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Online Playground Getting Bigger and More Popular
Categories: Preschoolers, Kids 5-7, Toys & Games, That's Entertainment
Parents who worry that their children are spending too much time in front of a screen now have about 200 more reasons to worry. That's the number of virtual online worlds for kids that are either active, in development or being planned, according to Virtual Worlds Management.Club Penguin, Tootsville and Barbie World-- there are already plenty of virtual hangouts filled with imaginary characters and imaginary environments out there aimed at kids of all ages. But children aged seven and under have fast become the focus of developers' attention. Of those 200 virtual worlds identified, 107 of them are aimed squarely at the under-sevens.
Sure, they're fun. I even have a tricked out igloo of my own. But those who create these virtual worlds aren't doing it for kicks. They're in it for the money, and they've devised several ways to accomplish their goal.
Some of these sites give users free access but once there, kids must pay up for virtual goods. Others make their money solely off advertisers. But for little kids, who generally have no money of their own and are not making many purchasing decisions, the subscription-based model is preferred. In this scenario, mom or dad must pony up a monthly fee before their kid can even set an imaginary foot in the virtual world.
In today's economy, with so many of us eliminating purchases that aren't absolutely necessary, I can't imagine all of these sites will prosper. According to a report released by ComScore, free gaming sites have recently seen a surge in popularity.
"It appears that online, ad-supported gaming is one of the activities that has benefited during this economic downturn," said ComScore analyst Edward Hunter. "Not only have consumers turned to outlets such as gaming to take their minds off the economy, but as they curtail their discretionary gaming-related purchases they are turning to free alternatives."
Well, you've got to love free. But what do you think of these games and virtual worlds? Do you allow your kids to play online? And how much are you willing to pay for the privilege?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Sweetpea 2-03-2009 @ 11:14AM
I was disappointed in the enthusiasm that my 8 year old showed for the kids online gaming sites --- and then even more disappointed in the number of kids gaming sites that are out there. We tried discouraging him from using them, but our discouragement had little impact on his desire to play on the sites. So, we treat all "screen" time as equal. After dinner, homework and bath are completed, each kid gets to choose their 45 minutes of screen time -- whether they are playing wii, watching a show or on an online game site. I don't think the online game sites are any more detrimental than the television or a game console game. So, far, neither our 8 year old or 5 year old seem to be influenced by any advertising that they see. We have only let them play on Club Penguin and Webkinz so far.
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rebecca Biernesser 2-03-2009 @ 4:01PM
Online games are great. I play several from one site and I do pay the small amount for the premium membership ($10) instead of playing the free version and I play at a family friendly site, meaning I'm playing against teens and adults.
Here's what some of the developers are doing:
1. You can fill out surveys. The survey's gives you pts that you can redeem for the premium memberships. If your children have email address, check for spam b/c some of these surveys require email addresses. The developer and the survey company have something worked out, I forget how it works.
2. The developer gets money every time someone clicks on an ad. They get anywhere from 10 cents a click and up. This is why you will see a bunch of ads on children sites recommending other children sites. They know children are going to click on them.
There are more, but those are the top 2 that I could remember right now. And in all honesty, the amount of money that games cost for the wii, ds, play station, etc, a lot of parents and people are finding it cheaper to pay the 5 or 10 bucks it cost to get a premium membership vs buying those games.
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rebecca Biernesser 2-03-2009 @ 4:09PM
Online games are great. I play several from one site and I do pay the small amount for the premium membership ($10) instead of playing the free version and I play at a family friendly site, meaning I'm playing against teens and adults.
Here's what some of the developers are doing:
1. You can fill out surveys. The survey's gives you pts that you can redeem for the premium memberships. If your children have email address, check for spam b/c some of these surveys require email addresses. The developer and the survey company have something worked out, I forget how it works.
2. The developer gets money every time someone clicks on an ad. They get anywhere from 10 cents a click and up. This is why you will see a bunch of ads on children sites recommending other children sites. They know children are going to click on them.
There are more, but those are the top 2 that I could remember right now. And in all honesty, the amount of money that games cost for the wii, ds, play station, etc, a lot of parents and people are finding it cheaper to pay the 5 or 10 bucks it cost to get a premium membership vs buying those games.
What I recommend doing is watching what your child does online and what games they play. They know to get into the chat room, send msgs, and some people do not care that they are playing with children. And some of those children use language that unless you asked age, you wouldn't know you were talking to a child. I had one child, 9 years old, cuss me out in a chat room b/c I destroyed one of his buildings in a war game. These children are playing games at 12 and 1 in the morning and parents think their child is asleep. So Parents....Pay attention to what your child does online.
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