Home Gaming Who is the average gamer?

Who is the average gamer?

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Frank Underwood plays Killzone

We joke around a lot on this site about console gamers compared to the PC master race, as well as calling everyone old and loveless. However, the stats are out and the average gamer might not be quite as you imagined.

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has released their 2014 sales, demographic and usage data (that actually reflects the information from 2013, of course). It gives all sorts of information about gamers, although the data is from the US of A and may not be the same in different regions and countries. Still, it makes me happy to see the proportions of people playing games – makes sense why it’s such a huge industry.

Who’s Playing Games

ESA2014 who

According to the data, 59% of Americans play video games. The average US household has at least one dedicated game console, PC or smartphone and two gamers in said household. Of those houses that have a gaming console, 51% own an average of two; 68% of American gamers play games on a console. The average gamer is 31 years old as age distribution is fairly even: 29% are under 18, 32% are between 18 and 35 and 39% of gamers are over the age of 35. Within that, 52% of gamers are male, and the number of female gamers aged 50 and over increased by 32% since last year. As we already learned last year, women age 18 or over are a significantly greater portion of the game playing population than boys 18 or younger – the ladies are 36% while the boys are 17%.

I’m not too surprised by this. We knew that female gamers were a growing population. With the average gamer having played video games for 14 years, it also makes sense that the population of gamers is getting older. Men and women may not always be drawn to the same games, but they are both getting entertainment in this medium.

How We Play

In netflix

Playing games has also changed the way we consume other media. Gamers who are playing more video games than they did three years ago, are spending less time watching TV (48%), going to the movies (47%) and watching movies at home (47%). That said, 50% of gamers who own console use them to watch movies, with 26% using it to watch TV shows.

Top selling Video Game genres are Action (31.9%) Shooters (20%) and Sports (12.7%); RPGs (7%), Adventure (6.9%) and Strategy (3.4%) pale in comparison. Of course, things look very different if we just look at the Computer game genres: here, 38.4% are Strategy games and 28.3% are Casual. Wait, does that make the PC master race… “filthy casuals”?

What I find particularly striking is how we spend our money. The total consumer spend on the games industry in 2013 was $21.53 billion, of which almost 75% was on content. Even with the launch of new generation consoles (and their impressive sales numbers), just less than 20% of the total spending was on hardware. In actual fact, as much as we might debate about consoles and PCs, the reality is that most of us focus on the games themselves, and that’s where most of our money goes, too.

I guess we knew it all along – it’s all about the games, regardless of genre, platform, gender or age.

Last Updated: April 25, 2014

207 Comments

  1. Admiral Chief in Space

    April 25, 2014 at 08:33

    Zoe is really going for bat-person of the week

    Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      April 25, 2014 at 08:44

      We could always help with that.

      I think e-tolls are a great idea.

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        April 25, 2014 at 08:47

        Agreed. Colonialists must start to support this great nation. The have lived free on this land long enough

        http://d24w6bsrhbeh9d.cloudfront.net/photo/av01V8X_460sa.gif

        Reply

      • Admiral Chief in Space

        April 25, 2014 at 08:49

        Comments don’t really count that much for b.o.t.w, traffic counts more

        Reply

        • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

          April 25, 2014 at 09:02

          Then we should all start tweeting this article….

          Reply

        • VampyreSquirrel

          April 25, 2014 at 09:14

          It counts for something

          Reply

          • Admiral Chief in Space

            April 25, 2014 at 09:15

            Like 5 or 10 percent hehe, but yeah, its something!

          • VampyreSquirrel

            April 25, 2014 at 09:17

            How’s the Diablo 3’ing going?

          • Admiral Chief in Space

            April 25, 2014 at 09:18

            Slow, but I’m on leave from today, will catch up now!

            Planetside 2 addiction is kinda bad

          • VampyreSquirrel

            April 25, 2014 at 09:46

            I got my 4th character to lvl 70 last night… so you got some catching up to do. Crios (I think it is) is on Paragon lvl 140 or something… which is crazy.

          • Scruff304

            April 25, 2014 at 11:47

            I see that.

            “Erwin is playing Plantside 2”
            Many moons later

            “Erwin is playing Diablo 3”
            5 Minutes later

            “Erwin is playing Plantside 2”

          • Admiral Chief in Space

            April 25, 2014 at 12:01

            Hahaha, in my defense, Telkom had some weird exchange issues with Diablo3 then, since been sorted (fault at hop 5/6 causing international lag)

        • MakeItLegal

          April 25, 2014 at 09:53

          huh ? sorry what is b.o.t.w ?

          Reply

          • Admiral Chief in Space

            April 25, 2014 at 09:53

            Batman of the week

          • MakeItLegal

            April 25, 2014 at 10:15

            Omg god , what a legend

            Is this specifically for Darryn Bonthuys ?

          • Admiral Chief in Space

            April 25, 2014 at 10:38

            Nope, for the best performing staff member of Lagz for that week. Generating most traffic on the site for all articles

          • MakeItLegal

            April 25, 2014 at 10:44

            Oh ok …. Thanks man

          • VampyreSquirrel

            April 25, 2014 at 09:54

            batman/women/person/thing of the week

    • Norm the Horrible

      April 25, 2014 at 08:47

      Na na na na na…

      Reply

    • VampyreSquirrel

      April 25, 2014 at 08:57

      Well, she has worked hard for it, and I hope she gets it!

