Gamers are rising up to take over the entire planet. After a long run as a nerdy hobby that was (unfairly) predominately considered to be the pastime of perpetually lonely basement-dwellers, people are starting to see that everyone games. Okay, so maybe not every single person on the planet… but we’re getting there.
According to a new report published by DFC Intelligence, there were nearly 3.1 billion global video game consumers as of mid-2020. For context, there are close to 8 billion people on the entire planet, which means nearly 40% of the population now plays video games.
You probably won’t be surprised to discover that the fastest-growing segment and largest area of these gamers are ones who only play on mobile. According to the data, these gamers account for almost half of all video game consumers. I have no doubt there are lot of “hardcore gamers” out there who will complain that mobile doesn’t – or shouldn’t – count. Those people can climb into the nearest bin and stay there, because their opinion isn’t wanted or needed.
Only around 8% of those 3.1 billion are described as dedicated console consumers, which is to say these are the players who only use console, and not mobile or PC. This is also the group that also spends the most, according to the report. Given the price of console games these days, that’s not entirely shocking.
Finally, an impressive 1.5 billion (48%) of global video game consumers, favour PC as the platform of choice. However, the report does stress that “this includes some overlap with gamers that also use console systems and mobile devices”.
So exactly where are these gamers hiding? DFC’s report has found that Asia leads the charge with an incredible 1.42 billion paying game consumers. That accounts for nearly half of all the gamers on the planet, which is bananas. Europe comes in a distant second place with 668 million paying game consumers, followed by Latin America with 383 million. North America comes in a little behind with a respectable 261 million.
As great as it is to see these figures in black and white, it really shouldn’t be that much of a shock to any of us. Sure, a lot of the wider media continues to paint video games as a weird hobby for violent loners and strange children, but we know that’s not true. The fact is, if you’ve ever picked up your phone to play Candy Crush while you’re waiting for a train, you’re a gamer. It’s that simple, so… welcome to the family.
The article is originally published at : ladbible