Sometime between 1995 and 2005 or so, geek culture busted out of bedrooms and onto the neon marquees of mainstream entertainment. The Lord of the Rings got a three-film deal, Dungeons & Dragons became a YouTube star, and non-prescription glasses started #trending. Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame – a movie based on a comic book series! – is the biggest ever box office hit, and a new Star Trek show has debuted on TV.
But no other geek culture convention, perhaps, has ascended into the public imagination like video games. Now a multi-billion $$$ mega-industry, video games have defined this generation and subverted the stereotypes of calculator watches, maths majors, and The Socially Awkward Nerd Who Can’t Even Talk To Girls. In 2020, everybody and their mom plays video games.
OKAY, ALMOST EVERYBODY
According to the Newzoo’s 2019 analytics, about 2.5 billion people out of Earth’s 7.7 billion population play videos games. Not so impressive, maybe, but adjusting that number for the relevant first-world, middle-class and up markets with disposable income and, you know, access to services like electricity and internet and whatever, the Entertainment Software Association cites some 75 percent of US homes with “at least one gamer”. It’s not everybody, but it’s a lot of them.
B-B-BUT VIDEO GAMES ARE FOR KIDS
Nuh-uh. The ESA reports that 65 percent of US adults play video games, with an average age of 33.
Of that 65 percent:
- 60 percent play on mobile devices
- 52 percent play on PC
- 49 percent play on console (Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo)
- 63 percent play with others
- 78 percent play for “relaxation and stress relief”
Elsewhere, Statista lists the 18-35 demographic as gaming’s most significant market, at 40 percent of the total, with 36-49 only just behind under-18s at 18 and 21 percent respectively. Gamers in the 50+ demographic account for 21 percent, so there’s a one in five chance your grampies play video games too.
This shouldn’t be unexpected, however – millennials and even Gen Xers grew up in the 1990s and 2000s as video games were reinvented as The Next Big Thing, and didn’t quit. Instead, they kept playing video games, and introduced their kids to them. Because video games are also for kids. It’s not exclusive.
It’s complicated. Some games can be categorised as one or the other, but others are a mix of the two. Mobile and social media games make up most of the casual games catalogue, for example, but PC and console games like Stardew Valley are also included. Call of Duty and PUBG are hardcore, but Fortnite is kind of a combo. Clash of Clans is technically a casual game, but some of its players are super-duper hardcore about it.
And besides, what does it even matter if you’re having fun?
NO GIRLS ON THE INTERNET
Also nuh-uh. Sources can vary, but not by much, finding that about 45+ percent of gamers are female, with an average age in the mid-30s. So much for clichés, but there are some differences. In the 18-35 and 35-54 demographics, for example:
- Approximately 70 percent of female gamers play more on mobile devices, while male gamers play more on PC or console
- About 80 percent of female gamers play casual games, compared with male gamers who prefer other genres of games
But although women play more casual games…
BROS ALSO PLAY CASUAL GAMES
In two of its three male gamer categories, the ESA confirms that casual games make up most of those men’s time too. The one exception is guys 18-34, who prefer to play hardcore games (or lie about their Candy Crush stats). And with 72 percent of US mobile phone users playing video games, and mobile video game revenue clocking almost $60 billion, as WePC’s stats show, casual is one of the industry’s most popular (and lucrative) categories. Don’t diss.
VIDEO GAMES IS SERIOUS BUSINESS
Video game revenue banked $43.8 billion in the US in 2018, up from $36.9 billion in 2017, beating out film and streaming content to the very top of the entertainment industry.
“We compete with (and lose to) Fortnite more than HBO,” Netflix told its investors at the time (via TechCrunch).
Globally, that number totalled $120 billion in 2019, and market info group SuperData expects that to exceed $124 billion in 2020, boosted by the launch of Microsoft and Sony’s new consoles this holiday season.
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