Advanced Television

Survey: Gaming ‘default’ entertainment for 42% young males

October 16, 2019

A study from Hub suggests that gaming is not only compelling entertainment, but also a forum where friendships are created and maintained – especially for young men.

Highlights from Hub’s Gaming 360 survey include:

  1. Gaming is “social grease” for young men. Male gamers under 35 are far more likely to have social motivators for playing.
  • 72 per cent agree that “gaming is how my friends and I spend time together”, compared with just 47 per cent of gamers in general.
  • 63 per cent say that gaming “is what my friends and I talk about when we’re together”, more than 20 points higher than gamers in general (42 per cent).
  • 45 per cent say they play with at least one person they consider a friend, but that they have never met in real life.
  1. Gaming is also their home base for entertainment: 42 per cent of male gamers under 35 say that gaming is their ‘default’- choice for entertainment – the first thing they’re most likely to do if they have some free time. Fewer than half as many (17 per cent) said their first choice is watching something on TV.
  2. Game consoles are often the hub for entertainment consumption in general.  Respondents with game consoles said that on average, only half (53 per cent) of the time spent on their console is gaming. Almost a quarter (22 per cent) of their console time is spent watching videos and just over 10 per cent on listening to music/audio.
  3. Sponsored game content is a powerful way to engage with consumers. 46 per cent of gamers, and 63 per cent of gamers under 35, say they play games with sponsored content or DLC.
  • Among those who have seen it, 42 per cent have downloaded or played with sponsored content.
  • Of those who played with sponsored content, 61 per cent said it made the game more fun. Only 23 per cent said the advertising made them enjoy the game less.

“This research underscores the immersiveness of gaming – the games themselves, but also that for many they’ve become the forum for basic interaction with other people,” said Jon Giegengack, Hub principal and co-author of the study. “Reed Hastings [Netflix CEO] famously said that Netflix considers Fortnite a bigger competitor than HBO. Many of these findings suggest that he’s right: with more entertainment choices competing for the same pool of disposable time, persistent engagement is maybe the most important yardstick for success.”

These findings are from Hub’s Gaming 360 study, conducted among 2,636 US consumers. Interviews were conducted in September 2019.

 

Categories: Articles, Consumer Behaviour, Content, Games, OTT, Research, Social Media