Even though I’m in my 30s, I’d like to think I’m still pretty up-to-date on things like games, movies, and TV shows. Granted, that’s largely because I’m part of a generation that is being catered to by studios remaking all the games I played as a kid and reviving 20-year-old films for sequels, but you get what I mean. I playFortnite, I went to seethe Mario movie, andPokemondominates my life now more than it ever did when I was a kid because I actually have money to spend on it.
Despite all that, there are still gaping holes in my video game knowledge that prove, as much as I want to remain clued into what my son likes as he grows up, I can’t stay on top of everything. The first time you catch yourself watching something targeted at young people and say, “I don’t get it”, you know it’s the beginning of the end. My son will have turned four by the time you read this and that has already happened to me, andRobloxis to blame.
Roblox wasn’t made for me. It’s for kids, and my son has already taken an interest. I’ve watched clips with him on YouTube and yep, you guessed it, I don’t get it. He gets it though — so much so that he asked if we could get it. I know so little about Roblox that I didn’t realize it wasn’t available onPS5orNintendo Switch. Being the only platforms my son uses, I broke the news to him that we couldn’t play it, and honestly, I was a little relieved.
That relief soon passed as days later, Roblox’s imminent arrival on PS5 was confirmed. Roblox will be on a platform that my son uses later this month, at which point I imagine it’ll be plastered all over the home screen and we’ll have to take it for a spin. I’m also not the kind of parent who would lie about it if he asked, despite my fears about how Roblox will inevitably change the way he plays.
I’m worried about the arrival of Roblox on PS5 and my son getting into it for a number of reasons, but the overarching one might surprise you.The security issues the platform has suffered in the past when it comes to childrenare actually the least of my concerns. He’s only four which means he’s never gaming without an adult in the room. He won’t be talking to other people, he’ll just be messing around, making stuff and playing minigames. Is that what you do in Roblox? Seriously, I know nothing.
Speaking of which, next on the worry list is that I know next to nothing about Roblox. Again, though, that isn’t my primary concern. Part of me is actually quite excited by how little I know. We can learn together, and since he has watched a lot more Roblox stuff on YouTube than I have, he might even be able to teach me a thing or two. Learning more about a new game, and one that is so popular, is only going to benefit me as a games writer.
No, the biggest reason I’m worried about Roblox’s arrival on PS5 is admittedly a very selfish one. I’m worried about the games my son will leave behind. Right now his favorite things to play areSuper Mario Odyssey,Kirby and the Forgotten Land,Astro’s Playroom, and he’s even been playing a littleCrash 4. All games he jumped on after watching me play them, and all games we have played together. When Roblox enters the fray, I’m almost certain his interest in all of those games will wane.
I’m almost certain of this because that’s what happened to me. Growing up my favorite games wereSonic 2,Final Fantasy 7, and the original Crash trilogy. I played platformers with iconic mascots that created memories that cemented those games as some of my favorites to this day. Then I got into football, my uncle introduced me toFIFA, and for the next 15 years, that was pretty much all I played. It wasn’t until the Crash trilogy got its remake that I snapped out of that funk and I started trying to catch up on everything I missed.
Roblox may well be to my son what FIFA was to me. Something that makes him forget everything else he loves about gaming, and it’s coming along far sooner than I expected. I didn’t have gaming parents so my love of games didn’t kick in until later and it developed more slowly. My son is still at an age where there’s a very real chance all he remembers playing as a kid is Roblox, relying on me and his mom to tell him how much he loved Kirby when he was little only to shrug and grunt before putting his headset back on.
I’ve already said that I know this is a selfish outlook to have, and children should be allowed to play whatever games they like (within reason, of course). I also know that as he gets older, his tastes are bound to change, and the likelihood of them becoming things I have zero interest in will increase exponentially. My only hope is that he doesn’t grow out of video games other than Roblox altogether and leave behind the series that got him into video games in the first place like I did. I will be stealing the Kirby plush he carries around with him should the pink puffball be pushed aside in favor of Roblox, though. That’s not going anywhere.
