Three-quarters of people (75%) under the age of 35 are gamers, and nearly half (46%) play video games (including those on their phone, on a computer, on a console, or on another device) at least once a week, according to a SurveyMonkey Market Research Solutions Pulse.
Overall, 56% of the country plays video games, with 34% saying they play once a week or more (including 22% playing almost every day).
Sony and Xbox have about equal market share
- 30% of gamers say they play on a Sony PS4
- 24% play on an Xbox One
- 23% play on a Nintendo Switch
- 8% play on an Xbox Series X or S
- 5% play on a Sony PS5
Three in four gamers play on their mobile phones
72% of gamers play on their mobile phones, nearly half (47%) play on a gaming console, 34% play on a computer, and 24% play on a tablet. Women are more likely than men to play on their phones (78% vs. 66%) or on a tablet (29% vs. 17%), while men are more likely than women to play on computers (41% vs. 26%) or on a console (62% vs. 30%).
Gamers who play on their computers report spending the most hours per week on games: 22% spend more than 10 hours per week playing games, vs. just 13% of those who play on consoles and 12% of those who play on consoles or mobile phones.
Most don’t spend a lot of money on gaming
Half of gamers (50%) say they prefer to “stick to games that are free” rather than “purchase individual games as they come out” (37%) or “subscribe to a gaming subscription” (8%), and further data bear this out.
More than half of gamers (53%) spend $0 on recurring payments or monthly subscriptions, and another 35% spend less than $25 per month or less on recurring payments.
Even among those who play video games almost every day, 49% don’t spend money on a recurring basis.
Gamers are more likely to make one-off, in-game purchases: 6% say they do this “all the time,” 11% often, 26% sometimes, and 26% rarely. Another 26% say they never make in-game purchases.
Most of these purchases are still in small-dollar amounts: 24% of people who make one-off purchases spend $1 to $5 on average, and just 17% spend $50 or more when they do make one-off gaming purchases.
When thinking about what drives new purchasing decisions, gamers value price over novelty. Four in 10 (43%) prefer to stick to the system they are using today, and nearly as many (38%) prefer to wait until the price drops on the newest console before buying it. Fewer than one in 10 (8%) need to purchase the newest console as soon as it comes out.
eSports are still under the radar for most
Most people in the country (57%) say they know “nothing at all” about eSports, while 30% know “a little” and just 11% know “a lot.”
Of those who are familiar with eSports, 34% first learned of it through a friend or personal connection, 28% through social media, 15% from advertising, and 11% through the news.
Even among those who are familiar with it, 45% say they never watch eSports events. Among those who say they know “a lot” about eSports, 41% say they watch eSports once a week or more often.