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief in Space

        April 25, 2014 at 09:00

        …plus it marks her 1 year anni at Lagz

        Reply

        • VampyreSquirrel

          April 25, 2014 at 09:11

          Really? Awesome… great time for Bat-person and that ION header she promised us.

          Reply

          • Admiral Chief in Space

            April 25, 2014 at 09:14

            Indeed

      • Wincethis

        April 25, 2014 at 09:20

        Agreed. She has kicked asses and taken names.

        Reply

        • VampyreSquirrel

          April 25, 2014 at 09:46

          And numbers 😛

          Reply

  2. Admiral Chief in Space

    April 25, 2014 at 08:35

    Geez only 7% of gamer ‘Murica jam RPGs?

    Ek reken dis bo hulle vuurmaakplek…hehehe

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      April 25, 2014 at 08:40

      So is basic math.

      Reply

  3. Admiral Chief in Space

    April 25, 2014 at 08:36

    Wtf is a “casual” game?

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      April 25, 2014 at 08:40

      Your mom?

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief in Space

        April 25, 2014 at 08:50

        [insert mandatory coitus with deon’s mother statement coupled with insult about sexual preference and ability]

        Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          April 25, 2014 at 09:11

          So you remember that planetside 2 subscription service………… It’s $10 a month not a year.
          * Beats self over head with a rubber chicken

          Reply

          • Admiral Chief in Space

            April 25, 2014 at 09:14

            I saw, you gave me false hope!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

            Still worth it though, just wished I had R700 for the 6month sub

          • Hammersteyn

            April 25, 2014 at 09:15

            I feel like a such knob.

          • Admiral Chief in Space

            April 25, 2014 at 09:16

            And you should. But still, I’m thinking about it. So many benefits

  4. Hammersteyn

    April 25, 2014 at 08:39

    You hear that XBOX? It’s about games.

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief in Space

      April 25, 2014 at 08:50

      Oh snap!

      Reply

    • Jedi JJ

      April 25, 2014 at 08:59

      I think the list is bigger than XBox.
      EA
      LJN
      Acclaim
      EA
      Ocean Software
      EA
      And more recently Bethesda.

      Reply

  5. Ultimo_Cleric N7

    April 25, 2014 at 08:40

    Frank Underwood is definitely not average! Hail to the king….

    Reply

  6. Norm the Horrible

    April 25, 2014 at 08:42

    “Wait, does that make the PC master race… “filthy casuals”?”
    XD

    Reply

  7. Jedi JJ

    April 25, 2014 at 08:49

    Wow. I’m luckily not too average. All mine are at the bottom of the lists, except for the age and gender one. But we already had the sexist and ageist discussion yesterday.

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief in Space

      April 25, 2014 at 08:52

      Is that what she said?

      😛

      Reply

      • Jedi JJ

        April 25, 2014 at 08:55

        *sobs in hands*

        Reply

  8. oVg Errorist

    April 25, 2014 at 08:51

    RANT INCOMING!!!!

    The AVERAGE gamer is in their 30s BECAUSE YOU NEED 10 YEARS WORTH OF SAVINGS to be able to afford THE MOST EXPENSIVE HOBBY on the planet.

    Making model RC aircraft and hiring a mini airport strip IS CHEAPER THAN THIS SHIT.

    Games are OVERRATED, OVERPRICED, OVER GLORIFIED, OVER SATURATED, and OVER before you know it.

    But we all love this crack habit and that is why we are now at the level of paying for extra difficulty levels

    AANNNNNNNNND $40 FCKING DEMOS!!!!!!!!!!!! Stupid.

    RANT OUTGOING

    Coffee time 🙂

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief in Space

      April 25, 2014 at 08:51

      “$40 FCKING DEMOS”

      Hahahahaha

      Reply

      • oVg Errorist

        April 25, 2014 at 08:54

        Im sure MGS came with a bottle of LUBE and a signed photo of KOJIMA with one of his pubes taped to it.

        Reply

      • MakeItLegal

        April 25, 2014 at 09:57

        oops made the same comment ha ha ha ha

        Reply

    • Norm the Horrible

      April 25, 2014 at 08:54

      Did someone say coffee!?
      Here you go!

      Reply

      • oVg Errorist

        April 25, 2014 at 08:59

        When I was a kid, we did not need super duper plasme LED widesceen HD 1080p screens with 7.1 sound and a Multi media HUB with games that spent half a decade in production (FFXIII cough cough)

        We had a cheap ass AVTV with Mono sound like every other kid and Duck Hunt ran just fucking fine.

        That was when US the kids were the average gamer.

        Now one needs to be Donald Trumps SEX slave to be able to afford our hobby.

        The kids of today cant afford this shit. Its us who are paying an arm and a leg to support the little brats.

        I did summer jobs to save for my Super Scope. You need a decades worth of Summer jobs to be able to afford a recharge pack.

        Coffee has arrived )

        Reply

        • Norm the Horrible

          April 25, 2014 at 09:04

          Yeah the costs are insane now.
          I now can only afford pre-played games that are 3+ years old from BT Games.

