Game companies must attract older demographics - Reader's Feature

For years now, publishers have been chasing after the lucrative earnings of the popular game Fortnite. It seems that everyone is trying to get a piece of the pie, but one reader is left wondering why the focus is on attracting younger fans. As a father of two, he understands the interests of children and can attest that they are vastly different from what he enjoyed as a kid.

With his oldest child now at the age of 10, he has observed that their interests revolve around activities like watching YouTube videos, playing Minecraft, and Roblox. While Minecraft may seem like a good game in theory, as it allows kids to create things on their own, most of the time they just use it as an excuse to chat with their friends online. The fact that it is a game seems to be an afterthought for them.

As parents, they are strict about how much time their children spend on these activities and how they use platforms like Roblox and YouTube. However, they also understand that when their kids are at their friends' houses, they may not have as much control. Despite their efforts to introduce their kids to traditional console and PC games, it has not been successful.

Occasionally, something will catch their attention, like Pikmin 4, but it is always short-lived and never a long-term interest. Talking to other parents, he has found that this is a common issue. If their children are interested in games outside of the popular ones, it is usually mobile games.

However, his kids are not even interested in those. Although his oldest is starting to show more interest in Fortnite, he recognizes that his experience may not be unique and this seems to be a trend among kids in the West. The sad reality is that kids nowadays do not seem interested in traditional video games.

While there may be a chance they will get into them later in life, there is no guarantee. As the average age of gamers continues to rise, it begs the question of who video games are actually marketed towards. The reader believes there are two options to address this issue: either create more games that appeal to kids or focus on adults.

He personally prefers the first option, but doubts it will happen. Many publishers, including Sony and Microsoft, have given up on making games for kids, which has contributed to the current situation. Occasionally, Sony will try to appeal to a younger audience, but it is not enough to make a significant impact.

The problem is that making games is an expensive and risky endeavor, and most publishers cannot afford to make games that only appeal to children. This leads to the question of who video games are actually for. They are marketed towards a late teens/early 20s audience, but the average age of gamers is much older.

The reader believes that publishers should focus more on their actual audience and cater to their interests. He is not surprised that a game like Star Wars Zero Company did well, as it appeals to a demographic that is more likely to enjoy strategy games. Many genres that used to be popular, like graphic adventures and 3D platformers, are now only made by indie developers.

This is why older gamers get frustrated when publishers focus all their efforts on live service games, as they know they likely will not be successful. And part of the reason for this failure is that they are targeting a younger audience that is not as interested in trying out new games. The reader believes that one of the reasons publishers do not cater more to older gamers is because they know they are less likely to spend money on microtransactions.

It is a misalignment between their target audience and their actual audience, which has led to many issues within the gaming industry.