Video Game Demographics in 2020
The Entertainment Software Association released its 2020 Essential Facts About the Video Game Industry today. Overall, the key take away from the report is that Americans of all ages are playing video games. In America, 75% of households have at least one gamer, and gamers between 55 and 64 believe that video game help stimulate their minds. Further, most gamers find video games help them relax and lower their stress.
Based on this report, the average gamer is likely to be 35 to 44 years old (38% of gamers), and male (59%). This may mean that video game demographics are fairly stable now because 10 years ago the average gamer was a 37 years old male (58%). Only four years before that report, the average age of a gamer was 33 years old and only 38% of females played.
In a time of isolation, video games have proven to be a source of social connection for many. In 2020, 65% of gamers played with other people, primarily friends and family. The average adult gamer spends 6.6 hours a week playing with people online and 4.3 hours a week playing with someone in person. About half of gamers said that games help them to connect with friends and help their family spend time together. Video games can also help people find people to connect with; about a third of gamers met a good friend or spouse through video games and many say they met people that they would not have met if it were not for video games.
Generally, parents seem to approve of video games as the majority of parents believe video games are educational and give them a good opportunity to socialize with their children. Parental tools have also shown to be useful for marketing video games. Ninety-five percent of parents are present when a child gets a video game and most children require permission to purchase a new game. When evaluating a video game, parents are aware of ESRB ratings and are confident in the ratings.
The report breaks down the favourite games by age and gender. Although there are differences between the categories, the importance of casual games is a common thread. Every category other than men 18 to 34 years old listed casual games as either their favourite type of game or their most played.
Do you see yourself reflected in this report? Think they got some things wrong? tell us in the comments below.