          Reply

          • Admiral Chief in Space

            April 25, 2014 at 09:08

            I live off humble bundles and steam sales, don’t have moolah for new releases

        • Norm the Horrible

          April 25, 2014 at 09:19

          Duck Hunt was the shit!
          Loved that damn game… just hated that damn dog!

          Reply

        • Wincethis

          April 25, 2014 at 09:22

          Sorry, you cannot say that the shitty TVs we had back then are anything like the new monitors. Makes a huge difference. As for cost of games, they have gotten better. You think the original Batman would cost the same as Mass Effect? PAH!

          Reply

      • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

        April 25, 2014 at 09:03

        How long does the work speed buff last?

        Reply

        • oVg Errorist

          April 25, 2014 at 09:03

          Until the coffee is finished.

          Reply

    • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

      April 25, 2014 at 09:13

      Woah,… such rant, much anger, very dark side, wow

      Reply

      • oVg Errorist

        April 25, 2014 at 09:18

        Not as bad as I used to be when I was OLDFART OVG with 15 000 comments of pure bullshit and 100% anger. But that was before I came to the conclusion that this iIndustry is nothing more than a piss take. So I have wound down a little… a little.

        Reply

        • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

          April 25, 2014 at 09:18

          I miss oldfart OVG 🙂

          Reply

          • oVg Errorist

            April 25, 2014 at 09:19

            The passion kind of left with the 7th gen 🙁

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

            April 25, 2014 at 09:21

            Awwww 🙁

          • HvR - THE Average GAmer

            April 25, 2014 at 09:29

            So from 7th gen we only get standard OVG, oldfart OVG is extra $2 per comment

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

            April 25, 2014 at 09:30

            hahahahahha

          • Wincethis

            April 25, 2014 at 09:32

            Wait till 8th gen 🙁

          • HvR - THE Average GAmer

            April 25, 2014 at 09:33

            OVG IN VR!!!!!!!!!!

          • oVg Errorist

            April 25, 2014 at 11:16

            😛

        • Matthew Holliday

          April 25, 2014 at 09:42

          It explains the “Remember me” avatar.
          I mean, who actually enjoyed playing that game?

          Reply

      • Wincethis

        April 25, 2014 at 09:23

        You’re not spending the weekend with him. He better get it out his system here!

        Reply

        • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

          April 25, 2014 at 09:24

          lol. You two make such a cute gaming couple

          Reply

          • oVg Errorist

            April 25, 2014 at 09:27

            You have no idea 😛

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

            April 25, 2014 at 09:30

            #winning

          • Wincethis

            April 25, 2014 at 09:36

            He’s about your weight now too *RUNS BWAHAHAHA

          • Admiral Chief in Space

            April 25, 2014 at 09:28

            LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

          • Wincethis

            April 25, 2014 at 09:29

            You take that back! Bad enough having a total lunatic RAGE monster as on older brother, don’t need to add images to that!

          • Jedi JJ

            April 25, 2014 at 09:30

            And I thought it was a good idea to invite you over.

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

            April 25, 2014 at 09:30

            hehehehehehe

    • HvR - THE Average GAmer

      April 25, 2014 at 09:16

      Nope RC (well at least 1:10 racing cars) more expensive, had too choose 2 years ago.

      Battery packs are upward to thousand, need to 2 to 4 per class. Tyre sets are R300, need new set every racing weekend. Competive cars are R10k+, need a new car every 2 to 3 years (if you do not crash it). Moters are few hundred to few thousand, need more one a year. Entry fees to have tracks are R50. can be up to 2 racing weekend a month.

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief in Space

        April 25, 2014 at 09:17

        Good grief, that’s a lot of moolah

        Reply

      • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

        April 25, 2014 at 09:18

        We are talking average here lol. Not competitive 😉

        Your point is valid but it’s like comparing a competitive PRO PC player with your average player. The two are going to spend vastly different. The pro player will have a R15k+ PC while the average will have a R6k-R8k PC

        Reply

        • HvR - THE Average GAmer

          April 25, 2014 at 09:21

          No THAT IS AVERAGE, competing at my local club. Doing nationals you spending R5k a national and R50k+ a year on equipment (new car every year, tyre trimmer, balancer, warmers, scrubbers).

          Reply

          • oVg Errorist

            April 25, 2014 at 09:25

            At least one can call that a SPORT cough cough E sports cough cough I mean games… because chess is a game not a sport 😛

          • Jedi JJ

            April 25, 2014 at 09:29

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

            April 25, 2014 at 09:25

            Ok wow. Nevermind then. Nothing to see here! Do not pass Go. Do not collect a hole in the wallet….

      • oVg Errorist

        April 25, 2014 at 09:22

        Hell, come to think of it… Even the gym membership comes close to gaming.
        I finished my coffe, equilibrium is in order.

        Reply

        • HvR - THE Average GAmer

          April 25, 2014 at 09:24

          Cancelled that as well, felt counterproductive. Laying on couch one evening, working myself into coma next evening.

          Reply

        • Jedi JJ

          April 25, 2014 at 09:24

          Gym membership. Listen to yourself man. What do you think we are? Jocks?

