Why are there so few open-world games for kids / teens?

I'm genuinely curious about this. Is there some kind of reason why xbox doesn't really offer much in that regard? It's not like there is otherwise a shortage of games, it seems to be just this particular genre.

As a gamer who prefers open world games with a strong narrative to first person shooter games I've been struggling to find games that I can play around the kids. They can cope with 12+ and, depending on what it is also with 16+ but most open-world games
seem to be certificate 18 and that is just a little too scary. I bought Skyrim a while back and hardly ever get to play it because it's just too dark and too violent to play around the kids.

I know there are good open-world games around that are more family-friendly. Zelda comes to mind, which is excellent, or even games like Horizon: Zero Dawn are OK (the robot element keeps the violence fairly low), which is a beautiful game, but neither are
available for xbox of course and I'd rather not invest in another platform. There is Recore on xbox one, I know, but that has such as weak/nonsensical story that J just can't be bothered with it.

Is there any reason that xbox has never really invested in developing / offering good open world games that are not ultra violent and/or explicit?

:)

 

ShenMue on Xbox One

Shenmue was an open-world game before there were open-world games, so why would this NOT be popular now? I really do hope they can do SOMETHING with this, but it is a Sega property, so Sega would have to be the ones to do something.

I did wonder about the timing of the GDC discussion on Shenmue, though. Why bring it up if there are no plans for it?

 

Are there any open-world racing/driving games?

Forza Horizon 2. That is all she will need. Simple, fun. And beautiful set pieces.

 

It`s down to the game developers, not Xbox.

And it all revolves around the size of the market and how much money they are going to make.

 

I suppose. I am wondering then, if it's the xbox as a platform in particular, that attracts a specific kind of gamer that would perhaps not be interested in those types of game? Because looking at the PS4 or the Nintendo Switch, both platforms have games
that fall into that selection, so those games do exist, just not for the xbox, and in particular on the PS4 there are a good number of them (I looked a while ago and while Horizon stuck with me there were a good half dozen games that looked promising). Perhaps
those platforms focus more on open-world as a genre? It's a real shame as I otherwise really like the xbox. Was just wondering if there is a particular reason for the shortage of open-world or sandbox games with a lower age rating when others are offering
them.

 

You tend to find that some game franchises are console specific which is why the open games you see on PS are not on Xbox.

There are some great open world games around.

Red Dead Redemption is a superb open world game, but as with most Rockstar titles it is rated 18 due to game content.

Games are made to attract the largest possible market and that market is gamers over the age of 18.

Here is a link to the results of a survey for gamers average ages in the US in 2017, 71% are over the age of 18.

U.S. average age of video gamers 2018 | Statistic

 

That's really interesting, thanks for taking the time to reply.

I suppose there must be a large percentage of those adult gamers that also want to see 18+ content in the games they play, or at least that's what game developers assume they want to see. It would be interesting to see a survey of whether that is actually
the case because just going with myself here, I'm personally not too fussed about everything being hyper-explicit so I'd be quite happy with anything 16+ which still tends to be geared towards adults in that it has a more complex narrative than a cert 12
game, but just isn't so graphic that it needs an 18+ certificate. It would give me the chance to play a game that isn't specifically geared towards kids (so not like Lego Dimensions or Minecraft) when the kids are around, so I guess I'm just mourning the
fact that most of the more interesting games seem to be 18+ and totally unsuitable to be viewed by kids when just toning down the graphic violence a little bit wound make them OK without changing anything else about the gameplay. The 18+ content doesn't offend
me for myself, it's fine, but it can make life a bit more difficult when you have younger family members around who don't need to see everything splattered in blood and gore.

Anyway, thanks for the reply and the link, appreciated!

 

I understand what your looking for check up what indie games could offer you maybe you find something you like.