Kotaku
About 63 percent of the U.S. population play video games, and a majority of them see game playing as a way to alleviate stress and to help them unwind, according to a new study conducted by the NPD Group.
The report is based on online survey responses from 5,039 members of NPD's online consumer panel conducted from Oct. 11 to Oct. 18.
Of those who game, 30 percent said they are spending more time gaming this year than last year while another 30 percent or so said they are spending less time and nearly 40 percent say they are spending about the same amount of time. The heaviest gamers in the survey were 18 to 34.
"The new type of game experiences brought to the market over the past several years are succeeding in reaching a broader audience. The challenge for the industry is that consumers are a fickle group, and with the great variety of options pulling at their limited free time, they're going to be easily distracted unless something really compels them to stay with gaming," said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group. "To reach these less involved consumers, the industry has to work even harder, but doing so can produce great rewards."
PLAYING VIDEO GAMES VIEWED AS FAMILY/GROUP ACTIVITY AND STRESS REDUCER
New Study Busts Myths on Attitudes and Behaviors of Various Gaming Groups
PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, December 12, 2007 - According to Expanding the Games Market, the most recent report from The NPD Group, while heavier gamers are much more inclined than lighter gaming groups to prefer playing games alone, both groups are equally inclined to enjoy playing games as a family, group or as a party activity, and both groups value gaming as a way to bring their families closer together. Notable also is that the majority of gamers, especially teens and older gamers ages 15 to 65 and older view playing video games as a way to alleviate stress and to help them unwind.
The report, which examines how consumer demographic groups are represented in the gaming world, also provides analysis on the attitudes and behaviors of various user groups, based on hours per week spent on gaming. It presents valuable insight into gamers and non-gamers to uncover potential areas for expanding the gaming market beyond the core, highlighting the most effective methods for reaching non-traditional gamers with demographic insight and information on genre preferences, system ownership, and use.
In terms of the number of gamers in the U.S. and the amount of time spent playing them, 63 percent of the U.S. population plays video games - defined as console and portable games, PC games, games on kid-oriented systems or games on devices like cell phones or iPods - with 30 percent claiming they are spending more time gaming this year than last year, close to 30 percent claiming they are spending less time and nearly 40 percent claiming they are spending about the same amount of time.
Gamers ages 2-65 and older were classified in this study by the number of hours spent per week on gaming. In terms of demographics and gaming behavior, the heaviest gamers are typically male, ages 18-34, who devote relatively significant amounts of time and money to gaming and focus primarily on more "hardcore" genres, as opposed to casual, lighter games.
By contrast, lighter gamers fall definitively outside the parameters described above; they are more concentrated on the lower and upper ends of the age spectrum and are defined primarily by their inclination toward lighter, casual games and their relatively high female representation.
"The new type of game experiences brought to the market over the past several years are succeeding in reaching a broader audience. The challenge for the industry is that consumers are a fickle group, and with the great variety of options pulling at their limited free time, they're going to be easily distracted unless something really compels them to stay with gaming," said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group. "To reach these less involved consumers, the industry has to work even harder, but doing so can produce great rewards."
Methodology
The report is based on online survey responses from 5,039 members of NPD's online consumer panel. Reponses for 2 to 12 year olds were captured via surrogate reporting, whereby the female parent/guardian, age 21+, was asked to bring her child in this age range to the computer to answer the questions, either with or without her assistance. The survey was fielded from October 11-18, 2007.
Comments
But Jack Thompson says that it makes me agressive and want to kill people....hmmm...who should I believe.
Gaming only adds stress to the n00bs I pwn in Call of Duty 4 =P (4 Star General Level 53)
I play videogames for two reasons:
1) to unleash my inner beast, get my blood pumping, kill assholes, get killed, and throw fits. (Call of Duty 4, Halo 3, Orange Box, Rainbow Six)
2) to relax. (Mass Effect, Mario Galaxy, Rock Band, Oblivion, Tetris)
I thought this was common sense? All forms entertainment has this effect.
When I throw my controller out the window after falling to my death for the 200th time on Marble Blast Ultra's finl stage, is that relieving my stress?
@gdf: I didn't try Marble Blast Ultra, and I haven't tried Kororinpa, or Mercury Meltdown Revolution, because I had such a terribly frustrated experience with Monkay Ball on the Wii. My god. The game pissed me off. Terrible, awful camera and controls, just ruined it.
Who ever made that headline hasn't entered a friend code or spent an hour of their life muting stupid people with microphones on XBL.
@DigitalHero: you noob, you haven't gone presteige yet?
Other major revelations from the story:
- Water is wet.
- Fire is hot.
- Ice is cold.
DUH!!
@Strangelove: I agree with you on 2 out of 3. Water ain't wet, it just makes things wet.
Well I use MY games as preparation for school shootings tyvm.
"...especially teens and older gamers ages 15 to 65 and older..."
One of the worst written phrases in the history of professional writing. I realize it's a typo on their part... but still. That's painful to read.
Though this survey is common sense to us gamers, it's important because it shows the rest of the non-gamer world that we don't play games to learn to kill cops, rob banks, and eat children. Gamers have been getting a lot of negative publicity recently from politicians attempting to vilify us to create support for their pathetic campaigns. Studies like are important because they paint us as we are: people trying to find a little enjoyment or momentarily trading the problems of the real worlds for the comforts of a virtual one in which rules are simpler.
I agree that certain games can have that effect, but that certainly isn't my purpose for playing them. I play games because they are awesome and fun. Sometimes stress reduction is just a natural side effect. However, other side effects include increased swearing frequency, rise in blood pressure, and an unhealthy relationship between my fist and my wall.
In other news, NPD has shown in surveys that 60% of people do recreational activities to relax.
I play games for the fun of being challenged. I like Contra and those types of games that are just too hard. At the same time, it does alleviate stresses of reality...especially school. Stupid finals.
This does seem a bit of a "duh of course," but I wish that you would have provided a link to just who "The NPD Group" is, since apparently they're a market research firm, and I'd like to know just who funded their research.
@coyo7e: Agreed. Market research is the redheaded stepchild of legitimate research. When you go into something knowing what you want to find, it's kind of hard to not find it.
@DigitalHero: Get in to the online servers in battelfield1942 and you will be lucky if you can pass 25 kills...
I would like to agree but I find that more and more games are too challenging to relieve stress. I get more pissed than enjoyment from a good deal of games these days.
I had the WORST day yesterday. I go home, crabby and pissed at the world. I say, OHO! New Halo maps today. Ran around and played for a couple hours, and I was WAY better and much more relaxed. And I played good too.
Turned out to be a pretty decent day after all.
This isn't a study. All it is, is a survey. And no big surprise that gamers say that they play games to relieve stress. But does it actually do this? Well one could suggest yes. It is entertainment and it does help to take your mind off of things.
But one must also ask what causes stress. Usually having a lot on your plate and not enough time to take care of it all. Given that games aren't going to get work done for you, VGs might actually serve to increase stress.
So in the short term you get temporary relief from your woes and concerns, but in the long-term you could become more stressed out as you are just backlogging yourself even more.
What's even more amazing is how quick everyone was to jump on the bandwagon with this supposed "study". Just because people say they can reduce their stress by playing games doesn't mean it actually works.
I would like to disagree, not having enough free time to play my games gives me stress. Having a lot of games but only being able to play one is stressful. Keeping track of all those usernames and passwords is stressful. Dying or losing is stressful, or getting into arguments with people. Playing the game knowing you are putting off something you should be doing can be stressful, and the amount of choice and angles involved in gaming now is stressful.
Gaming can tune you out. Put you in recharging batteries mode.
3 hours of back to back Marvel vs capcom 2 does this for me.
But yeah. Um... Honestly, who funds these studies? Captain Obvious?
I use them to wind up :)
I can lose myself in a good drumming session in Rock Band. Releases all the stress that goes along with Finals Week.
@ghnvt:I believe you should believe in yourself.
Posts about the NPD on gaming blogs allways freak me out, because NPD is the acronym for "Nationalistische Partei Deutschlands" -> german nationalist party and they're nothing more than a bunch of Neo-Nazis...
This time it was particularly unsettling, because I've just opened a youtube video about the (german) NPD in one tab and this article in the other one.
Could one of you nice Kotakuites explain to me, what the american NPD exactly ist? You'd save me three seconds of looking it up on Wikipedia...
Ever so gratefull!
@vanderhoef: The drums are also a great way to keep warm in these winter months :)
So, how do we convert the other 37% into gamers?
@tk.:I'm trying to get out of gaming actually.
@tk.: Isn't it obvious? We convert them by fear mongering. Tell them if they don't become gamers they're very bad people and bad people will go to a very bad place. If that doesn't work then a good old fashion guilt trip might work.
@tk.: I was trying to figure out how to convert the other 37% into a slave labor force that goes to get the gamers Fritos and beer while mid-tourney.
@tk.: I'm pretty sure that a large majority of that 37% is made up of angry girlfriends and wives. It's a lost cause.
Best stress relief for me is to cause more on others online in games!
*goes back to ganking people with point blank M203 shots in COD4*
;D
---
Seriously though its a great way to unwind for a bit and forget about the world. Its the same reason why folks read a book, watch movies, do art, cook, etc. Gaming isnt any different. I think its why a lot of folks in Japan really took well to the DS. Due to the mass number of titles with "almost" something for everyone people have learned to embrace the DS and find something they can play to forget about the stressful lives they live even if just for a little while here in Japan. Plus with seeing lots of other folks everywhere owning / playing a DS it makes them feel more comfortable taking part in "gaming" also, since it doesnt seem as taboo as before when it was thought of gaming was something only "otakus" do.
@Witzbold:
Witz, you play on the 360?
Look me up EnigmaNemesis, we can throw down and party up!
But I agree, it is a great stress reliever, and always has been. There are a few things that I do to relieve stress:
1) Gaming as usual, since this was the first form discovered as a kid (even though many of NES controllers were flung and thrown in anger)!
2) Working out, I used to power lift for a little over a decade, great stress pushing up around a quarter ton of weigh from your chest!
3) Firearms ... I love to go to the range and pop a lot of shots off with my handguns and rifles ... great stress reliever and makes you forget the world around you.
Nvm, I checked your gamertag, you probably have the PC version!
@EnigmaNemesis: My PC cant even run STALKER without overheating. I play on the 360. ;D
PC is so outdated now, not to mention has some weird overheating issues. Not sure why though, since it has good airflow. But I think the case is a little small though.
WITZB0LD (the 0 is a zero)
Cool man Ill add you later tonight then!
@Witzbold:
Oooh, that is why, it was the wrong Witzbold I looked up. I did it without the "zero"...
Awesome, looking forward to playing!
Duh, I knew video games relieve stress.
Hello, I discovered this when I realized that shooting communists in Goldeneye actually made me less homicidal when I came home from a shitty day at high school.
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