          Reply

      • Jedi JJ

        April 25, 2014 at 09:23

        This intrigues me. But I’m already having enough issues servicing my actual car, so I’ll pass.

        Reply

        • HvR - THE Average GAmer

          April 25, 2014 at 09:26

          DO NOT START, worse than WOW. Endless money pit. Guy next beats you with a hair length because he got the latest brushless motor on Sunday you are at the shop on Monday putting another R800 on your credit card.

          Reply

          • Jedi JJ

            April 25, 2014 at 09:27

            Eish. Sounds like me when I spot Star Wars merchandise or Lego.

          • HvR - THE Average GAmer

            April 25, 2014 at 09:33

            At least Lego can not crash into a sidewall at 60kph and break bloody expensive carbon fibre pieces.

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

            April 25, 2014 at 09:34

            weeeeeeelllll…..

            http://www.searchamateur.com/pictures/lego-racers-rc-monster-truck-3.jpg

            Just putting this out there. For science you know

          • Jedi JJ

            April 25, 2014 at 09:36

            But it’s Star Wars. It’s invincible. Unless it’s the Death Star, of course.

    • MakeItLegal

      April 25, 2014 at 09:57

      “$40 FCKING DEMOS” lol

      Reply

    • iAmWeasel

      April 25, 2014 at 10:22

      Anyone who thinks gaming is the most expensive hobby needs to get out more. My wife is into equestrian, and trust me that shit is EXPENSIVE. Besides that, if you take inflation into account it has been proven that games are actually cheaper now than they’ve ever been. Maybe the issue is that a lot of old school gamers have now grown up and are finding it a lot harder to afford gaming, after having to pay rent, kids school fees, and all that other junk.

      Reply

      • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

        April 25, 2014 at 10:28

        You know what they say about buying a horse. Like getting married and buying a house all at the same time

        Reply

    • Ultimo_Cleric N7

      April 25, 2014 at 11:06

      False. Try Climbing, golf and Motorsports. Gaming is becoming the CHEAPER option…..how sick is that?

      Reply

  9. Morne Nell

    April 25, 2014 at 08:53

    Interesting is that the 36+ year category is still growing bigger each year. Why because games and rigs are getting more and more expensive.

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief in Space

      April 25, 2014 at 08:55

      That and that gamers never stop gaming!

      Reply

      • Dutch Matrix

        April 25, 2014 at 09:36

        No. We just grow older… 🙁

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief in Space

          April 25, 2014 at 09:46

          Aye

          Reply

    • Jedi JJ

      April 25, 2014 at 08:55

      And because the kids are too busy dying while doing stupid things and yelling YOLO when they’re not taking selfies.

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        April 25, 2014 at 08:57

        Not completely stupid, Doing humanity a favour imo.

        Reply

        • Jedi JJ

          April 25, 2014 at 08:59

          Quite true.

          Reply

  10. VampyreSquirrel

    April 25, 2014 at 08:57

    I know that netflix thing… whenever I boot up the xbox I see friends online I go “oooo what they playing?” and they’re either on Youtube or Netflix… and I just go and play Sleeping Dogs or something

    Reply

  11. iAmWeasel

    April 25, 2014 at 09:01

    Stats like these can be misleading, because how exactly do you define a “gamer”? For example we are to believe that 48% of gamers are female, but in reality most of those are probably playing games on their phones to kill time, or what some might call “casual gamers”.. which in my view is not really what I would consider a gamer in the traditional sense of the word.

    Reply

    • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

      April 25, 2014 at 09:08

      If they are contributing to the profits of the industry then they are a gamer. Whether it’s via micro transactions for these casual games or buying a AAA title.

      It’s the split of gamers in the industry (ie: as a whole. Casual or otherwise)

      Also looking at the stats 68% of peeps play on console while 53% play on phones.

      Also further on it goes to show who actually buys games (so actual game spend) and the stats?

      50% male and 50% female. So male and female contribute pretty much 50/50 to the industry.

      So it’s really not about whether they are casual or not. Just about whether they contribute to the industry

      Reply

      • iAmWeasel

        April 25, 2014 at 09:12

        One can argue that games are games.. but ultimately the fact is guys take games more seriously. Spending R6000+ for a console and then R800 for a game is the polar opposite to spending R20 on a game which you play on a mobile communications/multi-purpose device. I just saw a stat on another site that said of those 48% female, 11% use Xbox 360 as their primary console and 9% use PS3. The simple fact is women (in general) just aren’t THAT serious about gaming.

        Reply

        • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

          April 25, 2014 at 09:16

          Contributing 50% to the industry is still contributing 50% to the industry hey. Whether it’s crap loads of small purchases or 1 large one. The split is still 50% and that means that some woman take their casual gaming very serious to be able to do 50% of the gamer spend

          Reply

          • iAmWeasel

            April 25, 2014 at 09:21

            I don’t see where you are getting this 50/50 contribution idea from.

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

            April 25, 2014 at 09:23

            By looking at the linked stats PDF from the article: (refresh for image)

          • iAmWeasel

            April 25, 2014 at 09:23

            Just because someone plays a game or games, that does not mean they spend top dollar, or even any money at all on it.

    • Matthew Holliday

      April 25, 2014 at 09:38

      stats are stupid.
      phones are not game consoles, playing angry birds doesnt make you a gamer.
      having a console in your home with a total of one game, means you have played games, but youre not a gamer, buying that R399 console from Verimark doesnt make you a gamer.

      stats take the extreme, theres not a “sometimes” answer, its always “yes or no”
      apparently if you played a game once, on anything, monopoly even, then you are a gamer.

      need stats like “time spent” stats with variables, not yes or no, truth or dare questions.

      Reply

      • iAmWeasel

        April 25, 2014 at 09:39

        Exactly!

        Reply

      • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

        April 25, 2014 at 09:39

        Agreed. However according to the stats, those who frequently buy games are split 50/50

        So woman are still evenly distributed in the frequent gamer portion of the stats too.

        Reply

        • Matthew Holliday

          April 25, 2014 at 10:02

          I remember that PDF, frankly, I dont buy it.
          Where are these illusive “girl gamers”? ashamed of gaming? scared to come out in public and do EVERYTHING online?

          from what my eyes and ears tell me, from talking to people, 95% of gamers (including casuals, not including candycrush players) are guys.
          When I used to go to OC, 600+ people there, 590+ of them are guys.
          Walk into a games stores or talking to friends, never gamers.

          and the girl gamers that do admit it, they make a post on FB or tweet “ermagurd, new Call of Duty released, so have to buy it day 1”
          but mention it to them in a social setting and theyr quick to point out that you play too many games and we shouldnt be talking about games at a party.

          Not saying they dont exist, but i really find that 50% hard to believe.

          Reply

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

            April 25, 2014 at 10:09

            I don’t. Remember we are talking about your average here.

            Tell me that woman in eSports and competitive play (Big Lans, competitions etc) are far lower and I will have to agree because it’s plain to see as you say.

            But I know so many females that play games and most of them do other things like DnD and Cosplay etc as well making them far more ingrained in the “fantasy” world than what I am. They are, in theory, more of a gamer than I myself am. They do it all.

            In fact, in our laning circle we generally have more woman at our private Lans than men 0_0.

            So you see one side but I do see the otherside as well.

            I will agree with you that most woman don’t take it as serious as men do and don’t enter as many competitive things etc; it’s just the nature of man. Men want to prove dominance and so we generally make our presence known a lot louder than what woman will.

            It’s nothing bad it’s just the way we as humans are built. But it most definately doesn’t mean that these woman don’t exist and that it isn’t possible for there to be 50% of them.

            If these stats were done on pro players or enthusiasts then yeah, those stats would weigh more in favor of the men

          • Matthew Holliday

            April 25, 2014 at 10:22

            cosplay, yeah, cant argue with that.

            DnD and stuff like that, debatable, at the warhammer events, i think I played against a girl, once.
            But, whenever we break the cards out, for one obscure game or another, the girlfriends all get involved and play.

            How do you have more girls at your LAN than bros? one of my friends brought his GF that played WoW once, and a few of my girl-friends were curious about them and came to visit, once. both of those cases were back in highschool
            I have 15 people round at my place twice a year for our bi-annual LAN for the past 5 years and the only reason a girl has been there, is to drop a bro off or shout at a bro for spending too much time on games.

            its not so much about being serious or competitive, its about IT, that thing you cant explain, but stats find it so easy to say “yes”, like it answers the question.

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

            April 25, 2014 at 10:27

            I hear you and I understand where you are coming from. But that’s how it is.

            Our gaming circle of friends include a lot of females.

            We also have around a 20 man lan about twice a year and often the woman are more than the men.

            You see it goes about perspective. I find the stats easy to believe because I’ve seen it with my own eyes as true within our circle of gaming friends.

            You’ve seen something else so naturally you will be suspicious.

            I believe the perceived “lessness” of woman in gaming is simply because men are more serious in a sense of being louder and more competitive by nature.

            Look at Rugby. A “true” supporter is the one that understands all the rules, watches every game etc and maybe even plays some.

            However there are many female supporters. Many just aren’t as loud, scream at the TV as much and perhaps don’t get all the rules. But it doesn’t make them any less of a supporter. They just aren’t noticed as much.

            I believe much the same happens in gaming. Many woman just aren’t noticed as much due to the quieter nature of woman (and this is generalising and not trying to insult woman at all)

          • Matthew Holliday

            April 25, 2014 at 10:29

            My ex could scream circles around me at rugby games.
            then again, i dont shout or cheer, Im a man of the internet, I brood.

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

            April 25, 2014 at 10:31

            Hehehehe. Indeed. Keyboard warriors! Our comments scream for us! RAWWWR

      • Wincethis

        April 25, 2014 at 09:40

        So how many hours a week make you a gamer?

        Reply

        • HvR - THE Average GAmer

          April 25, 2014 at 09:42

          Then I’m becoming less of a gamer every week.

          Reply

          • Wincethis

            April 25, 2014 at 09:43

            Indeed. Not sure you can use a comparative scale to call yourself a gamer. If that were the case Esports players would be gamers and we would be ‘pretend gamers’.

          • HvR - THE Average GAmer

            April 25, 2014 at 09:44

            Like Stormers are pretend rugby players, because they are also playing less rugby every week.

