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The New Face of Gamers

June 2014

LlfeCourse AssoclaLes (2014) age 1
1he New Iace of Gamers
May 1S, 2014

A generaLlon ago, gamlng was a heavlly sLlgmaLlzed acLlvlLy. 1hroughouL Lhe laLe 1980s
and 90s, press coverage evoked images of teen boys zoning out in front of their Nintendo
screens as Congresslonal offlclals held federal hearlngs on Lhe dangers of vlolenL vldeo games.
The message was clear: When games werent rotting kids brains, they were encouraging
aggresslve behavlor and desenslLlzlng players Lo vlolence. LducaLors warned parenLs LhaL
games were addlcLlve and llnked Lhem Lo lower school achlevemenL. Camers Lhemselves also
became Lhe sub[ecL of unflaLLerlng sLereoLypes: ln Lhe eyes of pop culture, gamer equaled
socially inept loner or guy living in his parents basement.
Over the last 15 years, its remarkable how much Lhese senLlmenLs have changed. 2003
marked Lhe release of Lhe besLselllng book !"#$%&'()* ,-. (/ 011. 21$ 314, whlch argued LhaL
media like video games and television didnt deserve their dismal reputation. And Loday,
gamlng has become a unlversal parL of our enLerLalnmenL dleL. Its a pastlme en[oyed by
players of all ages: 1he ma[orlLy of Amerlcans (63) have played a game on a console,
compuLer, or moblle devlce ln Lhe pasL 60 days. lully 73 of Mlllennlals have done so, along
wlLh 62 of CeneraLlon xers and 41 of 8oomers.
1
1he younger generaLlons who grew up wlLh
vldeo games have played lnLo
adulLhood, whlle older generaLlons are
Laklng up gamlng for Lhe flrsL Llme.
Camers are now spllL falrly evenly by
gender: 32 are male and 48 are
female.
2
Whether its building new
worlds ln an lmmerslve sandbox llke
5()#6$-2&7 Laklng a break wlLh a blLe-
slzed game llke 8-).% 8$4/'7 or
livestreaming ones progress on a
plaLform llke 1wlLch, gamlng now has
someLhlng Lo offer everyone.
ercepLlons about games effects
have also Laken a poslLlve Lurn. LducaLlonal games are lncreaslngly belng lnLegraLed lnLo formal
lnsLlLuLlons llke school and work as lnsLrucLors and managers use Lhem Lo engage sLudenLs and

