Today’s video games provide rich, engaging entertainment for all players across all platforms. Our “2016 Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry” report underscores how video games have evolved into a mass medium: more than 150 million Americans play video games and 63 percent of households are home to at least one person who plays video games regularly, or at least three hours per week. The average gamer is 35 years old, and 73 percent are age 18 or older. Nearly half (41 percent) of gamers are female and women over the age of 18 represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (31 percent) than boys age 18 or younger (17 percent). A majority of parents (68 percent) say video games are a positive part of their child’s life: 88 percent think that game play is fun for the whole family and 76 percent believe playing games offers a good opportunity to connect with their child. To learn more about the key findings from the 2016 Essential Facts click here.
Video games are a strong engine for economic growth. In 2014, the industry sold over 135 million games and generated more than $22 billion in revenue. Fifty two percent of total game sales were generated by purchases of digital content, including online subscriptions, downloadable content, mobile applications, and social networking games. Computer and video game companies directly and indirectly employ more than 146,000 people in 36 states.
Beyond engaging entertainment, video games help drive societal advancements. Researchers at East Carolina University found a 57 percent decrease in depressive symptoms among those who played casual video games and 70 percent of teachers said that video games increased students’ motivation and engagement levels, according to a national survey of teachers who use games in the classroom. Players donated more than 101 billion individual grains of rice through the World Food Program’s online game FreeRice, as of January 2014. While these are just a few examples of how games improve what matters, it is clear that – from education, to health, to business, to the arts – the computer and video game industry helps Americans lead healthier, happier and more productive lives.
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|Games: Improving Social Issues||Games and Family Life|
|Games: Improving the Economy||Games and Advertising|