Trojita
Rapid Response Threadmaker
But people don't buy mobile games. Microtransactions and Gacha are the name of the game.
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ESA: 37% of the most frequent US game buyers are female, gaming age breakdown
- Thread starter Nirolak
- Start date
But people don't buy mobile games. Microtransactions and Gacha are the name of the game.
Yeah I don't know if it's the same thing, but my niece in her early teens plays a lot of minecraft but doesn't really think of it as "video games" for some reason.
Obliterator
Member
No idea why people are surprised at the age of the average game purchaser. Young kids now days aren't playing a ton of AAA console titles. They are playing mobile games and F2P titles
Garrett Hawke
Member
My friend told me recently about how she went into GAME to get Uncharted 4 for herself and the guy at checkout asked if she was buying it for her boyfriend. Easy to see why that happened when you see some of the posts in this thread.
I love these really visual infographics though, really helps make things digestible - and quotable!
I love these really visual infographics though, really helps make things digestible - and quotable!
Lister
Banned
True.,, could be that Silicon Valley bump.
Obliterator
Member
Without going into details, yes, your assessment of what I'm referring to is 100% accurate.
I've never heard of QA or artists being counted as developers.
While it's fine to question people's motives, I don't think there's anything wrong with questioning the methodology of statistical breakdowns. I work in a statistics-heavy field and know that A) you can get garbage results with garbage data and B) if you want the data to say something, it isn't difficult to make it say that thing.
Here, purchase behavior obviously comes with some accuracy drawbacks. I'm not sure what the better source would be, given that you would really be looking for playtime attached to an account with verified age and gender.
Here, purchase behavior obviously comes with some accuracy drawbacks. I'm not sure what the better source would be, given that you would really be looking for playtime attached to an account with verified age and gender.
Sir_Crocodile
Member
If you were a kid when space invaders came out, you'd be around fifty now.
Garrett Hawke
Member
I wonder how much of this is due to people who have now grown up enough to have kids and how many are late converts from more recent inclusive efforts like the Wii.I added this to the OP since people were talking about older gamers.
67% of parents play games with their children at least once a week.
Trojita
Rapid Response Threadmaker
3D Artists?
I'd love to play video games with my kid(s) when I become a parent, seems like a great bonding experience.
I'm NOT looking forward to the eventual heartbreak of my teen telling me "No that's ok, I want to play with only my friends from now on"
Lister
Banned
Really? Q&A, varies, probably by size of the company, but artists are usually considered part of the dev team.
Maybe that's changes now that so many are outsourced/contracted?
Yay, I'm part of that 67% of parents who play games with their kids.
Right now its Little Big Planet and Lego games. Or just helping the younger kids get past a tough part. Helped my lil girl on Hamster Ball, lol.
I'm part of the grown enough to have kids.
I started gaming years ago.
Right now its Little Big Planet and Lego games. Or just helping the younger kids get past a tough part. Helped my lil girl on Hamster Ball, lol.
I'm part of the grown enough to have kids.
I started gaming years ago.
Some of those women could be mothers buying games yes, but they just as easily could be buying them for their daughters. Or some of the male statistics could be fathers buying games for their daughters
I just want to say that whenever statistics like this come out there are always a portion of people (not a reference to the mother comment) who try to hold up the smaller female percentage as an example that women don't like gaming as much as men.
The truth is we can't know. Not with the way the culture and social pressures are standing now. It's a self defeating cycle. If you want women to feel more comfortable playing games you need to change the culture and you need to market to women. If you throw your hands up and say well why market to women anyway you keep the cycle as is.
You can't say it isn't worth marketing to women when the lack of marketing to women and fostering a better community for women is the way the statistics are the way they are in the first place. It's a self defeating cycle.
And you know what, if society and gaming culture ever addressed these issues and women still don't make up an equal amount of interest in gaming, then I will concede the point.
But don't act like women are inherently not as interested in gaming as men when it's impossible to know with the way things stand. It's frankly offensive to me as a woman and as a woman who loves games. Also even if this statistic never changes 37% is still a huge chunk and an important percentage,
I just want to say that whenever statistics like this come out there are always a portion of people (not a reference to the mother comment) who try to hold up the smaller female percentage as an example that women don't like gaming as much as men.
