Oldplay: Grandparents get bitten by video game bug

Those who reckon video games are simply the domain of teenage boys in darkened rooms bashing away into the early hours of the morning might need to think again; there is a booming generation of gamers aged 55 to 64 which has experienced the biggest growth the sector, rising by almost a third (32%) since 2018.

That is according to new research from GWI, dubbed The Gaming Playbook, GWI 2021, which looks at granular demographic and psychographic insights about gamers. Based on a sample of over 19,000 individuals across 15 countries, the data set is aimed at helping the gaming industry unlock this growing group.

In fact, gaming is now much more of a family activity, with notable increases among grandparents and parents of young children, and parents who live with their children 24% more likely than the average gamer to own two or more games consoles.

In addition, these days more gamers play video games to socialise with friends (26%) than to escape from reality (22%) or immerse themselves in storylines (18%). The social aspect of gaming is especially important for younger gamers (aged 16-24), with 35% playing for this reason, compared to 31% who play for a challenge.

The report also reveals the diversity and breadth of the gaming audience, as 86% of Internet users played games on any device in Q4 2020. The report also uncovers increased gaming among women, family units, including the rise in gaming grandparents, branded the OAGs, and multi-console ownership among parents.

While gaming remains most popular among younger audiences, the majority of older gamers play games for fun and to relax/unwind, with their top genre being action adventure followed by puzzle.

Around a quarter also turn to social media to get information and content on gaming, and a further proportion say they recommend games to friends. Ultimately, the gaming audience is far more diverse and inclusive than people might realise, the report states.

While 10% of gamers own two or more modern games consoles (Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Series X), parents who live with their children are 24% more likely to. This suggests the cross-generational appeal that some games consoles offer is important in households with younger children, GWI reckons.

While an increase in gaming may have been expected due to the pandemic, a study GWI ran in October showed that just 2% of UK and US online users had begun playing games since the outbreak; people are playing more games, instead of more people playing them.

GWI, which already works with brands and agencies targeting gamers, says the new gaming data set integrates with GWI Core, which provides over 40,000 data points that it is claimed is representative of over 2 billion online users.
The company insists it will enable GWI customers to compare gamers to other audience groups and allow gaming companies to compare perceptions of their brand to competitors.

GWI vice-president of sports and gaming David Melia said: “Each group of gamers have unique nuances that need to be understood on its own terms. Many companies are missing the depth and breadth of insight to successfully engage this audience and are making business decisions based on assumptions or outdated information.

“Survey data is becoming increasingly important to understand audiences as changes to third-party cookies mean brands won’t be able to gather browsing data in the same way.

“Gaming has become its own form of social media. Gamers want to interact with one another and share their achievements and experiences. Having a social function within games also promotes a desire for inclusivity; gamers want to stand out among their fellow players.”

He concluded: “The gaming audience was already there in large numbers before the pandemic, it just managed to bring more attention to how big this audience really is. The brand opportunities associated with gaming are enormous.”

TOPICS:data-driven marketing gaming