ESA: 2008's Essential Facts About the Video Game Industry

Each year the Entertainment Software Association releases an audience-friendly collection of demographic stats about the habits and predilections of US video gamers.

What's new for 2008? Let's have a look.

For starters, gamers are getting older. The average game player age is 35 (up from 33 in 2007) and the number of game players under 18 decreased from 28.2% in 2007 to 25% in 2008, while gamers 18-49 and over 50 years old increased from 47.6% to 49% and 24.2% to 26% respectively. The average age of the most frequent game purchaser crept up from 38 to 40.

The ratio of female to male players is on the rise. In 2007 38% of gamers were female versus 62% male. That's inched up to 40% female and 60% male in 2008. Women age 18 or older also represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (33%) than boys age 17 or younger (18%).

The number of U.S. households with game consoles rose notably, up from 33% in 2007 to 38% in 2008. (While the ESA doesn't list it here, no doubt almost all of that growth can be attributed to expansion driven by the demographically outreaching Wii.)

Game sales by ESRB rating remain virtually unchanged, with the lion's share going to "Everyone" (45%), followed by "Teen" (28%), "Mature" (15%), and "Everyone 10+" (12%).

Video game purchases by genre and according to units sold tend to be unreliable indicators since they're driven less by what people want than what's available in a given year, so take these next numbers with a grain of salt. The biggest shift occurred in "Family Entertainment," which leapt from just 9.3% of genre share in 2006 to 17.6% in 2007. Everything else (Strategy, Adventure, Shooter, Role Playing, etc.) either rose or dropped a statistically insignificant one or two percentage points, though "Action" games saw a slightly broader 5 point drop. Computer games (differentiated presumably from console video games) experienced minimal genre shifts, the most notable in "Role Playing," which jumped from 13.9% in 2006 to 18.8% in 2007. (I'm assuming that last is probably mostly MMO-driven.)

Refreshingly, 63% of parents believe games are a positive part of their children's lives, up from 55% in 2007. (It's worth bearing in mind, of course, that this is the games industry's official trade association handing these numbers down, if the "Whose interests do these figures serve?" question's on your mind.)

If you want the rest of the study, you can get it here (links to PDF), and for comparison purposes, the 2007 numbers here.

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