Average age of gamer is 32

Vyse

Not that it's a big suprise but:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/average-age-of-gamers-is-32-says-study

I would expect this to increase as the years go on. I would imagine that the average age of a gamer 20 years ago was 12:D

Retr0gamer

Hmm... a voluntary online survey. I'm not sure that those results are accurate.

falan

That sounds about right. I'm 31 so gaming was my generation. I remember about 6 years ago i would have been 25 odd and i remember saying to one of the boys at work who was in his 40s that i was into gaming. His reply was that video games were for kids and what was i doing playing games at that age:rolleyes:

I explained to him that i had grown up with it and that many games nowadays were aimed at my age group. He thought i was mad:D

sink

I'm sceptical, how many 12 year olds fill out online surveys?

folan

so, im a young gamer.

must be single player games! cause online, I usually end up playing against people who seem to have the combined age of a pair of my socks!

weiland79

34 here.

VinLieger

The ESRB confirmed this a few years ago, its pretty much an accepted fact now

marco_polo

Not realy surprising, howverver if you just include MW2 on Xbox live the average age drops substantialy ....

petes

It's not surprising. I read this forum more than I post but I reckon the average age of posters here is about 30. Most of us grew up with NES, Master System and up. Give it a few years and it's still going to be the same but the 30 year olds will have grown up with Xbox 360 and PS3's.

allanb49

i feel so young at only 24

Wossack

playin a tf2 game the other day with a 64 year old, and his son (somewhere in his 30's, cant recall)

hearing someone older then me saying, "dad, help me build me sentry", was a bit funny

sink

I'm 26 so i'm below average age apparently. That's not been my experience, out of my friends who are typically age between 22 - 32 only ~20% would be gamers and I have more guy friends then girl friends. But when I look at my cousins who are 12 (boy) and 14 (girl) and their friends, virtually all of them, girls included, play games regularly on their Nintendo DS's & iPod touches.

I don't think they read games sites and would be very unlikely to partake in a self selecting online poll, so chances are the survey misses a huge demographic of tweener/teen gamers.

previous user

Average age of a gamer is 32, thats just really really sad.

petes

previous user wrote: »

Average age of a gamer is 32, thats just really really sad.

Explain.

previous user

Insurgent wrote: »

Explain.

Only kidding!

I'm 33 and I own a wii, ps2, xbox 360 and an xbox, now to sit down to my 10 hour marathon gaming session of Oblivion, WHOOP! WHOOP! WHOOP!

petes

previous user wrote: »

Only kidding!

I'm 33 and I own a wii, ps2, xbox 360 and an xbox, now to sit down to my 10 hour marathon gaming session of Oblivion, WHOOP! WHOOP! WHOOP!

Cool. I thought you were taking the piss. 30 here and have a PS3.

One thing that does annoy me these days is that I don't feel that I have to finish a game. Play it. It's great but thats it. I have a heap of games at home that I have yet to finish but on the final level.

marco_polo

sink wrote: »

I'm 26 so i'm below average age apparently. That's not been my experience, out of my friends who are typically age between 22 - 32 only ~20% would be gamers and I have more guy friends then girl friends. But when I look at my cousins who are 12 (boy) and 14 (girl) and their friends, virtually all of them, girls included, play games regularly on their Nintendo DS's & iPod touches.

I don't think they read games sites and would be very unlikely to partake in a self selecting online poll, so chances are the survey misses a huge demographic of tweener/teen gamers.

Not just online surveys though the ESA put it even higher at 35, and most other studies seem to com up with a figure the far(my) side of 30.

http://www.theesa.com/facts/index.asp

previous user

I usually just play fallout 3 and Oblivion bout a year and a half after I got both so yeah, some games can be immersive alright. I hear the sequel to Oblivion is coming out in October, so much gaming and so little time.

petes

I've stopped myself so far in playing Fallout 3. Bought it, played it a bit but knew if I played anymore I'd be a recluse

Last 3 games I've spent time on were Arkham Aysulum, Uncharterd 2 and Assisins Creed. Ah now I want to go home and stay in with my pipe and slippers and play some games!!

sink

marco_polo wrote: »

Not just online surveys though the ESA put it even higher at 35, and most other studies seem to com up with a figure the far(my) side of 30.

http://www.theesa.com/facts/index.asp

Well I'll have to submit to that. My anecdotal observations don't seem to match the average.

Vegeta

Call me ignorant but I refuse to believe that.

online survey = fail and ESA don't state how they come up with their figures

"Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent. 14% of people know that."

