Lemme tell you, the selection of new local co-op vidya has become small. It's astonishing, considering just how many games are designed for multiplayer.

The expectation now seems to be that you pay the multiplayer rent (gold subscription on consoles), then you get a headset to chat with your long distance gaming buddies while you play. This process typically increases money spent by consumers, as the cost goes up by at least 1 system per player and 1 copy of the game per player.

The reality for children (from my experience with relatives) seems to be that they don't actually play any games, they watch streamers play games. Hard for me to say if they were neglecting real life friends for this, though.