1
LlfeCourse onllne survey of 1,227 u.S. persons ages 13-64. March 12-30, 2014.
2
LnLerLalnmenL SofLware AssoclaLlon. !"#$ &''()*+,- .,/*' 0123* *4( 52673*(8 ,)9 :+9(2 ;,6( <)93'*8=9 2014.
30
40
30
60
70
80
Mlllennlals Cen x 8oomers
ercent of Amer|cans who have p|ayed a
v|deo game |n the past 60 days,
by generat|on
Source: LlfeCourse onllne survey (2014)
LlfeCourse AssoclaLes (2014) age 2
hone Lhe developmenL of new skllls. Meanwhlle, senlor cenLers and reLlremenL homes are
Lurnlng Lo devlces llke Lhe Wll as a way Lo keep aglng players acLlve and Lhelr mlnds sharp.
SLereoLypes of gamers have been slow Lo caLch up wlLh Lhls new reallLy. ln many cases,
we sLlll see gamers porLrayed as glassy-eyed addlcLs or lsolaLed auLomaLons. Clven how
pervaslve a pasLlme gamlng has become, lL should seem obvlous LhaL Lhese negaLlve
characterizations arent true. And ln facL, theyre completely at odds with who gamers are.
Who Gamers kea||y Are
Accordlng Lo a recenL survey
3
:
Gamers |ead more soc|a| ||ves than non-gamers. Gamers (defined as anyone who has
played a game on a dlglLal devlce in the last 60 days) are more likely Lhan non-gamers
Lo be llvlng wlLh oLher people. 1hls lncludes Lhelr famllles, roommaLes or frlends, or
slgnlflcanL oLhers. ln conLrasL, non-gamers are more llkely Lo be llvlng alone (16 vs.
10). Gamers are also far more likely to agree with the statement My friends are the
mosL lmporLanL thing in my life (57% vs. 35%), with 72% saying that they game wlLh
Lhelr frlends. 1helr soclablllLy also applies to other forms of media: Theyre less likely
Lhan non-gamers Lo waLch 1v alone (23 vs. 40) -). less llkely Lo prefer Lo waLch Lhls
way (21 vs. 36). Furthermore, theyre far more likely to say that they waLch vldeo on
TV, PCs, or mobile devices when at a friends (42% vs. 15%).
Theyre closer to their families. Camers are more llkely Lo say LhaL Lhey have a good
relaLlonshlp wlLh Lhelr parenLs (79 vs. 63). Slmllarly, sLrong ma[orlLles agree LhaL
spendlng Llme wlLh Lhelr famllles (82 vs. 68) and parenLs (67 vs. 44) are Lop
prlorlLles.
Theyre more educated. Camers are more llkely Lo hold a college degree or hlgher (43
vs. 36). 1he same ls also Lrue for gamers parents (52% vs. 37%).
Theyre more opt|m|st|c. Camers express far more confldence abouL Lhelr ablllLles and
prospecLs for future success. Fully 61% agree that they are a natural leader, compared
Lo only 33 of non-gamers. Similarly, 65% say they are more creative than most
people, compared Lo 43 of non-gamers. Camers are also much more upbeaL abouL
Lhelr career asplraLlons: Whlle 67 of gamers feel very positive or positive ln Lhls
regard, only 42 of non-gamers say Lhe same.