VinLieger

Vegeta wrote: »

Call me ignorant but I refuse to believe that.

online survey = fail and ESA don't state how they come up with their figures

"Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent. 14% of people know that."

Believe what you want but its been an accepted fact within the industry for the past few years

Retr0gamer

VinLieger wrote: »

Believe what you want but its been an accepted fact within the industry for the past few years

I call bull. The demograph is definitely getting older but there's still a hell of a lot more gamers in the 7-20 year old bracket.

petes

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I call bull. The demograph is definitely getting older but there's still a hell of a lot more gamers in the 7-20 year old bracket.

Back that up.

F1ngers

allanb49 wrote: »

i feel so young at only 24

You're below average...:p

At 42, I'm above average...:D....no wait...:(

marco_polo

Vegeta wrote: »

Call me ignorant but I refuse to believe that.

online survey = fail and ESA don't state how they come up with their figures

"Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent. 14% of people know that."

The data included in the 2008 Essential Facts was gathered in an annual study conducted by Ipsos MediaCT for the ESA. The study is the most in-depth and targeted of its kind, gathering data from over 1,200 nationally representative households that have been identified as owning either or both a video game console or personal computer used to run entertainment software.

Average Age 28 in the UK 5 years ago.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/05/entertainment_gaming_in_the_uk/html/3.stm

And the trend is that the average is increasing. That ESA study was 35 years, in 2006 it was 33. A CDC study came up with the exact same figure of 35

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8206163.stm

A UK survey from 2002, conducted by the Leisure Software Publishers Association, found the average gamer was aged between 25 and 34.

But it also suggested that the average age of the keenest players is gradually edging upwards, a finding reinforced by the CDC finding.

The team from CDC examined people's perception of their mood, personality, health status, physical and mental health, body mass index (BMI) and quality of life.

Every survey on the matter points to the same general age range so I don't see why it is all that surprising to people.

mayordenis

previous user wrote: »

Average age of a gamer is 32, thats just really really sad.

previous user wrote: »

Only kidding!

I'm 33 and I own a wii, ps2, xbox 360 and an xbox, now to sit down to my 10 hour marathon gaming session of Oblivion, WHOOP! WHOOP! WHOOP!

greatest turn around of all time - really thought you were just trolling for a min :pac:

VinLieger

Insurgent wrote: »

Back that up.

This.
I dont understand peoples refusal to accept the figures? Several different survey sources have been given. Why do you disagree so strongly? Do you think the surveys are made up or have huge error margins?

Vegeta

marco_polo wrote: »

Average Age 28 in the UK 5 years ago.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/05/entertainment_gaming_in_the_uk/html/3.stm

And the trend is that the average is increasing. That ESA study was 35 years, in 2006 it was 33. A CDC study came up with the exact same figure of 35



Every survey on the matter points to the same general age range so I don't see why it is all that surprising to people.

The CDC study was carried out on 19 to 90 year olds so hardly surprising because they left children out.

marco_polo

Vegeta wrote: »

The CDC study was carried out on 19 to 90 year olds so hardly surprising because they left children out.

D'oh. Epic fail for me.

Vegeta

marco_polo wrote: »

D'oh. Epic fail for me.

Don't sweat it

I am a cynical person at heart anyway but for every 30year+ gamer I know personally I know twenty or thirty 10-20 year olds.

So in my experience as a gamer in Ireland I just don't believe the average age is 35.

Online surveys are obviously limited to the population of people online, and even further to the people who read the type of site the survey was listed on, probably a computer game journalism site.

CDC was adults

I cant find any raw data for the ESA report, couldn't even find the piece of text you quoted on there.

Retr0gamer

The ESA study is just bad science. It was completed by 'consumer panel members' which probably eliminates anyone below 19 and I'm guessing the younger you get the less likely you would bother your hoop filling out this survey. If they wanted a better figure they could take the average age of PSN, Steam or XBL users.

cherryghost

Surveyors need to take to the streets, to the game shops, and to online digital distributors in order to get an average age. Personally I think the average age would be mid 20s if not late 20s

laoishibee

I believe this survey is for the U.s? no?

We'll there is a lot af weirdos over there i guess!

ShadowHearth

well i am 24, and all my life i play computer games, started at arcades, then nes, then sega, then ps1, ps2, PC, ps3, xbox360...


At work me and anther lads are pure gamers ( out of 50 people staff), when we start talking about some games, people just look at us like we are some kind of animals, which ran out of zoo by accsident...

