The Average Gamer...

cheddar

Is 41 years old and earns $55,000 a year.

http://www.fool.com/news/commentary/2006/commentary06101306.htm?source=eptyholnk303100&logvisit=y&npu=y&bounce=y

Seems like the console makers have known this all along. There's a huge market out there despite our bellyaching about increasing console and game costs.

Seems like the PS3 demand is quite healthy and the first 2 million before Christmas aren't even on the shelves yet. I was thinking of getting one for the holidays, but some 50 year old woman who earns $150,000 a year just might find a way to beat me to it...;)

lanion

Also, more women game online than men. The main culprit here is online, casual flash games. The question is if that average game will ever spend any money on a console.

tommyboy

nothing against any of you guys, but thats the reason i'm not buying a ps3/xbox. From now on, we are going to have to pay $500+ for a video game console and $60+ a game since everyone is willing to pay for it. This is getting a little out of hand...

punk-roc

/shrug - everything's getting more expensive. Reason #4,315 to stay single and childless, you can afford all the cool **** that comes out =P

Jason

Refefer

Meh, just make yourself some money from the fact that there WILL be demand for the ps3. I completely plan to make multiple pre-order's and do a quick double of profits on ebay.

God knows it worked for the 360.

krabby5

Refefer wrote:

Meh, just make yourself some money from the fact that there WILL be demand for the ps3. I completely plan to make multiple pre-order's and do a quick double of profits on ebay.

God knows it worked for the 360.

yeah i was gonna do that too...except I wasn't able to stand in line just to get a CHANCE for a preorder...and even if you did manage to get a preorder, you STILL weren't guaranteed a PS3 on launch day..

That statistic seems wrong to me:

I'm 36 and make more money than that average and I don't play NEARLY as much as i used to when I was 25...I used to be able play 4 hours a day easy and more on the weekends...Now I'm lucky if I play an hour a week..

How can the average gamer be 41 years old?

tommyboy

krabby5 wrote:

How can the average gamer be 41 years old?

it can't be, lets think about it. When do most kids start playing videogames. I did when I was really young (5-6), but lets make it 8-10. home Consoles didn't start to get big till the late 70s, and blew up when NES came out. so these average gamers would be between 10-15. and anyone much older than that(at that time) didn't play videogames...

So here is my useless theory, for this to be correct, we would need a lot of 80 year olds to even all the millions of 10 year olds playing today. So I would say if you divide 41 in half. That would give you a closer answer...

P.S and there is absolutely no way that 52% of the gamers are female.

Refefer

I completely agree with the declaration of the average age. You're discounting the most massive, extraordinary gaming system out there: Windows XP's default games.

Freecell, Spider Solitaire, Hearts, Minesweeper, etc. have honestly taken over. My father, and most of his friends will sit back after a long day and run through a couple of games of Spider or Freecell, and when they're on the phone will click around.

In fact, one of my professor's in college has a pact with his wife to win every single game of Freecell and every night they do at least 10 games a piece.

Yes, the average "gamer", defined as frequent participator of an electronic game, is not surprisingly averaged around 41.

bobman1235

I agree with Refefer's logic, but the terminology is flawed. A person who plays Solitaire or the occasional flash-based game from a forwarded email is not a "gamer", they're just someone who played a game.

This is why you should never trust any study until you read all the definitions of their terminology.

ahorvitz

tommyboy wrote:

it can't be, lets think about it. When do most kids start playing videogames. I did when I was really young (5-6), but lets make it 8-10. home Consoles didn't start to get big till the late 70s, and blew up when NES came out. so these average gamers would be between 10-15. and anyone much older than that(at that time) didn't play videogames...

So here is my useless theory, for this to be correct, we would need a lot of 80 year olds to even all the millions of 10 year olds playing today. So I would say if you divide 41 in half. That would give you a closer answer...

P.S and there is absolutely no way that 52% of the gamers are female.

I'm sure the statistics are accurate, but you're missing what they mean. The average Madden '07 online player is not a 41 y/o female. The average console gamer, you're right, is a younger male. My 80 y/o grandmother won't be hunting for a PS3, but she does play bridge and hearts online.