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

            April 25, 2014 at 09:45

            WHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

          • Wincethis

            April 25, 2014 at 09:45

            You just broke my heart 🙁 But YES.

          • HvR - THE Average GAmer

            April 25, 2014 at 09:48

            I’m pass the heartbreak stage and closer to the heart attack stage. The only thing worse is that we could have been staying in Bloemfontein.

          • iAmWeasel

            April 25, 2014 at 09:46

            If you are spending less time for no good reason then perhaps your interest is dwindling, and maybe yes you are becoming less of a gamer.

          • HvR - THE Average GAmer

            April 25, 2014 at 09:47

            Have to work harder and more to earn more money to pay for more expensive games to play less games.

        • iAmWeasel

          April 25, 2014 at 09:45

          Being a gamer is a not about numbers. A gamer is someone who plays games more, spends more, knows more about gaming, and discusses gaming with others. How many people who play Angry Birds and Temple Run have know about new games which are in development?

          Reply

          • Wincethis

            April 25, 2014 at 09:48

            Eh? You need to know about gaming development to be a gamer? If that’s the case my brother, who is a gaming developer, is a gamer and you and I are not. That is a sliding scale that is riddled with comparative paradoxes. If I spend more than you, am able to sit on my arse more than you to play games, I am more of a gamer? Nah, sorry. NO.

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

            April 25, 2014 at 09:49

            So if I had to take up a hobby such as RC cars but really not know about the newest models coming out and the latest engines that make them go faster or about the tournaments happening then I wouldn’t be an RC hobbiest?

            No it simply wouldn’t make me an enthusiast.

            Just like people who play angry birds and Temple run aren’t gaming enthusiasts as we are. If they spend hours playing their casual games they are still a gamer. Just not an enthusiast.

          • Wincethis

            April 25, 2014 at 09:50

            Medal awarded. So sick of this ‘I am a gamer, she isn’t a real gamer, she’s a fake gamer’ argument. It create divisions where there are none. Should we now start listing what makes you are TRUE American, South African? Wow. See how healthy that line of thought is?

          • iAmWeasel

            April 25, 2014 at 09:56

            I think you are taking what I’m saying out of context. It doesn’t matter how people choose to get their gaming fix, or how serious they are about it, and just because someone spends more and plays more it doesn’t mean they are better. All I’m saying is that in my view, when the term “gamers” is used, it literally means people who take gaming seriously as a hobby. It doesn’t mean you have to do certain things to be called that.. BUT.. people who have a hobby are generally quite serious about their interest in it, and as a result they spend more money and learn more about it, and invest more time.

          • Wincethis

            April 25, 2014 at 09:59

            Ah, you see. Now THAT I can agree with. It’s when people start listing what makes them more of a die hard fan that gets me. But yes. I agree with you. If you use the term GAMER to say you are a person who has a hobby that is gaming and all its peripherals you are spot on. It’s like saying you are an oenophile… That sounds a lot worse than it is 😉 (Everyone quickly google searches) It means wine hobbiest 😉

          • iAmWeasel

            April 25, 2014 at 10:02

            Ya I suppose gaming is unique in that it appeals to everyone, but at the same time there are those who are a lot more interested in it. Its not like stamp collecting where its either yes or no. In gaming there is also that grey area.

          • Wincethis

            April 25, 2014 at 10:04

            Good Point. You don’t really see many people say ‘mmm, stamp collecting, not THAT interested, but I dabble occasionally’ LOL

          • iAmWeasel

            April 25, 2014 at 10:04

            lol yep!

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

            April 25, 2014 at 10:01

            But if you look at the stats, frequent spenders (The ones that spend actual money and time in games) are of the average age of 35 and are split 50/50 between men and woman. So we still have the average of “true gamers” who take the hobby a little more serious and it’s pretty even

          • Wincethis

            April 25, 2014 at 10:02

            Mmm, not really. It just means we started playing games when the NES came out 😛 I’, 35 and that’s what got me started.

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

            April 25, 2014 at 10:03

            Well to be fair we are looking at a snapshot of one year here lol.

          • Matthew Holliday

            April 25, 2014 at 10:07

            the one that buys them, doesnt necessarilly play them.
            how many 15-18 year olds can afford R500+ on a game?
            who ends up buying them instead?
            the stats dont take stuff like that in to account.

            My mom bought me a game once, does that make her a gamer?

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

            April 25, 2014 at 10:11

            To be fair we don’t know what methodology was used.

            Chances are most of these stats take in to account the account that was used. IE: Steam, uplay, Origin etc. You sign up for an account because every game has to be authenticated. So chances are the account holder is the one who plays.

            If they took stats from credit card purchases alone that would be a big mistake as the purchaser is not the always the player as you rightly point out. If I were them I’d pull my stats from the gamer profiles

          • Matthew Holliday

            April 25, 2014 at 10:25

            stats are stupid, all they do is make me angry.
            unless theyr interesting stats, like my average GPM or kills per game or Kills:Deaths ratio, then theyr interesting.

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

            April 25, 2014 at 10:28

            Hehe. Can’t disagree there. I find individual game stats far more interesting. Love to see the average hour spend etc in specific games 🙂

          • Johan du Preez

            April 25, 2014 at 12:02

            Spot on !

