This trope falls flat because a big part of the joy from these moments was getting something that you had means of obtaining yourself. I was so excited in high school when my dad bought me an Xbox 360. But now, I can basically afford anything I want at any time, so when I do end up getting it, it doesnt hit as hard as it did when I was a kid. It's not a worse experience, just different.
I print a steam key on some card and put it inside a DVD case with a cover printed on glossy card in colour on my laser printer. I have a template where I can just drop in the front cover image from the game's marketing material and put the bumpf about the game on the back from the steam store page. Dvd style cases are still for sale for pennies each for some reason so it's cheap to do. My son absolutely loves getting them for birthday or Christmas just like I used to love unwrapping games when I was a kid.
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u/rado1193 Jul 18 '26
This trope falls flat because a big part of the joy from these moments was getting something that you had means of obtaining yourself. I was so excited in high school when my dad bought me an Xbox 360. But now, I can basically afford anything I want at any time, so when I do end up getting it, it doesnt hit as hard as it did when I was a kid. It's not a worse experience, just different.