GameStop recently shared the results from a shopper survey that revealed that nearly half of all plan to gift video game-related items this holiday season. According to the survey, 42% of respondants said they plan to purchase video games, video game consoles, and accessories for their children. That's a lot of video game fun coming to kids this holiday season!
Before you start to worry about if technology and video games are the best gifts for kids, and about how expensive they can be, let me share some food for thought.
I recently toured the Upper West Side NYC GameStop location to get a full run-down of what they offer to help people save money on video game equipment. According to GameStop's survey, nearly 20% of gifters plan to use trade-ins to help defray the cost of buying gifts.
GameStop offers credit for video games you want to trade-in, and current titles can get up to 50% credit! For video game trade-ins, the disc must be in worrking order, but the manual and case are not required. Game systems can earn between $80-$110 in store credit. So look through your closets and basements for your old PlayStation, Xbox, Wii or DS consoles or games that have been taking up space! :-)
As for whether video games are "good for kids," I met with GameStop and Suzanne Kantra before the tour for lunch at Sarabeth's to learn more about current trends. I've written a lot about the topic on other sites, but here are the recent highlights from the lunch:
- When video games were introduced to kids as young as 5 years old, there was no effect on the child's attention, behavior or emotional health.
- Many studies suggest that video games help improve hand-eye coordination, memory formation, and can even help dyslexic children to read better.***
* From GameStop/Brierley+ Partners Holiday Tech Survey
** From PBS Holiday Tech Survey
***From UK Millenium Cohort Study: 11,000 kids tracked over 10 years.
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