Almost 200 Million Americans are Gamers

by Riya V. Anandwala Director of Industry Communications; Tyler Suiters VP, Communications

An estimated 192 million U.S. consumers – or 70% of Americans ages 13-to-64 – are gamers, demonstrating massive appeal among consumers for the gaming industry, according to a new Consumer Technology Association (CTA)® study. While traditional gaming platforms still hold strong interest, the emergence of live game streaming services is revolutionizing gaming into a connected and social experience. Another study released by CTA examines the trends in the esports ecosystem and highlights growth in viewership base and brand engagement.

Gaming Trends Among Consumers

The first study, 2019 Future of Gaming, defines gamers as those who played video games at least one hour over the past three-month period. Of those 192 million gamers, 94 million primarily play on gaming consoles such as Xbox One or PlayStation 4, 66 million on a smartphone or tablet, and 22 million are devoted PC gamers.

“Gaming is the foundation of a much broader engagement between consumers and the industry today, one that mirrors TV entertainment and even professional sports,” said Lesley Rohrbaugh, director of research, CTA. “While it’s still only a pastime for some, gaming represents an active social channel for a growing number of consumers – they see gameplay as just one part of a much larger entertainment experience.”

More than 60% of gamers now play games with or against others online, including 40% with or against people they don’t know, the study finds. Regardless of the gaming platform, some of the top reasons for playing video games include relieving stress and boredom, escapism, competition and sense of achievement. In addition, 77% of the gamers think video games will be more social in the next five years.

Other key findings include:

  •     Casual and puzzle games are the most played genres overall, driven primarily by mobile gamers but also played by one-third of PC gamers.
  •     Forty-four percent of gamers consider rewards, such as points or virtual currency, as one of the top game elements adding to their experience.
  •     Online video and social media channels such as YouTube and Twitch play a huge role in influencing gamers for their gaming-related purchases.

Evolution of Esports

The second new study from CTA, Esports 2019: Landscape & Opportunities, finds that esports – a form of professional competition organized around video games with live broadcasts and cash prizes for competitors – will witness a steady growth in fans in the U.S. over the next few years, increasing from 21 million people in 2018 to 27 million in 2022. The global esports viewer base is estimated to grow from 355 million in 2018 to 674 million in 2022, nearly a 90% jump.

According to the study, the number of esports investment deals jumped substantially in 2018, attracting capital from venture capitalists, private equity firms, wealthy individuals, traditional sports teams and corporate investors leading to a total investment of $4.4 billion globally. Across the globe, esports are expected to see faster growth opportunities in newer markets – Russia, Brazil and countries in Europe and Southeast Asia – compared to the U.S. and China, the study notes.

Findings from the study also show that two major sources of revenue for the esports industry are brand sponsorship and advertising. Esports sponsorship totals jumped from $342M in 2018 to $470M in revenue in 2019, and advertising increased from $176M to $220M in revenue.

“Fans of esports are a coveted group for brands – especially given the rapid growth in audience and events, and the appealing viewer demographics,” Rohrbaugh said. “From gaming gear to sports drink companies, we’ve seen many gaming-related brands as early sponsors of esports. But over the last two years, we are seeing a range of other sponsors, ranging from financial and educational institutions to automakers, start to embrace esports. Going forward, these non-gaming related brands will be the driving force of sponsorship revenue for esports industry.”

At CES 2020esports industry experts from Samsung, United Talent Agency, VentureBeat, and others will discuss important trends in the rise of this explosive industry, and explore its effect on emerging technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence and augmented and virtual reality. Esports and gaming industry exhibitors will include AMD, Dell Inc., HyperX, Logitech Inc., Razer and more. Visit CES.tech for all CES updates and to register for CES 2020.  

Esports 2019: Landscape & Opportunity includes secondary research from sources such as major game publishers, streaming video platforms, esports teams and technology companies. The consumer data on gaming and esports come from syndicated research from New Media Measure™, a n=9,000 U.S. consumer survey each quarter.

The 2019 Future of Gaming study was designed and formulated by CTA and represents findings from a quantitative survey administered via internet to an online sample of 2,047 U.S. consumers (ages 13-64) who played video games on any devices (consoles, computers, portable gaming devices, mobile devices, etc.) at least one hour during the past three months. Survey data was collected between September 13-20, 2019.

 

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