The "average gamer" takes into account all persons utilizing electronic games, with no information on the hours or types of games played. Millions of people will play card games online (yes, poker, but also windows card games), flash games (which were already pointed out, draw more women than men), and the aforementioned minesweeper, freecell, and solitaire. So, the "average gamer", may as well be the average person in the US, though earning slightly more, as they most likely own a computer and / or work in an office setting with computers.

AndyGwis

I'm not sold on spending $450+ on a 360 or PS3 either, but probably because I'm a very casual gamer and still am entertained with the old stuff. Kind of like someone that only smokes pot once a year, still enjoys it every time. . .

I can see how the hardcore gamers keep looking for that next-level of gaming-high and are willing to spend the money to get it. Good for me, though, you can get an Xbox for like $75-$100 with some games these days off CL. In fact, I'm getting an N64 for $30 with Goldeneye, just for kicks.

krabby5

I thought they were talking about console gamers..PS2, Xbox, Nintendo..

the fact that they included Windows games changes everything

tommyboy

krabby5 wrote:

I thought they were talking about console gamers..PS2, Xbox, Nintendo..

the fact that they included Windows games changes everything

I completely agree with you krabby. Knowing that, that average age means absolutely nothing to me now. What confused me was the whole article was about console games exept for one paragraph talking about pc games(I thought they meant real pc games, not solitaire).

AndyGwis wrote:

I'm getting an N64 for $30 with Goldeneye, just for kicks.

can I come over:)

Refefer

AndyGwis wrote:

In fact, I'm getting an N64 for $30 with Goldeneye, just for kicks.

When they released GC, they had a deal at EB where you could get an N64 for $10, all the games were on sale for less than $5.

So, for $100, I have a collection for what would have cost around $800 when it first came out, especially since all the game I bought were *good*. Gotta love depreciation.

Why do you think I buy all my cars used?

AndyGwis

tommyboy wrote:

can I come over:)

You are more than welcome to come over. It's been years since I've played, so I need a few weeks to shake the rust off. Used to play all-night long back in HS, 4-person split screen on a rear projection TV, winner stays, losers rotate.

Then, somehow it progressed in college to 4 vs. 4 in Halo, two teams with their own TV in separate rooms. Usually Blood-gulch capture the flag with vehicles. haven't touched a console for about 3-4 years, though, outside a madden game every year or so.

I'll PM you when my skills are up to par

punk-roc

lol Andy, that sounds exactly like my high school and college years I desperately miss them =(

Jason

Mjr7531

Heh, that's funny that they included that, the average (or mediant, I don't remember) age is around 27ish, last I heard. And yeah, that age demographic can afford it, but my demographic can't (college student) and the elderly won't buy that, etc. The gaming industry is starting to do what it did before the first time it crashed. I know it reeks of Nintendo philosophy, but it's unforunately true , IMHO of course.

Interestingly, there were 55yr old men waiting in line to pre-order the Wii, I think that's kinda cool.

cheddar

So here are some more specific 2006 stats from the Ziff-Davis group in San Francisco:

The average age of PC gamers is 32 and the average console gamer is 27. Forty-eight percent of all PC gamers are female, while 41 percent of all console gamers are female.

Average household income for PC gamers is $85,262 and $85,511 for console gamers.

So they're younger, but still old enough to be making lots of money. And 4 out of 10 are female. Still makes for a lot of women out there gaming. The bottom line is, at $85,000 a year and only in their late 20s or early 30s, he77 yeah, they can afford a $600 box to pass the time...:D.

Refefer

cheddar wrote:

So they're younger, but still old enough to be making lots of money.

Older.... but still live with their parents, who are making lots of money

cheddar

Well, I suppose it could be skewed by 12 year olds who still live with their parents' household income too. Or it could also be double income, no kids, married couples that boost the figure. Anyway you slice it, those are households with discretionary income to burn. And since they already ponied up the cash at least once, they'll probably do it again.