The Entertainment Software Association, one of the foremost collectors of data on the video game industry, has released their 2013 data about video game consumption and use. It’s some pretty nifty information on gamers, their buying habits, and their make-up. In terms of sociology and video games, this is the bee’s knees (That’s a good thing, right?)
Let’s talk about some of the more interesting findings.
58% of American play video games:Look to your left, look to your right. Chances are the person sitting next to you is a gamer. This means that gamers are no longer in the minority. Like it or not, if you’re an American you’re most likely at least a little bit of a gamer. While this statistic doesn’t go into how it defines gamers, it shows that playing video games is now a hobby or activity that most Americans partake in.
45% of Gamers are female:
Video games are no longer a boys club, unless you’re a game like “Bully”..then you kind of are. Females are increasingly making up a half of the gaming populations, which means that they are no longer a demographic developers can ignore.
Also interesting: The percent goes up a little when looking at “who buys video games more”. What this might mean is that guys, moreso that girls, pirate games more.
The Average age of a gamer is 30: Sorry kids. You’re no longer the key demographic for video games (You haven’t been for while). The average age of a gamer has gone up in recent years. Why? We’re seeing the first generation who grew up with the second wave of video game consoles growing up, and they’re the ones with disposable income.Tricks are still for kids, so take solace in that.
Card/Board Games make up most of online games played:World of War Craft who? 
Card games and other more traditional games make up the most online games played. Why? Most likely online gambling, but it is interesting. We don’t generally think of online poker or online gambling as “gaming” as there’s no real content to purchase or games to sell, but it’s definitely a big part of online gaming.
52% of Parents say that Video Games are Positive Parts of their kids lives: Contrary to a lot of the headlines that you’ll read about parents worrying that video games are negative to their children’s well being, the majority of parents believe them to be positive for their kids. Perhaps we’ll see the “VIDEO GAMES MADE MY 12 YEAR OLD PREGNANT” and “GAMES TURNED MY BABY INTO A MURDER” headlines disappear (They were never real).
Shooters/Action Games are still the most popular games:Americans like violence, and it shows in our video games. With games like Call of Duty still topping the charts, the most commonly bought video game is either a shooter or an action game. Cool story bro.
Video Games Sales are on the Decline
Even though the number of gamers are growing, the sales of video games are coming down from their all time high. While this could mean it was just a burst of a bubble, other contributing factors could be the increase of mobile and free-to-play games on IOS and Android platforms. Gamers are playing more, but spending less. This state doesn’t take into consideration the amount of money spent in game. Also, purchasing games is becoming more and more popular, most likely due to the importance of Steam and other downloadable services.
So there are some interesting facts from this year’s study. The ESA is made up of individuals from all over the gaming industries in very well known and popular gaming developers, so it’s a trusty sample of respondents coming from all over. For more stats and information about ESA, please visit their website for the complete report.
The Sociology of Videogames 
Reblogged this on The TechAddiction Blog and commented:
Doubt that the decline in sales is a bubble about to burst. Mobile platforms may be a factor, but we are also in the last few months of the current console generation. Lots of gamers saving their $$$ for a PS4 or Xbox One?
I definitely do think mobile gaming could be a factor. Free or cheap games on mobile platforms have become more popular in the last year, while there was kind of a lull in content for consoles in 2012. If you factor in how much money is being spent in Free-to-play games, I wonder if you’d see the statistic balance itself out. Unfortunately the study didn’t look into those numbers.
Very true. Often it is the free-to-play games that are the top grossing apps. I am amazed that something like Candy Crush Saga is regularly at the top in terms of earnings. There is no way to actually “buy” the game, but people are actually willing to pay for extra moves and extra lives (among other things).
I’m very surprised by the 52% of parents that say video games are a positive influence! While thats barely over half, I assumed it would have been the other way around.