gamer demographics, stats, health stats

Game Demo and Psychographics

What Exists? Who Plays? What Do We Know?

Ben [email protected]

Friday, June 19, 2009

mailto:[email protected]


Notes...

This presentation has been upgraded since delivering it initially at Games for Health 2009

The use of the term demographics is fairly loose focusing not only on core demographic issues but also some

psychographic issues as well


What I’m Playing...

June ’09


Current State of Game Demographics

• 5-6 Major Current Sources of Information

• Only one sustained major public effort

• Several minor but sustained public efforts

• More work concerning online players then other players types or players in general


• There are a number of private surveys - some of which can be purchased but buyer beware

• Most private surveys are highly focused on sales & consumer uptake projections not deeper questions of context and outcomes of play




• Overall body of work lacks many important details...

• Very little in terms of global statistics especially in emerging markets

• There is little breakdown by ethnicity even in North America

• There is little data provided in raw form where it can be reused effectively as new data emerges


Insert Rant...

A public source of consistently sustained, raw data, concerned with issues beyond sales and consumer adoption that is both deep and global in scope is needed if we’re going to see robust application of games and game technologies worldwide


Core Sources

• Entertainment Software Association

• Pew Internet & Life Project

• The Daedalus Project by Nick Yee

• Dmitri Williams

• Valve’s Steam Distribution Service


Entertainment Software Association (USA)

• 68 of American Households play computer or video games

• 60% male : 40% female

• Women 18 or older are 34% of the game playing pop vs. boys 17 or younger (18%)

• Average purchaser is 39

• 52 Male / 48 female - % of purchases

• 63% say games are a positive part of their children's lives


• Average Age is 35

• 49% 18-49

• 25% Under 18

• 26% Over 50

• 12 Years (Avg. Years Adult Gamers Have Been Playing)

• 62% of Gamers play in Person with Other Gamers



• 42% of homes in America have Consoles

• Reasons Parents Play

• Fun for family (82%)

• They’re Asked To (81%)

• Socialize with My Kids (78%)

• Monitor Content (63%)



Pew Internet & American Life Project

• Teens and Video Games

• http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2008/Teens-Video-Games-and-Civics.aspx

• PEW INTERNET PROJECT DATA MEMO

• http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2008/Adults-and-Video-Games.aspx


http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2008/Teens-Video-Games-and-Civics.aspx




http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2008/Adults-and-Video-Games.aspx




Teens

• Pew Internet & American Life Project. Gaming and Civic Engagement Survey of Teens/Parents, Nov. 2007-Feb. 2008

• Teens who play games n=1064. Margin of error is ±3%


Pew/Teens : Summary I

• Fully 97% of teens ages 12-17 play computer, web, portable, or console games

• 50% of teens played games “yesterday”

• 86% of teens play on a console like the Xbox, PlayStation, or Wii

• 73% play games on a desktop or a laptop computer


Pew/Teens : Boys/Girls

• Fully 99% of boys and 94% of girls play video games. Younger teen boys are the most likely to play games, followed by younger girls and older boys. Older girls are the least

• “enthusiastic” players of video games, though more than half of them play. Some 65% of daily gamers are male; 35% are female.


What Teens Play...• Racing (NASCAR, Mario Kart, Burnout) 74%

• Puzzle (Bejeweled, Tetris, Solitaire) 72

• Sports (Madden, FIFA, Tony Hawk) 68

• Action (Grand Theft Auto, Devil May Cry, Ratchet and Clank) 67

• Adventure (Legend of Zelda, Tomb Raider) 66

• Rhythm (Guitar Hero, Dance Dance Revolution, Lumines) 61

• Strategy (Civilization IV, StarCraft, Command and Conquer) 59

• Simulation (The Sims, Rollercoaster Tycoon, Ace Combat) 49

• Fighting (Tekken, Super Smash Bros., Mortal Kombat) 49

• First-Person Shooters (Halo, Counter-Strike, Half-Life) 47

• Role-Playing (Final Fantasy, Blue Dragon, Knights of the Old Republic) 36

• Survival Horror (Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Condemned) 32

• MMOGs (World of Warcraft) 21

• Virtual Worlds (Second Life, Gaia, Habbo Hotel) 10

Note: games listed in parenthesis were provided to respondents on an as-needed basis by interviewers; not every respondent received the prompts.


Pew/Teens : Frequently Mentioned as Playing

• Halo 161 (104 no specific version / 57 Halo 3)

• Guitar Hero 158

• Madden NFL / Madden 08 136 (77 no specific version / 59 Madden ’08)

• Solitaire 65

• Dance Dance Revolution 60

• Tetris 59

• Grand Theft Auto (no specific version) 58

• The Sims (no specific version) 54

All numbers are derived

from a total of 1064 survey participants.