32 wouldnt be accurate, theres still alot of young gamers, who newer did any polls, as they dont care about em. Thought this age will increase for sure from what it is now...

I played games now for 18 years, and i really dont see why should i quit them...

p.s. and no i am not some kind of troll living in basement of my mums house, in fact i live with misses for last 6 years in same house . she is very understanding about mine hobies and newer interfare, same as i dont interfare hers. For example, i came back 2:00 at night from a "car meet club" last night, she only asked me how was it and did i had fun

So you can be old, still play computer games, have family, have fun.

Silverfish

24 is old now?!

I'm a year over the average, won't be quitting any time soon.

InvisibleBadger

I'm 30, and most guys i know have a console, even if most people just use em for fifa and racing games.
So whilst the majority of gamers might not be over 32, there is a huge number of us. We played paper boy, fifa 95, cannon fodder, pitfall, halo, advance wars, f-zero, sonic, beneath a steel sky, half life, double dragon, final fight, mgs, so don't ye young whippersnappers be lolling at us!:pac:

previous user

I haven't played a game in a couple of weeks now with the good weather and all, that looks set to change this weekend, ah well (cracks knuckles).

Star Bingo

i'm 32! til december - woulda thought it was a minority 6-7yr ago but them years just.. vanished. n here i am - i guess thats how it goes i suspect others grew older too?! :pac:

-doesn't average age mean all ages considered be it older than / younger than with the result bein dead center of the ages surveyed? !

these things baffle me

marco_polo

Thinking about it some more more I suspect that as these survey likely cover players of online games such as Second life, which younger gamers wouldn't be caught dead playing (and can't up to 13 anyway) would have ahave a higher age profile, and probably pushes the averages up over say a survey just covering your average Xbox live, PSN or steam user.

It is gaming alright but not as we know it :P

ShadowHearth

InvisibleBadger wrote: »

I'm 30, and most guys i know have a console, even if most people just use em for fifa and racing games.
So whilst the majority of gamers might not be over 32, there is a huge number of us. We played paper boy, fifa 95, cannon fodder, pitfall, halo, advance wars, f-zero, sonic, beneath a steel sky, half life, double dragon, final fight, mgs, so don't ye young whippersnappers be lolling at us!:pac:

i am 24, and those were my golden times . Cannon fodder.... damn i miss it now... easy to play, but so hard to master...

TiGeR KiNgS

'Sampling Bias' ITT

jaykhunter

I don't believe this. An internet survey is not a viable cross-section of the gamers market, and to "even out" the kids playing consoles there'd have to be many 50+ year old gamers. I'm not judging - that's awesome, i hope to be a gamer at 50 - but I doubt it averages out at 50.

That's like saying whoever pays the NTL bill watches Kerrang all day, and not the teenager.

Maybe a better idea would be to have these surveyers hang out at HMV and Gamestop for a month and ask who they're buying games for.

civis_liberalis

Whayhaaay! I'm a young gamer!

Skerries

right this thread needs a poll or a new thread
i'm 36 and have a PS3, Wii and gaming PC for this current gen of gaming platforms
have been playing since pestering my mum for 10p to play Space Invaders

The Recliner

Woo Hoo, I am average at something

even if the data seems a bit skewed

I haven't played enough reccently but I have Alan Wake and Red Dead Redemption lined up for the long weekend

Randomfriend

i'm 19, I grew up on ye old mega drive! italia 90 was the shiz I still play final fantasy v11 I think it's silly to discuss the validity of a poll as you will always miss some demographic and the samples will never be big enough, my own estimate would be that the average age of all gamers in the world would be something more like 23-25

Polar101

Vegeta wrote: »

I am a cynical person at heart anyway but for every 30year+ gamer I know personally I know twenty or thirty 10-20 year olds.

I don't know any 10-20 year old gamers, the ones I know are all 30+. That doesn't mean I want to make it into a statistic, though.

Shiminay

I am the average age. I'd have a spread of friends within 10-12 years of me (5-6 each way) that are solid gamers too.

I'd have thought it younger myself tbh.

docdolittle

I had to look this up for a college project before... Surprisingly enough, most casual gamers (the likes of bejeweled) are female and above that average age. If you look at popcap's site, all the info about their customers and everything is up there. With ease of access to games now and all that jazz I wouldn't be surprised if that goes up a bit in the coming years.



Quote from popcap website:

• Percentage of PopCap customers that are female (More than 65%)
• Percentage of PopCap customers that are over the age of 29 (More than 75%)

cherryghost

Damn right. I play Peggle to attract teh wimminz