Are you an adult gamer? I find that as I get older, I think about the fact that I’m a married man who still loves to spend some of his personal time playing video games. I’ve had people tell me that “video games are for kids, stop playing those things”. That is true, they are for kids, but I beg to differ that they are only for kids.
I found that the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board, the company that puts those “T for teens” or “M for mature” ratings on games) surveyed PC/video gamers around the USA and came up with some interesting results from 2010 (so these numbers are probably higher now). *See more in the link or just click the image*
- The average gamer is 34 yrs. old
- 40% of gamers are female
- 49% are between the ages of 18-49 (that’s a BIG gap though…I would have preferred a more accurate number)
- 67% of US households play video games.
- The gaming industry makes $10.5 billion yearly.
- Most of that money was made from “E for Everyone” rated games/items.
I found those statistics to be very fascinating, especially the fact that most gamers were in their 30s! I’m not there yet, but I will be soon 🙁 I believe that this fact is that most gamers grew up with video games, so the same gamers like myself who started in the 80s/90s are still playing today, and growing strong. Whenever you visit a game convention, or even an anime one, you will see that most of the attendees are older (at least at the ones I’ve been to here in Miami, FL). Not too many little ones running around with a Pikachu outfit on, that’s for sure.
Two Generations
What does this all mean? Basically, when adults say that games are for children, that’s true. They are, because we were those same children that used to play them, the only thing now is that we are grown up but still love our games. It’s the same for people who still love to watch old TV shows and movies, even black and white ones. I know people who love watching TCM (Turner Classic Movies, and they are great by the way) and say that those were the best movies ever made. Of course, because they were made while they were growing up, so that nostalgic feel is very strong for them, as it is for gamers.
I love the fact that the generation growing up with video games now, can relate to my generation who are in adulthood. We (adult gamers) can share any “gaming wisdom” or even get into a silly discussion like: Which Tomb Raider series was better? or What was the best console ever? Atari or the Wii? You can see that the younger generation might not know what Atari is, while adult gamers would have a basic knowledge on the old consoles and the new ones. I find it cool and interesting that we can share our knowledge from our years of gaming to new gamers to help the community grow and learn from one another.