3
LlfeCourse onllne survey
LlfeCourse AssoclaLes (2014) age 3
Theyre more conventionally successful. Camers are sllghLly more llkely Lo be employed
full-Llme Lhan non-gamers (42% vs. 39%). Theyre also more likely to say that theyre
worklng ln Lhe career LhaL Lhey wanL Lo be ln (43 vs. 37).
Theyre more socially conscious. Fully 76% of gamers agree that having a posiLlve
impact on society is important to mea full 21 percenLage polnLs hlgher Lhan non-
gamers (33). Camers are also more llkely Lo prlorlLlze soclally consclous buslness
practices. A greater share of them agree that its imporLanL LhaL Lhe companles Lhey buy
producLs from supporL soclal causes (38 vs. 36) and LhaL companles LreaL Lhelr
cusLomers falrly (82 vs. 72). lurLhermore, Lheyre more likely to feel better about
companles LhaL have eLhlcal buslness pracLlces (78 vs. 63) and would raLher buy
from those that [have] nothing to hide (81% vs. 66%).
now Gamers Lngage w|th Med|a
Other figures illustrate that its gamers who are aL Lhe forefronL of medla change. 1hey
are acLlvely uslng Lhe laLesL Lechnology Lo consume conLenL and connecL Lo Lhelr peers. non-
gamers, on Lhe oLher hand, Lend Lo use LradlLlonal, more passlve ouLleLs. unsurprlslngly,
gamers are far more llkely Lo use gamlng consoles Lhan non-gamers (68 vs. 12). 8uL Lhls gap
also exLends Lo oLher forms of recenL Lechnology, lncludlng LableLs (61 vs. 29) and
smarLphones (72 vs 30). MosL gamers (68) also have an lnLerneL-capable devlce for
sLreamlng conLenL Lo Lhelr Lelevlslon, compared Lo less Lhan a Lhlrd of non-gamers.
Camers are far more llkely Lo use Lhese gadgeLs regularlyregardless of locaLlon. 1he
average gamer uses Lhelr 1v, C, smarLphone, or LableL aL home (94), on vacaLlon (40), aL a
friends (42), whlle commuLlng (19), aL work (20), or even aL resLauranLs (18). Compare
Lhese flgures Lo Lhose of non-gamers: Cnly 18 use Lhelr devlces on vacaLlon, 13 do so aL a
friends, 4 whlle commuLlng, 10 aL work, and 6 aL a resLauranL. ln almosL every lnsLance,
gamers are Lhree Llmes more llkely Lo use Lhelr devlces when ouLslde Lhelr household Lhan non-
gamers.
Camers wlLh smarLphones are also uslng Lhem Lo engage ln a wlder range of acLlvlLles
lnvolvlng boLh Lhe consumpLlon and producLlon of conLenL. AlmosL all91text often or
sometimes (versus 83 of non-gamers), whlle 82 regularly use Lhelr smarLphones for soclal
medla (versus 38 of non-gamers). Meanwhlle, over Lhree-quarLers (76) of gamers waLch
videos often or sometimes on their smartphonesalmosL Lwlce Lhe share of non-gamers
(41). lully 43 of gamers have llvesLreamed an evenL on Lhelr phones, compared Lo only 13
of non-gamers.
Camers inclination towards livestreaming isnt just limited to those with smartphones.
Overall, theyre far more likely than non-gamers (39 vs. 21) Lo agree LhaL Lhey waLch more
LlfeCourse AssoclaLes (2014) age 4
llvesLreamlng conLenL now Lhan Lhey dld Lhan lasL year. And more Lhan a Lhlrd of gamers
36say LhaL Lhey would raLher llvesLream Lelevlslon Lhan waLch lL llve. Cnly 18 of non-
gamers would agree.
1hese preferences and behavlors reflecL broader shlfLs LhaL are remaklng Lhe medla
envlronmenL. Consumers are lncreaslngly movlng away from LradlLlonal Lelevlslon and
consumlng more enLerLalnmenL conLenL onllne. Accordlng Lo nlelsen, Lhe LoLal 18- Lo 34-year-
old prlmeLlme Lelevlslon audlence decllned 9 from 2011 Lo 2014, drlven by a decllne ln
broadcasL vlewers. Cver Lhe same perlod, average Lune-ln frequency also fell, wlLh broadcasL
decllnlng by 12, and cable by 3. Several neLworks and shows popular wlLh young adulLs have
losL ground: 1he audlence slzes of Comedy CenLral and LSn shrank by 24 and 22, for
example, whlle Lhe program reach of :1/'9; and <-=(>% 04% dropped by 33 and 31.
4

AL Lhls polnL, compeLlLlve webslLes are as successful as 1v neLworks and shows aL
reachlng 18- Lo 34-year-olds. lnLeracLlve plaLforms llke lacebook, ?ou1ube, 1wlLLer, and
lnsLagram aLLracL enormous amounLs of Lrafflc LhaL easlly rlvalor surpassLhe pull of
LradlLlonal enLerLalnmenL. ln lebruary 2014, for example, lacebook and ?ou1ube reached 27
mllllon and 23 mllllon young adulLs, respecLlvely. Thats comparable to the 33 million young
adulLs who waLched lox durlng Lhe same monLh. 8uL webslLes also boasL more repeaL vlslLs and
hlgher Llme spenL: 1haL monLh, users vlewed lacebook an average of 21 Llmes, buL Luned lnLo
lox a mere 3 Llmes. Meanwhlle, Lhey spenL an average of 276 mlnuLes on onllne gamlng
webslLes and 169 mlnuLes vlewlng onllne vldeoflgures LhaL dwarfed Lhe number of mlnuLes
Lhey spenL waLchlng any broadcasL or cable neLwork.
erhaps Lhe besL lllusLraLlon of where rapldly changlng enLerLalnmenL preferences and
gamers meeL ls 1wlLchLhe gameplay sLreamlng slLe LhaL has galned 43 mllllon monLhly users
and 1 mllllon acLlve sLreamers ln [usL Lhree years. By some measures, its already the fourth
mosL-Lrafflcked Web properLy ln Lhe u.S.behlnd neLfllx, Apple and Coogle, buL ahead of
lacebook, Amazon, and Pulu.
3
Nearly half (49%) of Twitchs visitors are 18- Lo 34-year-olds.
6
ln
many ways, gamers LasLes can be interpreted as a bellwether of medias future.
1o be sure, llke everyLhlng enLerLalnlng and engaglng ln llfe, gamlng ls besL pracLlced ln
moderaLlon. no one would deny LhaL some players can go overboard or LhaL playlng Loo much
can lnLerfere wlLh peoples llves. 8uL Lhls ls a relaLlvely small lssue ln Lhe broad conLexL of
gamlng. 1he ma[orlLy of gamers (63) play for less Lhan 10 hours a week, wlLh Lhe mosL popular
opLlon among respondenLs belng 3 to 5 hours a week (24%).
7


