simple as a basic puzzle game needing not more than 80s-era hardware.