        • Matthew Holliday

          April 25, 2014 at 09:50

          hours played does not make you a gamer, i meant it in terms of establishing a base line to see how long different age groups and guy and girls spend playing games.
          They keep giving us definites, “girls play games” not “girls play games as much as men”

          The age 30+ guys around here are gamers, cant really refute that, but my dad has angry birds installed on his phone, hes even played it, once, and if he took this survey, they would call him a gamer and put him in the 30+ category.
          Thats what gets me.

          Reply

  12. Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

    April 25, 2014 at 09:01

    RPG’s only at 7%.

    My life is a lie!!!!!

    Anyway, great stats and the next time any woman go “we need to raise gaming awareness for woman” I am just going to point out that their is pretty much an even split between woman players and male players. I mean 48% female and 52% male? Yeah that’s pretty much equal.

    So take that all those who believe gaming hasn’t reached enough woman yet. It’s all equal which goes to prove what I have been saying all along. It doesn’t matter what your freaking gender or anything is. A gamer is a gamer and doesn’t matter what you are other than that

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief in Space

      April 25, 2014 at 09:07

      Remember this is only for ‘muricans

      Reply

      • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

        April 25, 2014 at 09:09

        Sure, but they are the largest market. Contributing (according to the stats) $21billion to the industry

        Reply

    • Brady miaau

      April 25, 2014 at 10:17

      my life too. Bastards.

      I think the line between Action and RPG is being blurred as well.

      Reply

      • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

        April 25, 2014 at 10:19

        Very much so.

        In fact I wonder if these stats bother to split the Action genre that is so large in to the 3 separate types:

        Action Adventre
        Action RPG
        Action FPS

        Reply

    • MakeItLegal

      April 25, 2014 at 10:46

      have yet to meet a female gamer proper…#justsaying

      Reply

      • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

        April 25, 2014 at 11:08

        Seriously? How the heck is this possible? I know loads of em! 0_0

        Reply

        • MakeItLegal

          April 25, 2014 at 11:12

          Truly , I only know my mates daughter who jams dota 2 else , zip zero nada

          Reply

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

            April 25, 2014 at 11:14

            I know…. *counting out names quick*….

            around 15 or so gamer woman who I know personally. Have met many more. And I’m talking about DoTA, L4D, BF, CoD, etc kind of games. AAA game players

          • MakeItLegal

            April 25, 2014 at 11:17

            Wow … That’s truly amazing man

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

            April 25, 2014 at 11:20

            I honestly saw it as normal 0_0 clearly I am living in some strange transdimensional rift here. People keep telling me it’s impossible

          • Admiral Chief in Space

            April 25, 2014 at 12:02

            Indeed you are, I know only one gamer chick, and she is showing us something today on the ION

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

            April 25, 2014 at 12:41

            and everyone waits in anticipation 😉

      • Johan du Preez

        April 25, 2014 at 11:59

        Gaming chicks usually have lots of issues, I dated a chick that was a competitive quake 3 player and never again …

        Reply

  13. HvR - THE Average GAmer

    April 25, 2014 at 09:08

    I AM THE AVERAGE GAMER!!!!

    Reply

    • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

      April 25, 2014 at 09:10

      You are 31?

      Reply

      • HvR - THE Average GAmer

        April 25, 2014 at 09:10

        and 52% male

        Reply

        • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

          April 25, 2014 at 09:11

          Wait.. what?

          Reply

        • Admiral Chief in Space

          April 25, 2014 at 09:13

          Hahahaha, you sit while you pee then?

          Reply

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

            April 25, 2014 at 09:14

            OH SNAP

          • oVg Errorist

            April 25, 2014 at 09:14

            While the seat is still up.

          • Admiral Chief in Space

            April 25, 2014 at 09:15

            Becoz drunk as skunk?

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

            April 25, 2014 at 09:31

            That… that could only be uncomfortable 0_0

          • Wincethis

            April 25, 2014 at 09:38

            Or still down 0-o

          • Mossel

            April 25, 2014 at 10:01

            Or 52% up.

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

            April 25, 2014 at 10:02

            So leaning against his back while he is sitting? I think I’m gonna throw up

          • HvR - THE Average GAmer

            April 25, 2014 at 09:58

            That reminds me where is Tanya?

          • Admiral Chief in Space

            April 25, 2014 at 10:04

            Ask Squirrel, I think he knows

        • VampyreSquirrel

          April 25, 2014 at 09:15

          O.o huh?

          Reply

        • Wincethis

          April 25, 2014 at 09:38

          Umm… 0-o

          Reply

        • Unavengedavo

          April 25, 2014 at 10:30

    • oVg Errorist

      April 25, 2014 at 09:13

      NOOB 😛

      Reply

  14. VampyreSquirrel

    April 25, 2014 at 09:10

    Yay! I’m not average… as I’m not 31, I’ve been playing games for about 24 years, I own 3 dedicated gaming devices and I spend 0% of my time watching TV. I go to the movies twice to three times a year and have never watched anything on Netflix.

    Reply

    • Peet Luckhoff

      April 25, 2014 at 09:37

      Please have my children!

