The Circana 2024 Gamer Segmentation Report is out and it has revealed a few interesting things about the amount of gamers in the United States. For starters,71% of the country plays games on a regular basis. Contrary to popular belief, what’s even more surprising is the fastest growing gamer demographic: adults over 45 years old. It makes sense that the first generation to grow up with gaming consoles would still be engaged later in life, but that group, with the largest share at 37%, owes its explosive growth to more women gaming than ever before.
Circana is a media company that for over forty years has been at the forefront of tracking consumer sentiment, and their Gaming Segmentation Reports are just one part of what they do, which includes tracking sales figures, subscription numbers and user bases. For the 2024 Gaming Segmentation Report, Circana conducted an online survey with 5,100 responders and extrapolated the data out from there. This year, the company discovered that self-identifiedgamers are spending more time and more moneyon the hobby than ever before.
As part of the research, it was discovered that gamers spent an average of $56.20 on video games in the first six months of 2024.
As part of the research, it was discovered thatgamers spent an average of $56.20 on video games in the first six months of 2024. New games of the current generation consoles,PlayStation 5 Proand theXbox Series X|Sconsoles, cost $70, but go back to thePlayStation 4andXbox One, both of which are still heavily supported, and they cost $60. Given the average spent, it’s safe to assume that most people only bought one new game in six months.
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The Future Of The Industry
While adults over the age of 45 make up the majority of gamers in the United States, the most important demographic group shrunk this year, aschildren under 12 years old dropped 6% from their previous total. Children are the future isn’t just a catchy slogan, it’s true for every industry, making them the most important group for developers and publishers to try and engage. While most kids havephones capable of playing games, and theRoblox Corporationhas built an empire from this age group, a drop that large is a troubling sign for the future of the gaming industry.
Gamers today are more dedicated than ever–14.5 hours of gaming time a week is the new average– marking a record high. People are also playing on more devices than ever before, with mobile devices remaining the most popular, at 65%, followed by PC and then consoles. None of the numbers from the latest report can offset the onslaught of bad news from within the industry, including layoffs,studio closuresand major new releases underperforming, but the gamers are out there, willing to spend money and wanting to spend hundreds of hours getting lost in digital worlds. They just happen to be older than the media usually depicts. It should be clear to everyone now that video games aren’t just for kids.
Source:Circana
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