'Essential Facts' Report by the Entertainment Software Association

First off a little information about who the ESA is and what they do. They are an American association of videogame developers and publishers who run the E3 event, conduct research, give intellectual property protection and have various other related objectives. Their thirty-four members include Activision Blizzard, Disney Interactive Studios, Electronic Arts, Microsoft Corporation, Nintendo of America, Sony Computer Entertainment of America, Square Enix and Take-Two Interactive.

They have released a report they have labeled 'Essential Facts About The Computer And Video Game Industry'. It is available to read or download here, but here are some of the more interesting facts.

59% of Americans play videogames, meaning there is no longer a stereotypical gamer.

Among the households that own a device used to play videogames; 68% are on a console, 53% are on a smartphone and 41% are on a wireless device. This is up by 22% for phones and 37% for pads from the previous year.

 

 

 

 

The "average gamer" is a 31 year old male, with 52% of gamers being male and mid-30s being the largest age group. However, there are more female gamers aged 18 and below and both sexes purchase games equally.

Curiously, despite Zynga losing half of it's players recently, social games are up 55% in popularity from 2012 to 2013. Out of all of the types of online games, casual/social has the largest share with 30% of gamers and puzzle/card games being only slightly below with 28%.

Most, with 62%, play games with others either online or Sofa Sharing. Most of that is either with friends or non-immediate family.

Almost 90% of parents know about and trust the ESRB rating system when choosing games suitable for their children. 56% of parents believe that games are a positive part of their child's life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The best selling console games were Action, Shooter and Sports, whereas computer games were Strategy, Casual and Role Playing. The best selling franchise's were The Sims and Call of Duty, given the positions in the Top 20 by units sold lists.

The final bit is most interesting. The videogame industry had Americans spend $21.53 billion on it. over $15 billion was on games alone, with $4.26 on hardware and $1.88 on accessories. To compare, the movie industry made $11 billion in box office sales. Well, there ARE 47% gamers spending less time going to the movies according to the report.