Over the past few decades, computer and video games have become one of the most popular pastimes worldwide. In addition, the development and creation of novel gaming platforms, the advent of Smartphones and the giant leap in the availability of online games have turned the gaming industry into one of the strongest and most innovative sectors both in the United States and worldwide. Gaming pervades many aspects of popular culture, and in turn gathers its influences from history, fiction, music, art, cinema, television shows, celebrities and current events. The fact that gaming is a hobby that can be done anywhere and requires only a console or a screen, has no doubt contributed to the ever-increasing rise in its popularity.
Who is the Modern Gamer?
So many people, of such various ages, play computer and video games, that it might seem like a difficult task to characterize the typical gamer. However, the ESA (Entertainment Software Association) statistics reveal the facts, some of which are quite surprising. The average gamer is 30 years old. 53% percent of gamers are male and 47% are female, however, interestingly enough, more women who are 18 or older are active gamers (30%) than males who are 17 or younger (18%). While gaming is sometimes perceived as a solitary activity, the data show otherwise: 62% of gamers play with others, either in person or online and 33% play social games. Gaming, in fact, has become a family activity, with 50% of gamers playing with their family members.
Online searches for games: mobile searching on the rise
A recent white paper published by Google, analyzing gamers’ searchers on Google, provides some interesting insights into their pre-purchasing behavior, like the way they find out about new games and search for online and offline game stores. For example, data by Google show that searches about new games, expressed by increased searching activity, start months before the games are released -six months on average (4 in 10 searches about new games happened during this time period in 2011). Moreover, in a time where smart mobile phones are flooding the market, people are using them more and more for searching purposes, and this is apparent in the gaming sector as well: in 2011, 10% of Google searches on games and gaming happened on mobile phones..
The most popular games
Interestingly, gamers using different devices seem to have different genre preferences, too. The best-selling game genres in computer games in 2011 were strategy (27.6% of all computer games sold) and role playing (21.1%). However, the best-selling genres in video games were action (19%) and shooter games (18.4%). Online gaming delivers an altogether different picture, with card games, trivia, board games and game show games being the top choice for gamers (42%).
Future prospects
Overall, with the current shift from offline gaming to online gaming, and with rising availability in Smartphones, it seems safe to predict that the gaming arena will mirror this shift too and become more prevalent online in the next few years.