Over 70% of people play video games in the US and they’re becoming more hardcore

A study has highlighted the playing habits of gamers crossed the US, with the bulk spending astir of their clip connected mobile games.

It’s nary concealed that mobile gaming is the astir profitable country of the gaming industry, with Xbox being the latest accepted steadfast trying to marque inroads into the market, arsenic it erstwhile again attempts to situation Google and Apple.

The mobile market’s dominance is highlighted successful a caller Circana study connected the playing habits of US gamers, which quizzed 5,100 ‘active’ players, ages 2 and up, betwixt May and June this year. As per the survey’s methodology, an progressive gamer is defined by whether they had entree to a gaming instrumentality crossed mobile, PC, oregon console, and if they had utilized 1 wrong a period of the survey.

It turned retired that 71% of US consumers (236.4 cardinal people) engaged with video games successful 2024, which is down from the 74% seen successful 2020 during the highest of lockdown. This is inactive higher, however, than the 67% reported successful 2018, pre-pandemic.

As acold arsenic US consumers go, 65% play mobile games, which is the aforesaid magnitude from 2 years anterior and the largest gaming platform. The 2nd biggest is PC games astatine 36%, down 4% from 2022. This is followed by console games astatine 35%, which is the aforesaid arsenic 2022. Meanwhile, 13% play ‘other games’, with VR seeing an summation of 2% compared to 2 years ago.

The bulk of gamers play crossed mobile and PC/console, astatine 66%, portion 32% lone play connected 1 platform. In regards to the latter, 27% lone usage mobile devices.

The report divides the gaming assemblage into six abstracted categories: ‘super invested’ Super Gamers; multiplayer-centric Console Warriors; Transitionals, which are big gamers who are heavy invested successful mobile; Easy Accessors, aka younger gamers who mostly lone person entree to mobile; casual older players (brilliantly) called Daily Dabblers; and Incidental Players who are described arsenic non-gamers who play mobile games.

Incidental Players marque up the largest conception of the wide gaming marketplace astatine 23%, but this is simply a important driblet from 2 years prior. There’s besides been a driblet successful players wrong the Daily Dabblers bracket, which present makes up the lowest information astatine 14% – suggesting, perhaps, that the casual assemblage is successful decline, oregon that they’re present becoming much invested.

Notably, the Transitionals conception has seen the biggest summation successful the past 2 years, astatine 15%.

Elsewhere successful the report, US gamers are said to walk an mean of 14.5 hours a week playing games, which is up by 1.8 hours since 2022. Interestingly, console gamers play for the longest, astatine 10.2 hours per week. By comparison, mobile gamers walk 8.1 hours per week. PC gamers, surprisingly, are the slightest committed astatine 4.6 hours per week.

While the dominance of the mobile marketplace isn’t precisely caller information, it does marque wide wherefore companies similar Microsoft and Sony are trying to grow into it, and maximise gross by putting exclusive games connected different platforms arsenic the console assemblage fails to amusement growth.

Even if the mobile marketplace is the largest, that doesn’t needfully mean it’s successful a steadfast signifier either. According to a study earlier this year, the wide gross from mobile gaming has decreased, owed to restrictions by Apple and Google implicit monetisation.

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