The gaming audience continues to expand. In fact, two-thirds (66%) of Americans ages 13 and older self-identify as gamers, up from 58% in 2013, according to a Nielsen study. Gamers are spending an average of 11% of their leisure time with video games this year, a figure that has remained largely consistently over the past few years.
Gamers dedicate the largest shares of their leisure time to TV and movies (23%) and the internet (23%), per the report, but are spending a greater proportion (17%) of their time this year engaging in social activities with family and friends. This, Nielsen says, points to “a potential for content creators to further engage gamers through social or group play experiences.”
Among gamers ages 13 and older (those who play on consoles, PCs and/or mobile devices) the gaming console is the preferred platform for almost half (49%), up slightly from 47% last year. An earlier report from Nielsen revealed that there are almost 162 million people in US TV households who own video game consoles with the ability to watch TV, representing about half of the US population.
Meanwhile, mobile devices (smartphones or tablets) are the preferred platforms for 30% of gamers this year, overtaking computers (21%), which had edged them last year. Read the rest at MarketingCharts.com.