The truth is we can't know. Not with the way the culture and social pressures are standing now. It's a self defeating cycle. If you want women to feel more comfortable playing games you need to change the culture and you need to market to women. If you throw your hands up and say well why market to women anyway you keep the cycle as is.
You can't say it isn't worth marketing to women when the lack of marketing to women and fostering a better community for women is the way the statistics are the way they are in the first place. It's a self defeating cycle.
And you know what, if society and gaming culture ever addressed these issues and women still don't make up an equal amount of interest in gaming, then I will concede the point.
But don't act like women are inherently not as interested in gaming as men when it's impossible to know with the way things stand. It's frankly offensive to me as a woman and as a woman who loves games. Also even if this statistic never changes 37% is still a huge chunk and an important percentage,
Aztechnology
Member
I like those average age demographics. Keep on rising baby because I'm playing until I rot.
As to the obvious discussions about demographics and markets when it comes to female gamers... Yes we can all posit theories and will and people will beat drums about it all being mobile or buying for kids etc. I agree that I'd like to have more information but it's not there. So interperet from this data as you will. But chill on making broad statements.
As to the obvious discussions about demographics and markets when it comes to female gamers... Yes we can all posit theories and will and people will beat drums about it all being mobile or buying for kids etc. I agree that I'd like to have more information but it's not there. So interperet from this data as you will. But chill on making broad statements.
I don't think these stats confirm that. & I'm pretty sure most people give it up
ScatheZombie
Member
The art department absolutely falls under development and are called developers.
Very often Q/A and CS are thrown in there as well. A lot of media tend to put anyone who works at a game studio under the umbrella of 'developer'. Others seem to only count programmers and high-level designers (Leads, Creative Directors) for some reason.
Goro Majima
Kitty Genovese Member
That's what I'm wondering.
I'd love to see some statistics of correlation of multiple variables between age, gender, hours played per week, and maybe even format to get a better understanding of where the demographics line up. I think that would present a better understanding about where the gaming community stands today.
Goose_Se7en
Banned
Yea I'd also like to know what type of games are being played. I don't consider mobile video games as "games". My belief and I'm sticking to it.
I don't think the audio team are considered devs either, despite everyone using the nebulous term "Dev side" to refer to everyone that isn't QA.
Fair enough. I work in the software industry but not in games, so things might be different there.
Make sure you tell them that firstI'd love to play video games with my kid(s) when I become a parent, seems like a great bonding experience.
I'm NOT looking forward to the eventual heartbreak of my teen telling me "No that's ok, I want to play with only my friends from now on"
My daughter's first experience with a computer game was hitting the horn in the centre of the WiiU gamepad screen on Mario Kart 8 while sitting on my lap, for reference my first computer game was Harrier Attack on an Amstrad 6128. I think she got the better intro.
I'm looking forward to us playing 1-2 Switch together when I pick up a Switch later this year, that seems perfect for us. As a parent I'm definitely in the category of looking for stuff we can all enjoy together, especially as my wife is more of a mobile gamer and isn't a fan of home console games with too many buttons and sticks.Aztechnology
Member
I'd say it does but I think it's going up over time. By the time I'm in my 50's (mid twenties) who knows what it will look like. Hopefully mid 40's.
There's a reason developers spend so much on graphics, and why the biggest developers actually really love new hardware, as it lets them flex their money and tech and stand out even more.
There's no way QA is included in this data. QA doesn't make more than $25,000 annually at most major developers and publishers.
Sectorseven
Member
Is there a point where the rising age of gamers becomes detrimental?
charlequin
Banned
Why does this surprise you? The average TV viewer is 44. Home gaming as a hobby is 45 years old, so it makes sense that people born throughout that window would be gamers.
In terms of purchases, people who are in their mid-thirties have less time but way more money.
Heh, how times change. and it's only been 20 or so years.
InsaneFandom
Member
Interesting stats
Not surprised by the gender & age break down. As time goes on I'm expecting the genders to pretty much equalize and the age to rise a bit more, maybe to low or mid 40s
Slightly surprised by the ESRB ratings bit, I'd assumed teen & M rated games were bigger proportions for some reason
Not surprised by the gender & age break down. As time goes on I'm expecting the genders to pretty much equalize and the age to rise a bit more, maybe to low or mid 40s
Slightly surprised by the ESRB ratings bit, I'd assumed teen & M rated games were bigger proportions for some reason
I think you probably know the answer; they think games are some sort of private boys only club.
