Consumer Technology Association: Almost 29 million people in the US are hardcore gamers
Millions of people in the US spend 42 hours per week on games (and they're actively paying for/in them).
CTA surveyed 2,703 adults and teenagers in the US.
Games and Other Types of Entertainment
65% of people in the US over 13 years old play games. This is 182.7 million people. The study authors note that the popularity of games in the country is growing.
Games are the second most popular entertainment in the US. It is second only to watching television, movies, and series. However, for younger generations (millennials and Generation Z), games are in first place.
40% of gamers indicated that they would prefer games over watching movies and series.
60% of players also interact with gaming content - streams, videos about games.
81% of Generation Z representatives can call themselves gamers; 67% of millennials; 50% of Generation X representatives; 29% of baby boomers and 19% of those over 78 years old. Males are more likely to call themselves gamers (62%) than females (49%).
Platforms
49% of the US gaming population named mobile devices as their main gaming platform. Most of this audience are casual older players and women. 23% play mainly on consoles, and 22% on PC. There has emerged a noticeable layer of those who mainly play on portable systems - 3% of such players.
However, only 26% of respondents play exclusively on mobile devices. 61% (95.5 million people) sometimes play on multiple platforms. And 38% have done so in the last 3 months.
US Gaming Audience
Generation Z is currently the largest category of players in the US.
18% of gamers (28.6 million) are hardcore gamers, the most economically active. These are mostly men (73%), with an average age of 29 years. They play 42 hours a week, spend most of their time on paid games, and actively buy new games. 91% of hardcore gamers play on PC and consoles. They also use new gaming technologies (cloud gaming, VR, and others) more often than other groups. 71% are subscribed to gaming services; 51% are engaged in creating content related to games. Among the preferences of such users are multiplayer games, shooters, open-world games.
46% of gamers (72.1 million people) are "core" gamers. They are not as active as hardcore gamers, but they play games quite often. 36% (55 million people) are casual gamers.
Interestingly, 69% of "core" gamers and 81% of casual gamers prefer "old" games - those that have been on the market for more than 5 years. People get used to their favorite games and rarely leave them.
Most players start their gaming journey between the ages of 5 and 12. The peak of activity occurs during school years and university, and then people start to churn.
68% of players play games with other people. The older the gamers, the more often they prefer to play single-player projects (81% of people over 60 prefer such games).
Most American players (75%) expect games to become even more social. And 77% are confident that even more live-service games will appear in the next 5 years.
2/3 of respondents believe that games help them meet new friends.
Purchases
64% of gamers in the US plan to buy new gaming devices for themselves next year.
62% of gamers in the US want to buy new peripherals in the coming year. The most popular choices are headphones and microphones.
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23% of respondents noted that they would like to upgrade their gaming device (the difference from the point above is that it was about buying a new device). In the next 12 months, 26% of respondents would like to buy themselves a gaming console.
20% of surveyed gamers in the US already have a portable console.
Digital Goods, Subscriptions, and IP sentiments
69% of gamers prefer to buy digital goods.
40% of players have an active subscription to games or services. 49% have purchased such a subscription in the last 6 months.
29% of respondents plan to buy a subscription next year. Mainly, millennials and Generation Z plan to do this.
68% of users (especially older ones) prefer free games.
44% of the American gaming audience would very much like to see games based on their favorite movies or series.
Regulations and Laws
If the Trump government introduces new tariffs and duties on imports from China and other countries, console prices in the US could rise by 40%.
41% of users who don't play on consoles noted the high cost of console gaming. So this plays a big role.