PEW/Teens :Gender / Ethnicity Points

• Girls, black, and lower-income teens more likely to use cell phones to play games

• Among gaming teens, there are some differences by race or ethnicity in types of games played. Black teens more likely to report playing racing games than white or Hispanic teens

• Black teens and are more likely to play sports and adventure games than white teens (though not Hispanic youth)

• Black and Hispanic teens are more likely than white teens to play fighting games and survival horror games

• White and Hispanic teens are more likely to play rhythm games than black teens. White youth are more likely to play MMOGs than black teens (but not Hispanic teens)


Pew/Teens : Ratings?

• The average rating of all “favorite” games mentioned by survey respondents averaged just above a T, or Teen rating

• 50% of boys name a game with an M or A/O rating as one of their current top three favorites, compared with 14% of girls


Pew/Teens : Ratings?

• Nearly one-third of young teens play M- or AO-rated games

• Almost one-third (32%) of teens in survey play at least one game rated M or AO

• Of these... 79% are boys and 21% are girls

• 12-14 yr-olds are equally likely to play M- or AO-rated games as their 15-17 yr-old counterparts

• 28% of 12-14-yr-olds list an M- or AO-rated game as a favorite, as do 36% of teens ages 15-17

• For a small number of teens, all three of the games they mentioned had a version with an M or an AO rating;

• For others, only one of the games they offered as their top three current favorites was an M- or AO-rated game


Pew/Teens : Playing Together & Alone

• 65% of game-playing teens play with other people who are in the room with them

• 27% play games with people who they connect with through the internet

• 82% play games alone, although 71% of this group also plays with others



• And nearly 3 in 5 teens (59%) of teens play games in multiple ways—with others in the same room, with others online or alone.

• 42% of teens who play games in multiple ways say they play most often with others in the same room.

• 42% of teens who play games in multiple ways most often play alone.

• 15% of teens who play games in multiple ways play most often with those they are connected to via the internet.



• Close to half of teens who play online games play with people they know offline

• Online gamers are more likely to report playing games mostly with people they know offline than with teens they met online.

• Of teens who play games online with others:

• 47% of teens play online games with people they know offline

• 27% of teens play online games with people they first met online

• 23% of teens play with both friends & family known offline + people they met online


Few parents play games with their children



Pew/Adults : Summary

• Survey was 2008

• Over half of American adults play video games, and four out of five young adults play

• Among adults, computers are the most popular gaming device, but among young adults gaming consoles are preferred

• Virtual worlds only draw a small crowd


Pew/Adult : Summary II• Older adult gamers play games more frequently

• Younger generations tend to dominate the gaming world; however, older respondents who do play games are more avid players.

• Older gamers, particularly seniors, tend to play games more frequently. 36% of gamers 65 and older say they play games everyday/almost everyday, compared with...

• 19% of adults aged 50-64



• Senior gamers may play more frequently as they have more time

• 77% of senior gamers reported being retired


Pew/Adult: Race/Ethnicity

• No statistically significant difference in game play between ethnic groups on computers or game consoles

• Blacks and Hispanics more likely to play games on cell phones and portable gaming devices


Pew/Adult : Platforms

• Desktop or laptop 45% 35%

• Game console 41 22

• Cell phone, Blackberry, or other handheld organizer 25 16

• Portable gaming device 21 10


Pew/Adult : Online vs. Offline

• Just under a quarter (23%) of all adults play games online

• 43% of adults ages 18-29 play games online

• 26% of people ages 30-49

• 13% of people ages 50-64,

• 5% of those 65 and older

• Adults are much less likely to play games online than teens

• 76% of all teens play games online and 79% of teen gamers play games online


Warning...

• I’ve found that people’s perception of what is an “online” game vs. offline game can create distortion with such questions

• For me (and many game designers) there is a critical distinction between playing a game accessed via online means and playing online against other humans

• It is likely online against other humans is a subset of all games actually accessed online


Pew/Adult: Virtual Worlds

• Just 2% of gamers say they have ever visited a virtual world, such as Second Life

• One in ten teens and 11% of teen gamers reported visiting virtual worlds

• A total 6% of adults say they have created an avatar, or online representation of themselves often used for participation in virtual worlds and in some online games and social networks

• Warning : This number is probably rising fast but still low overall in 2009/2010


Pew/Adult : MMOGs

• Slightly more (9%) game players, however, say that they have played MMOGs vs. Virtual Worlds

• Young adults are significantly more likely than average adults to play MMOGs, as 14% of 18-29-year-old gamers report playing these types of games

• Teens are even more likely to play MMOGs, with 21% of teen gamers reporting MMOG play

• Warning : Many teens play free MMOGs (e.g. RuneScape) and many families with teens will play subscription MMOGs together as units (e.g. multiple family members playing same character) thus the story behind some of these rising numbers is not well parsed yet.