Northeastmonk
Gold Member
36 years old? Woot!!
I've been gaming since I was in kindergarten, so the early 90's. I never felt ashamed, but I did have some pesky comments made when I turned 30.
I came back at them and discussed it with technology advantages and what have you. This was from family members who assumed all gamers were teens and in their early 20's. The very same people who watch Marvel and DC movies when they can and are fascinated by shows with FBI/CIA agents.
I'm happy that this sort of thing (data collection) is done. There are quite a few people out there who really have nothing good to say about video games. And some of those people work in a profession where people ask them for advice.
It takes some maturity to recognize that gaming isn't necessarily for a certain age. It has enough content for everyone.
Will this stop your Call of Duty kid from bashing the guy who sounds much older? Probably not. But it does provide much more evidence when someone gets mocked for being a gamer and they aren't in their early to mid 20's.
Going by today's standards. I do not see a lot of young adults buying the vast majority of games for their kids. Living costs and so forth aren't the best, so it is safe to assume a lot of gamers are sticking to it. And I say that because I feel like I lost a lot of friends who stopped gaming. It peaked when I went to work in the IT field.
I've been gaming since I was in kindergarten, so the early 90's. I never felt ashamed, but I did have some pesky comments made when I turned 30.
I came back at them and discussed it with technology advantages and what have you. This was from family members who assumed all gamers were teens and in their early 20's. The very same people who watch Marvel and DC movies when they can and are fascinated by shows with FBI/CIA agents.
I'm happy that this sort of thing (data collection) is done. There are quite a few people out there who really have nothing good to say about video games. And some of those people work in a profession where people ask them for advice.
It takes some maturity to recognize that gaming isn't necessarily for a certain age. It has enough content for everyone.
Will this stop your Call of Duty kid from bashing the guy who sounds much older? Probably not. But it does provide much more evidence when someone gets mocked for being a gamer and they aren't in their early to mid 20's.
Going by today's standards. I do not see a lot of young adults buying the vast majority of games for their kids. Living costs and so forth aren't the best, so it is safe to assume a lot of gamers are sticking to it. And I say that because I feel like I lost a lot of friends who stopped gaming. It peaked when I went to work in the IT field.
Kilau
Gold Member
Well I didn't say they confirm anything, but it's tracking up on average so that's my hopeful conclusion.
Yes, when we are all dead it might dampen sales a bit.
Yep, this is me, although a lot of my gaming purchases are for the entire family and my kids have plenty of free time.
I've been playing games for 35 years give or take, and I often play games with my kids now. In fact, I'd say that more than half of my gaming is done with my family.
It will stop rising at some point.
It being in the range where people have the most disposable income makes sense.
Though i guess nowadays there's lots of older people where that's true.
Obliterator
Member
I mean if it starts skyrocketing it could be, if the younger generation just entirely quits gaming all together (highly unlikely)
As it is the average gamer is still younger than the US average age (37.8 years) and that average includes extremely young children who are too little to even be able to play / enjoy gaming.
So yeah, the average gamer figure is nowhere near skewing "old"
I don't think so- there are still plenty of young gamers, and that older generation are just as likely to help introduce them to it rather than view games as a waste of time as much of my parent's generation did. Besides, 35 is still young for a hobby that both kids and adults can enjoy, it just seems old for a hobby that used to be only associated with kids (who have now grown up). Lots of my friends are in their 40s (I'm 39) and we grew up with home computers in the 80s, and now play computer games with our own children. It's interesting the different way we approach tech with our kids compared to how our parents did with us.
Some games are also so big that people start seeing it as their own thing. If you only play one game and only that, you might not think of it as enjoying video games in general.
Palette Swap
Member
That's really interesting. You could argue this covers all genres and platforms, but at face value, pandering so much to younger men doesn't seem very effective.
IIRC that digital number has been going up by 5% each year. Physical won't be completely gone anytime soon but its time as the majority of purchases is winding down fast. Imagine the yearly growth we'll see when console makers get their storefront and policies up to a proper standard.
Yep, and that one was the first gender breakdown study that actually made sense. Hopefully not the last.
Meh. It's a heavily visual medium. Aesthetics often play a big role in my interest level.
Sectorseven
Member
But older people are generally more conservative in their spending, and wouldn't it become more difficult to design a game that appeals to such a wide range of ages?