Poll: Newest Gaming Demographics

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trooper6

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Jul 26, 2008
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Hey all, since people always seem to ask, I thought I'd post this recent article from Variety about gamer Demographics:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118038057?categoryid=13&cs=1&cmpid=RSS%7CNews%7CLatestNews

40 is the new 20 for vidgamers
Industry survey finds 29% of players over 50

Gamers are getting grayer.
The average vidgame player is now 37 years old, and individuals who buy the most games are 41, on average, according to a survey of 1,200 households compiled by the Entertainment Software Assn.

In fact, 29% of players are over 50. And the average gamer has been playing for 12 years. But as games become ubiquitous on all platforms -- especially cell phones -- more players could eventually make that demo younger, considering games are now played, in some form, by 72% of American households, stealing away auds from TV shows and movies, the trade group said.


This article seems to come from data newly posted on the ESA's website, which is this:

http://www.theesa.com/facts/index.asp

Industry Facts

America's entertainment software industry creates a wide array of computer and video games to meet the demands and tastes of audiences as diverse as our nation's population. Today's gamers include millions of Americans of all ages and backgrounds. In fact, nearly three-quarters of all American households play games. This vast audience fuels the growth of this multi-billion dollar industry and helps bring jobs to communities across the nation. Below is a list of the top 10 entertainment software industry facts:

1.Consumers spent $25.1 billion on video games, hardware and accessories in 2010.
2. Purchases of digital content accounted for 24 percent of game sales in 2010, generating $5.9 billion in revenue.
3. Seventy-two percent of American households play computer or video games.
4. The average game player is 37 years old and has been playing games for 12 years.
5. The average age of the most frequent game purchaser is 41 years old.
6. Forty-two percent of all game players are women. In fact, women over the age of 18 represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (37 percent) than boys age 17 or younger (13 percent).
7. In 2011, 29 percent of Americans over the age of 50 play video games, an increase from nine percent in 1999.
8. Fifty-five percent of gamers play games on their phones or handheld device.
9. Seventy-six percent of all games sold in 2010 were rated "E" for Everyone, "T" for Teen, or "E10+" for Everyone 10+. For more information on game ratings, please see www.esrb.org.
10. Parents are present when games are purchased or rented 91 percent of the time.

The ESA site also gives access to their current 2011 industry data.

Enjoy and discuss!
 

Ordinaryundone

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Oct 23, 2010
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The only statistic that doesn't make any sense is number 10 (Parents are present at the purchase or rental of games 91% of the time).

Now, for 18 and under gamers this makes sense, except for the fact that according to the study, 18 and under gamers make up a rather small percentage of the total. The survey even says that the average age of the game purchaser is 41, while the average gaming age is 32. So either there are a bunch of 18+ year olds having their parents present when buying games, or that particular statistic only applies to gamers under 18.
 

Past50

New member
Aug 1, 2011
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I am one of the "past 50" gamers (actually well past 50).

What I would find interesting is what games are we 50+ gamers playing, other than Wii type games?
 

AdamRBi

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Feb 7, 2010
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One tidbit of this concerns me and I'm actually hoping it drops as time goes on. It's #4; The average game player is 37 years old and has been playing games for 12 years.

That's a hefty decade the average player has of experience, if that number declines in the future it'd mean that more people are picking up, playing, and consuming this medium just as any other medium.

Right now what that number says to me is that games are still majoritivly niche, and so long as it's niche it'll still be looked at as a cause of social problems by those far removed from it.