4
Nielsen. Twitch TV Media Engagement Analysis: 2011-2014 Online and TV Viewing Trends. February 2014.
3
urew llLzgerald. "App|e u|et|y 8u||ds New Networks." :'# ?->> @&$##& A14$)->. lebruary 3, 2014.
6
nlelsen
7
LlfeCourse onllne survey
LlfeCourse AssoclaLes (2014) age 3
Its also important to acknowledge that being a gamer today doesnL necessarlly lmply
parLlclpaLlon ln LradlLlonal gamlng culLure. 1oday, casual gamers who play blLe-slzed moblle
offerlngs are counLed alongslde devoLees who llne up for Lhe laLesL console release. 8uL Lhls ln
lLself ls a LesLamenL Lo [usL how malnsLream an acLlvlLy gamlng has become, wlLh selecLlons
dlverse enough Lo accommodaLe a wlde range of LasLes and levels of lnvesLmenL.
lor mosL players, gamlng ls a poslLlve force ln Lhelr llves. Its a way to relax, have fun,
learn new Lhlngs, and connecL wlLh frlends and famlly. Its aL Lhe cuLLlng edge of a whole new
way LhaL Amerlcans are lnLeracLlng wlLh Lechnology, ln whlch Lhe vlrLual behavlors and dlglLal
llLeracy skllls LhaL we once consldered Lralnlng for Lhe real world -$# lncreaslngly Lhe real world.
Camlng offers a road map for who we are becomlng and where socleLy ls golngand its time
LhaL percepLlons of gamers moved pasL Llred sLereoLypes and were recallbraLed Lo reflecL Lhls
much rlcher reallLy.

LlfeCourse AssoclaLes (2014) age 6
0
10
20
30
40
30
60
70
80
90
Camers non-Camers
"Spend|ng t|me w|th my fam||y
|s a top pr|or|ty."
B#$6#)& 12 $#/C1).#)&/ D'1 -*$##
Source: LlfeCourse onllne survey (2014)
ALNDIk
0
20
40
60
80
Camers non-Camers
"My fr|ends are the most |mportant th|ng
|n my ||fe."
B#$6#)& 12 $#/C1).#)&/ D'1 -*$##
Source: LlfeCourse onllne survey (2014)
0
20
40
60
80
100
Camers non-Camers
"I have a good re|at|onsh|p
w|th my parents."
B#$6#)& 12 $#/C1).#)&/ D'1 -*$##
Source: LlfeCourse onllne survey (2014)
0
10
20
30
40
30
Camers non-Camers
"I watch v|deo on a 1V, C, smartphone, or
tab|et when at a fr|end's."
Source: LlfeCourse onllne survey (2014)
0
10
20
30
40
30
60
70
80
Camers non-Camers
"Spend|ng t|me w|th my parents
|s a top pr|or|ty."
B#$6#)& 12 $#/C1).#)&/ D'1 -*$##
Source: LlfeCourse onllne survey (2014)
0
10
20
30
40
30
60
70
Camers non-Camers
"I am a natura| |eader."
B#$6#)& 12 $#/C1).#)&/ D'1 -*$##
Source: LlfeCourse onllne survey (2014)
LlfeCourse AssoclaLes (2014) age 7
0
10
20
30
40
30
60
70
Camers non-Camers
" I am more creat|ve than most peop|e."
B#$6#)& 12 $#/C1).#)&/ D'1 -*$##
Source: LlfeCourse onllne survey (2014)
0
10
20
30
40
30
60
70
80
90
Camers non-Camers
"nav|ng a pos|t|ve |mpact on soc|ety
|s |mportant to me."
B#$6#)& 12 $#/C1).#)&/ D'1 -*$##
Source: LlfeCourse onllne survey (2014)
60
70
80
90
Camers non-Camers
"It |s |mportant to me that the company I
buy products from treats
the|r customers fa|r|y."
B#$6#)& 12 $#/C1).#)&/ D'1 -*$##
Source: LlfeCourse onllne survey (2014)
33
60
63
70
73
80
Camers non-Camers
"I fee| better about a company
that has eth|ca| bus|ness pract|ces."
B#$6#)& 12 $#/C1).#)&/ D'1 -*$##
Source: LlfeCourse onllne survey (2014)

