Video games used to be known as a hobby for minors, but the latest Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry report by the Entertainment Software Association shows that is no longer the case as a massive 82 percent majority of all gamers are actually adults.
The annual report revealed that less than a fifth of all gamers are actually under the age of 18. Most adult gamers, 53 percent of the whole, range from age 18-49. Surprisingly, over a quarter of all gamers, 29 percent, are over the age of 50.
Results for the average gamer age is also surprising, as the ESA report announced that to be 37, with the average age of those purchasing the games to be 41. Both of these are up two years from the organization’s 2009 report.
The gender gap in regards to people playing games continues to narrow from previous years and is much more so than many may think. Women make up 42 percent of all game players (40 percent in 2009), with over 37 percent of all gamers being women over the age of 18 (34 percent in 2009). The purchasing gap is even narrower, with women making up 48 percent of all game purchases.
Also included in the report were statistics on parents and their knowledge of what games their children play. It revealed that a whopping 91 percent of parents are present at the time games are purchased or rented, with parents giving their children permission to buy or rent a game 86 percent of the time.
Coming off the heels of the Supreme Court’s decision to declare a California law that called into question the effectiveness Entertainemnt Software Ratings Board system unconstitutional, the ESA report offered more evidence to support the court’s ruling. It showed that 86 percent of all parents are aware of the ESRB ratings while 91 percent are confident with the system’s accuracy.
Parents are also getting more involved in playing games with their children. The report stated that 45 percent of all parents now play games with their kids on a weekly basis, an increase from the 36 percent reported in 2007.
When looking to see just how widespread video games have become in the United States, the ESA revealed that 72 percent of American households play video games, a four percent increase from 2009.
For all statistics regarding these topics and others like best-selling games of 2010, best-selling genres, industry sales, digital-to-physical sales, and more, just follow the source below to the full report.
[ESA]
