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Comment by freehunter | Hacker News Reader

I'm not a fan of Fortnite but that is extremely disingenuous. In your interpretation, parents are completely absolved from responsibility and apparently children have free access to credit cards that can't legally even be issued to them.

Want to know the responsible answer to "mommy can I buy a Fortnite skin"? It's "no". Simple as that. Same as it was when the question was "dad can I buy this Harry Potter poster" or "mom can I get this GI Joe" or "grandma can I buy a stick to roll my hoop with" or anything marketed to kids over the past literally forever.

Don't want your kids spending money on video games? Don't give them your credit card number. Don't blame Epic for making a fun and free-to-play video game that kids enjoy. The people actually spending the money aren't kids being taken advantage of, they're actual consenting adults. Kids don't have credit cards so they cannot make digital purchases.

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> Don't blame Epic for making a fun and free-to-play video game that kids enjoy.

You had me up until this point. No one can deny the extreme amounts of psychology (read: manipulation) used in children's marketing. (Or any marketing...)

Marketing can only go so far. There are plenty of things (video games included) marketed towards kids with big budgets that the children are completely ambivalent about. If they didn't enjoy Minecraft or Roblox or Fortnite or Pokemon or JUUL or McDonald's Happy Meals or light-up sneakers, they'd join the ranks of EZ Squirt ketchup, ET for Atari, New Coke, or the Virtual Boy.

I say no, every time. However, I don't want to be the all-controlling parent that dictates what can purchased with gift cards. I try to demonstrate what's being given up, what's gotten in return (nothing but a few bit flips in a database in this case) and break down why he wants whatever thing it is. After a few years of Roblox and now Fortnite, I can see the wheels starting to turn on their own and I think he's forgone quite a few purchases of his own will.

Fortnite skins have become somewhat of a social status amongst kids and their friends, especially since its a game where they play with their friends. Many times kids are asking parents to buy these add ons to keep up with their friends, and may feel excluded (or even bullied) if not staying with the latest trends (AKA latest Fortnite skins). Parents denying kids that can definitely impact the kids even outside of the game itself. To these kids it is much more than bit flips in a database even if that's actually what it is.

Grandparent advocated for education as it shields young consumers from sales trickery.

It's a good thing that such education "impacts the kids even outside of the game itself".

It's the equivalent of not having the latest sneakers (which was a thing in my age bracket).

Regarding the bullying: That's not related to brand choices but group dynamics. A skilled bully doesn't need you not to buy a skin for your child to bully her or him.

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