Mom, can you power-level my avatar for me? [Update 1]
When I was growing up, I forced my mom to get up at 6 in the morning and wait in line at the local Toys R Us just for a shot at a Power Rangers action figure (these were the original Power Ranger figures, that had the moving fingers -- to my little feeble brain, that was innovative). Years later, I laughed at all the kids who so frantically forced their mothers and fathers to seek out Pokemon booster packs in the hopes of finding that ultra-rare card that compliments their deck. Sure, I am a hypocrite, but now I have seen the follies of my youth. Apparently, such a childish obsession is not limited to American children.
In Korea, the latest fad is Maple Story, an MMO played predominantly by children ages 6 to 13. If you do not play Maple Story, you may be considered uncool (sounds familiar). Of course, school children have hours and hours upon homework (I never did, but of course I went to public school), so how can one keep their online avatars in top condition? Simple, they get their parents to power-level! According to an article translated by GameStudy.org, some parents are spending upwards of 3 or 4 hours each day building their son or daughter's character up. It may seem like a foreign phenomenon, but our guess is that this trend will spread to other countries as soon as said country's parents have a firm grasp on the working of MMOs (we give it 15 more years in the United States).
[Via Game Set Watch]
[Update: fixed a typo]
