At Pax East, an analysis firm presented facts and data on video games and their players. It is noticeable: The billion-dollar games could hardly be more different. “The typical gamer” no longer exists.
Currently, Pax East is taking place in Boston. The analysis firm Eedar (Electronic Entertainment Design and Research) gave an interesting presentation, which was compiled by the US site PvPLive.
The typical gamer hardly exists anymore
According to Eedar, the average gamer in the USA is 35 years old. There are just as many gamers over 50 (26%) as there are under 18 (27%).
The distribution of “male-female” is also not as one-sided as some think. In the USA, it is nearly even, although in recent years, men have gained a bit, reaching about 60%.
This chart of the “Billion Dollar Games”, the games that have generated over a billion dollars, shows how diverse gamers and their favorite games have become.
Both on stationary platforms, the PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4, as well as on mobile devices, significant revenue is generated.
For stationary platforms, it is mainly “Premium Games”, meaning paid games, that stand out, such as Grand Theft Auto V, Call of Duty Black Ops III, World of Warcraft, Skyrim, FIFA 17, and Destiny. But free-to-play games like League of Legends or Crossfire are also part of the illustrious billionaire club.
In mobile games, however, only free-to-play games are found. Here, a different payment concept is in play.
In 2016, mobile games like Clash of Clans or Pokémon GO dominated the Western market and led to significant growth. Clash of Clans and similar games break the scale and influence gaming just as much as the typical “big” titles reported on gaming sites.
Not only the games overall are diverging, but there are also more games found under “MMO.” We have written an article about this:
