The average age of gamers has changed a bit

[[SS]Midnight]

http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/pos...s-30-says-esa/

The Average Age Of A Gamer Is 30 Says ESA
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Posted 3 hours 47 mins ago - By Stephen Johnson


According to research published by the Entertainment Software Association, the average age of a gamer in 2012 is 30-years-old. Thirty-two percent of gamers are under 18; thirty-one percent are 18-35 and thirty-seven percent are 26 or over.

Interestingly, last year's survey reported that the average age in 2011 was 37. But it's not as if there's been a huge demographic change in gamers. Instead, the ESA has changed its methodology. In the past, the ESA screened its thousands of survey-takers by asking if they had a game console or a PC for playing games. The newest survey is more general; asking whether people "play computer or video games." So the new survey also includes people who play games on phones, tablets, and, presumably, in arcades. Hence the change in ages.

Other fun, demographic facts about games and the people who play them include:

The average U.S. Household owns at least one dedicated game console, PC or smartphone
47 percent of gamers are female
Women 18 or older represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (30%) than boys age 17 or younger (18%)
49 percent of households own a console, and the average number of consoles owned is two
The average age of a frequent game buyer is 35
The top reasons people purchase games: Quality of graphics, interesting storyline, because it's a sequel and word-of-mouth.
Thirty-three percent of gamers play on their phones
Sixty-two percent of gamers play games with others (in-person or online)
Adult gamers have been playing for an average of 14 years; males average 16 years of game play, females average 12 years

If you want to take a look at the entire ESA 2012 Survey, here's a link. It's definitely interesting reading.

Now that you know all about the demographics of the industry, what do you think? Personally, I was most surprised by the huge percentage of female gamers out there -- almost half and no doubt growing by the day.

All of the best people are following Stephen Johnson's twitter feed. Also, email me if you wanna.

[[SS]Chief]

Yes!! Folks are catching up to me.

But I think what's really happening. Folks like myself that were in on the beginning of gaming (yes, we're talking about pong) have continued to enjoy it. We/I'm getting older and thus much like this BF3 player we're still hanging in there making the average go higher.

[[SS]Midnight]

No no no. It went down. The age of the average gamer used to be my age for like 15 years or so. Till they revised how they polled it. Now it dropped 7 years. I was 36 last year when it was 37 (so the average went above my own age for at least one year) and the average gamer age dropped from 37 to 30 with the new way that they are polling it.

It you think about it, the gamers that enjoyed the release of pong (I was there too :P) is a finite number, and we are getting older and many are giving up on games for other entertainment. New gamers are being born in larger numbers than us older gamers and that drops the average age every year. I was always a bit surprised that the average gamer age paralleled my own for so long. I did expect it to go down. And now it has.

[Tagger]

Heh, pretty cool. Always fun to hang with the older guys online. I'm 43 now. Guess I'll be playing something till arthritis or some other crippling ailment prevents me. I'd rather blow stuff up online or go fast than golf, fish, or hunt. Those things are all fun to do. But, none are as accessible (to me) as gaming. That's probably odd coming from a military retiree living in central Alabama. But, it's the truth.

Edited to add: I don't think the younger gamers are going to have near the fun we have had with it. Games are changing to the point that what excites people now is less appealing to me (except for BF/CoD).