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Comment by dvh | Hacker News Reader

Isn't Roblox what Meta wants to achieve?

Yes, but Roblox has managed to capture a younger audience (6-13ish). There's lots of money to be made in every other age group

the young age group, if they get hold of parent's credit card, is a lucrative target. Unfortunately, also a bit illegal.

My kid: runs into room, hands $5 to me and starts to run back to her PC

Me: What's this for?!?

Kid: Bought something on Roblox byeeeee

If your kids are using your card info without you authorizing first, you should use privacy.com and give them a card number from there, with the proper restrictions on it.

It's allowed (obviously). I just think it illustrated the parent point that pre-teens will spend a lot on this platform once the "payment barrier" has been reduced. I know when they first started playing Roblox paying for stuff was a pain. Once we smoothed that out, the purchased items started increasing. It's all within reason (thankfully) and my kid works so it's up to them how to spend their own money (another lesson on saving vs spending)

Edit: Thanks for mentioning https://privacy.com - I never heard of it and will check it out!

This is how I bought BMX parts as a kid (1980s). I memorized my Dad's Visa card, used it over the phone, and paid him back with cash. He didn't mind, as I never stiffed him.

For older audiences there's VR Chat or Second Life.

The thing about the whole "metaverse" thing is that it's not a novel concept; it's actually a crowded market. We just didn't notice it because the market really isn't that large. Generally speaking when people want a game world to screw around in, they'll usually play a competitive multiplayer game rather than an open sandbox.

The problem with Second Life, as far as I can tell, is that there just isn't a big enough market to fund necessary development.

Their engine and assets look like a 1990s 3D MMOG... in 2021.

And I'm sure it's not through lack of trying! So I assume it's a fundamental market problem, and it's going to take someone like FB/Meta dumping millions of dollars into a losing venture to produce something that's up to modern gamer expectations.

... If Meta were smart, they'd go ahead and partner with Epic.

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