      Reply

      • Dutch Matrix

        April 25, 2014 at 09:42

        At least wine and dine him/her first…

        Reply

        • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

          April 25, 2014 at 09:44

          GG

          Reply

      • VampyreSquirrel

        April 25, 2014 at 09:48

        Lol, sorry, I’m married.

        Reply

        • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

          April 25, 2014 at 09:50

          ooooh the plot thickens

          Reply

  15. Wincethis

    April 25, 2014 at 09:19

    Hahah! PC Casual Race. NICE.

    Reply

  16. Kromas

    April 25, 2014 at 09:26

    So if I am over the average gamers age, does that make me an above average gamer? :p

    Also PC master race can’t play hardcore games at work so they play casual games for a quick fix. 😛

    Reply

  17. HvR - THE Average GAmer

    April 25, 2014 at 09:40

    Can help but notice no LBGQT stats, o the discrimination. They should probably make another movie.

    Reply

    • Wincethis

      April 25, 2014 at 09:40

      Ohhhh, too soon! 😉

      Reply

    • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

      April 25, 2014 at 09:40

      Dude please don’t go there lol. You might start something lol

      Reply

    • Unavengedavo

      April 25, 2014 at 10:26

      Strangely they also don’t mention colour or religion… The discrimination is writhe in these statistics O_o
      *starts kickstarter campaign form new movie*

      Reply

    • BacchusZA

      April 25, 2014 at 11:15

      Um, what does the “Q” in there mean?

      Lesbian I get. Bi-sexual, no problem, Gay & transgender, no confusion, But the “Q” has me stumped.

      Quizzical?

      Questionable?

      Reply

      • HvR - THE Average GAmer

        April 25, 2014 at 11:20

        Almost right, queer or if they are overly PC questionable.

        Basically it means “other”

        Reply

        • BacchusZA

          April 25, 2014 at 11:40

          There’s a difference between “queer” and gay? Or am I missing something here?

          Not to be facaetious or anything, but it seems that “LBGT” covers all the bases, and I can’t see that throwing an extra Q in there adds anything meaningful?

          I’m the wrong side of 40, so you young people with your long hair and loud music and strange and bizarre behaviour are just going to have to be patient and explain this to me 🙂

          Reply

          • HvR - THE Average GAmer

            April 25, 2014 at 11:53

            No, I had the same question. Asked a same-sex couple I have been friends with since before they came out, so I knew my ignorance wouldn’t be taken as offensive.

            It is for people who doesn’t want to be grouped an any of the other categories. So it ranges from people who A-sexual/non-sexual to people who are unsure, for instance you get people who are attracted to specific person of the same sex but not to other people of same sex in general.

          • Wincethis

            April 25, 2014 at 11:56

            So like only being attracted to gingers? *Asked no one ever 🙁

          • HvR - THE Average GAmer

            April 25, 2014 at 12:11

            I think the SPCA has a support group for that.

          • Johan du Preez

            April 25, 2014 at 11:53

            40 is the spring time of your life 😛

  18. Alien Emperor Trevor

    April 25, 2014 at 09:52

    I’m such an average gamer I have 2.5 games.

    Reply

    • Mossel

      April 25, 2014 at 10:00

      lol. More like 2.5k

      Reply

  19. MakeItLegal

    April 25, 2014 at 09:52

    Average gamer 31years old – average game demograph target 17yrs old …just saying the industry might need to focus on the average 31yr old instead of the 17yr olds , how i long to be treated like a mature adult in a game….

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief in Space

      April 25, 2014 at 09:53

      You said it!

      Reply

    • Norm the Horrible

      April 25, 2014 at 09:54

      Nailed it!

      Reply

    • Jedi JJ

      April 25, 2014 at 09:56

      Absolutely agreed.

      Reply

    • Brady miaau

      April 25, 2014 at 10:16

      Ok, but games like DA:O and Fallout 3 were mature in the way they played out and the moral choices you had to make.

      But I do agree, most games seem targeted to people far younger than myself (over the average age, but not yet old enough to care)

      Reply

      • MakeItLegal

        April 25, 2014 at 10:27

        Both great games I hear ( haven’t played either altho I did try dragon age 2 I think it was )

        I think the point I was trying to make , is perhaps they should focus a lil bit more on the 1/3 of the focus group witch is 31 old gamers , I mean that a large portion of well matured gamers who have played the kid stuff for the last 12 years and they crave something a bit more ” mature” “dark” even “more socially reflective of societies social ills ” I would go as far as to say they should make a horror game about the Rwanda genocide , where u play a victim that has to help other victims get to safety , avoid the militants and stay alive

        For me that’s a perfect “concept” to run with , people can learn about the horrors in an interactive way , perhaps they could even understand how gross and wrong it all was after playing the game

        Hell u could even have a game where u tata

        Reply

        • Brady miaau

          April 25, 2014 at 10:42

          Play DA:O, trust me. It will answer some of those cravings. It seems a bit real in places, I cared about the characters.

          Borderlands 2, though, was just a good amount of silly fun, with some fairly shocking, yet funny moments.

          But I do not want real world stuff, I like fantasy and sci-fi, to escape into it.

          Reply

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