Dmitri Williamswww.dmitriwilliams.com


http://www.dmitriwilliams.com

http://www.dmitriwilliams.com

Who plays, how much, and why? Debunking the stereotypical gamer profile

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/121394419/HTMLSTART?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

Dmitri Williams a Nick Yee b Scott E. Caplan c

• Teens, 12–17 6.6%

• College-age, 18–22 12.4%

• Young adult, 23–29 26.3%

• Thirties, 30–39 36.7%

• Forties, 40–49 12.4%

• Fifty or older, 50–65 4.8%











M W

• Achievement 3.5 3.17

• Social 3.14 3.22

• Immersion 3.29 3.38











• EQ2 players have an average BMI of 25.19 vs. avg. American adult, who has a BMI of 28

• 22.2% of EQ2 players are technically obese compared to 30.5% of American adults

• Among children and adolescents (ages 11–19), EQ2 players have lower BMIs, with an average of 21.96 compared to 23.3 for US adolescents

• “...while adolescent EQ2 players are still healthier than their nonplaying counterparts, they do not have as large an advantage as the older population.”











• EQ2 players have lower levels of mental health on two out of the three indicators.

• 22.76% of EQ2 players reported having been diagnosed with depression.

• This level is larger for the female players 36.52% vs. males 19.38%

• Avg. U.S. population: 23% rate for women and an 11% rate for men.

• Players had a slightly higher rate of substance addiction 5.56% vs. 4.8% for the general population

• The exception to this pattern was anxiety for which EQ2 players reported slightly lower levels 16.6% vs. 18.1%











“"What was somewhat surprising was the trend for older players to play more than younger ones, and for women to play more than men. Game developers have assumed that adolescents and college-aged populations have more free time and have tooled their MMOs accordingly as their player base has aged

(Beliaeff, 2007).

They have also assumed that males are their most devoted audience. However, both assumptions are incorrect. Young males are often tagged as the

‘‘hard core,’’ but it is the adults and the females who log the most hours. "”








"The Daedalus Project"by Nick Yee

http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/

• MMORPG gamers spend on average 21.0 hours per week playing the game (N = 1996), and spend on average 7.7 hours per week watching TV (N = 1996).

• The national average for TV watching per week is around 28

• Time spent watching TV has been displaced by MMORPG playing.

• Female players are on average older than male players (33.0 vs. 28.4)

• Spend more hours in the game than male players (22.3 vs. 19.0)

• Spike in play-time among female players over the age of 35


Bruce Woodcocks MMOG Charthttp://www.mmogchart.com/


http://www.mmogchart.com

http://www.mmogchart.com

British Board of Film Classificationhttp://www.bbfc.co.uk/news/stories/20070417.html

Benefits of gaming: "People play games to escape from every day life and to escape to a world of adventure without risk which is under the control of the gamer, unlike the real world. Games provide a sense of achievement and are active, unlike television and films which are passive. However, games are better at developing action than building character and as such gamers tend to care less about the storyline than making progress in the game. Gamers claim that playing games is mentally stimulating and that playing develops hand eye coordination."


http://www.bbfc.co.uk/news/stories/20070417.html

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/news/stories/20070417.html

STEAM Statisticshttp://store.steampowered.com/stats/


http://store.steampowered.com/stats/


STEAM Statisticshttp://store.steampowered.com/stats/

English(+0.77%) 59.42%

German(+0.15%) 8.74%

French(+0.44%) 8.24%

Russian(-1.28%) 6.21%

Spanish(-0.22%) 2.47%

Polish(+0.22%) 2.39%

Portuguese(-0.01%) 2.38%

Swedish(+0.12%) 1.85%

Traditional Chinese(+0.11%) 1.71%

Danish(+0.04%) 1.20%

Korean(-0.04%) 1.13%

Japanese(-0.05%) 0.87%

Simplified Chinese(-0.24%) 0.66%

Finnish(+0.01%) 0.58%

Italian(-0.08%) 0.57%

Dutch(+0.02%) 0.54%

Norwegian(+0.01%) 0.52%

Unknown(+0.01%) 0.16%

Thai(0.00%) 0.08%

Steam queries OS language setting and reports providing some interesting international statistics. Keep in mind though these are often higher-end PC centric gamers hence the strong 2nd place showing by German. Also English includes UK and Australia and most of Canada while French likely include Quebec




Countering his own notorious comments that the Nintendo Wii is in its worst situation since launch, Iwata showed some interesting statistics. "How many [maybes] are there?" Japan, U.S., and six European territories comprise 295 million who actively play console or handheld games -- "big software purchasers." However, 149 million "maybes" exist. "Imagine the opportunity, if the number of players is 50% larger than it is right now," Iwata said.

Nintendo Executive Presentations


IGN Gamer Metrics

Paid service. Mostly focused on purchase intent, brand awareness, heavily focused on “informed” gamers who spend time on IGNs game enthusiast

Web sites. Households probably have PCs vs. Mobile Web Access.


Conclusion

• Lots of people game! Good!

• Lots of myths vs. data still prevail... Bad!

• There are some demographics and statistics to start using to shape discussion, research, and proposals. Good!

• No real sustained effort with characteristics most researchers want/need. Bad!


Help Needed...

This is a start...Please send links and additional info to add to this in the future:

[email protected]




gamer demographics, stats, health stats

Technology