The Xbox always seems to be on the list of top gifts during the holidays, maybe because they keep updating it and coming out with more games, or maybe because it has such a wide target audience. In the Target Ad below you see two fairly young children playing with Xbox controllers along side an ad for the latest Xbox. These children are so incredibly young! When I grew up if I wanted to play I went outside and grabbed a ball, but now technology companies like Microsoft are starting to tell people that it's okay for young children to own an Xbox and that they would have so much fun if they did.
While there are a few games released that are geared towards children and often involve puzzle games or educational games, most of the games available and the ones that are most popular are incredibly violent war, cosplay, or action games. These games can appeal to an audience in the age of anywhere between 13 to 50s, generally to men that do not have family obligations.
But Microsoft isn't just selling their Xbox to young children or men; they also specifically create ads that portray a family environment and everyone of all ages and gender in that family enjoying their Xbox. Should the Xbox be marketed to kids of any age or should they keep the limit to around the age range that is considered acceptable to play most of their more popular, and violent games (around 13 years old)? 
I totally agree with you! It seems to me that nowadays, children usually stay at home, eat fast food and play video games. They rarely go out, make friends and run around their garden or nearby parks. With everything has been done for them to follow the rules, children even stop imagining and inventing their own games.
ReplyDeleteI think the marketers should keep the limit to around the age range that is suitable for typical kind of games. Violence is one problem, but there are also lots of implicit factors that can influence children's growths. The underlying messages the games send can gradually affect how they perceive the world and how they communicate with others.
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