0
10
20
30
40
30
60
70
80
Camers non-Camers
"now pos|t|ve do you fee| about your
career asp|rat|ons?"
B#$6#)& 12 $#/C1).#)&/ D'1 /-(. EC1/(&("#E
Source: LlfeCourse onllne survey (2014)
0
10
20
30
40
30
60
70
Camers non-Camers
"It |s |mportant to me that the company I
buy products from supports soc|a| causes."
B#$6#)& 12 $#/C1).#)&/ D'1 -*$##
Source: LlfeCourse onllne survey (2014)
LlfeCourse AssoclaLes (2014) age 8
0
10
20
30
40
30
60
70
Camers non-Camers
ercent of respondents
who persona||y use a tab|et
Source: LlfeCourse onllne survey (2014)
0
10
20
30
40
30
60
70
80
Camers non-Camers
ercent of respondents
who persona||y use a smartphone
Source: LlfeCourse onllne survey (2014)
0
10
20
30
40
30
60
70
80
Camers non-Camers
ercent of respondents
who persona||y use a game conso|e
Source: LlfeCourse onllne survey (2014)
0
10
20
30
40
30
60
70
80
Camers non-Camers
"Do you have an |nternet capab|e dev|ce for
stream|ng content to your te|ev|s|on?"
B#$6#)& 12 $#/C1).#)&/ D'1 /-(. %#/
Source: LlfeCourse onllne survey (2014)
20
30
40
30
60
70
80
90
Camers non-Camers
"I'd rather buy from a company
that has noth|ng to h|de."
B#$6#)& 12 $#/C1).#)&/ D'1 -*$##
Source: LlfeCourse onllne survey (2014)

0
10
20
30
40
30
60
70
80
90
Camers non-Camers
ercent of respondents who go to soc|a|
network|ng s|tes on a smartphone
"often" or "somet|mes"
Source: LlfeCourse onllne survey (2014)
LlfeCourse AssoclaLes (2014) age 9






0
10
20
30
40
30
60
70
80
90
Camers non-Camers
ercent of respondents who watch v|deos
on a smartphone "often" or "somet|mes"
Source: LlfeCourse onllne survey (2014)
0
10
20
30
40
30
Camers non-Camers
"nave you ever watched v|deo of a ||ve
event on a smartphone?"
B#$6#)& 12 $#/C1).#)&/ D'1 /-(. %#/
Source: LlfeCourse onllne survey (2014)
0
10
20
30
40
30
60
70
Camers non-Camers
"I watch more ||vestream|ng content now
compared to |ast year."
B#$6#)& 12 $#/C1).#)&/ D'1 -*$##
Source: LlfeCourse onllne survey (2014)
0
3
10
13
20
23
30
33
40
Camers non-Camers
"G|ven a cho|ce, I'd rather watch a program
through ||ve stream|ng
than convent|ona| te|ev|s|on."
Source: LlfeCourse onllne survey (2014)