Young people love video games, but hate banking! What a conundrum! The two are not mutually exclusive anymore, as Yahoo News is reporting that banks are using Video games to bring in new clients. Banks include several in Switzerland, and even Fidelity investments created a Virtual Reality game called StockCity
Those of you who put all of your money into Nintendo’s “Pokemon Bank”, only to find out that it was neither a physical place or a bank for money, may be weary of Banks making games to trick the younger generation into investing for the future, but it’s just the latest trend to grab this generations attention.
Should we care? Probably not. It’s interesting in the sense that video games are such a big part of our culture that areas that video games have virtually nothing to do with are being invaded by them, but it’s still feels like nothing more than a marketing ploy. If anything, video games are evolving to become the “grab” for younger generations, and that’s certainly something sociologically interesting. That said, maybe video games can help people figure out their finances? You Need a Budget is one of the most popular budgeting programs out there, and it’s available on platforms like Steam, so there is somewhat of a audience. Still, it’s pretty silly that bank marketing men are getting together scheming about how video games will bring in new clients. As Yahoo’s Finance Senior Columnist put’s it:
“I think we may look back and say this was a ridiculously patronizing way of treating younger people… they play a lot of video games, they grew up with them, therefore that’s the only way that they can have information presented to them.”
Now excuse me, I gotta go play a game that’s going to trick me into celibacy (That’s gotta already exist, but I’m too afraid to look it up).
The Sociology of Videogames 