75% of People in the US Play Video Games - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 August 2020 / 3,102 Views
Three out of every four million people in the US play video games, according to a report released by NPD. That equates to 244 million people in the US, which is an increase of 32 million people in 2018. The number of people who game on multiple devices has also increased from 58 percent in 2018 to 65 percent in 2020.
US gamers spend an average 14 hours per week playing video games, an increase over 12 hours per week in 2018. 39 percent of gamers are considered "Light Players" who play less than five hours per week. This is an eight percent drop when compared to two years ago.
"Moderate Players" who play between five and 15 hours per week is up two percent to 32 percent of all gamers. "Heavy Players" who play more than 15 per week saw the biggest increase, with the number of gamers up six percent to 20 percent.
The time spent playing video games has increased since the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic started. 35 percent of US gamers have reported they are spending more time playing games than they did last year. 94 percent said they extra gaming time is spent on platforms they were already playing on, while six percent said at least some of the extra time is spent on a new platform.
"Video games are one of the primary ways friends and family are staying connected through a difficult time," said NDP analyst Mat Piscatella. "The growth in both the number of players across all gaming segments, as well as time spent gaming or watching gaming-related content, reflects the variety and depth of gaming experiences available regardless of device preferences, gaming interests or budget."
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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15+ hrs a week is a "heavy player"? So, uh, what to they call you if you spend that much time gaming in a DAY? Not that I would ever do that, of course....
Their study needs to cut out people that play Solitare, Candy Crush, or similar stuff. When 39% of your "Gamers" play less than 5 hours a week, you really need to stop casting such a wide net.
Ah, gatekeeping. That old claptrap.
It's not gatekeeping. It's working with a clearly defined set of data, instead of a loosely defined set of data. A study like this one that counts people playing on their phones is about as useful as a study on "Pets" that counts all livestock as "Pets".
"It's not gatekeeping." Prove it.
"It's working with a clearly defined set of data" Wonderful! Then you should have no trouble indicating which Dictionary outlines that criteria in its definition of 'Gamer'. I haven't had any luck in finding one that supports your position, but I'm sure you'll do better.
Off you go, then.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gamer See definition 2. People that get under 5 hours a week of gametime are very unlikely to play on a regular basis. Their gametime is much more likely to be sporadic, and not a daily part of their lives.
Also, if you really want to define gamer as anybody that plays games, then we'd better include people that play board games as well. But that would defeat the point of the study, wouldn't it?
"See definition 2. People that get under 5 hours a week of gametime are very unlikely to play on a regular basis."
Oh? According to https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/regular (See definition 2a), playing for a mere 15 minutes a day at a certain time would fit the criteria for playing on a regular basis, as that would certainly meet the criteria for being a normal interval. Feel free to look up the definitions of "normal" and "interval" to see that this is the case.
Also, looking at the definition of gamer that you provided, it makes no mention that those playing less than five hours a week are more likely to be more sporadic. And it certainly does not make mention of daily play. Those are criteria that you imposed arbitrarily on your own and is not supported in this supposed well-defined set of data like you claimed. One could play 15 minutes every two days and it would still meet the criteria for regular basis, and now we're down to one hour a week.
So I ask again for a definition that actually supports your position.
"Also, if you really want to define gamer as anybody that plays games" I never gave a definition. I'm not the one who was gatekeeping.
"one of the primary ways" = meaningless
Press X to doubt. That's a really high number.
Don't forget that mobile games and social media-based titles are also counted into the total, so it's really not that surprising. My mother never once touched a home console, yet she has 3 bubble bobble clones on her phone.
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