Study: average gamer not a 12-year-old shut-in (Wired UK)

In a blow to stereotype fans everywhere, a study of 2,000 gamers has shown that rather than being a 12-year-old male shut-in the average gamer is actually 35 years old with a job, a family and a habit of taking four weeks to finish a title.

The results themselves are not surprising if you're a gamer or familiar with the gaming community. For example a certain amount of disposable income is necessary for maintaining a game collection or picking up consoles. But, with the antisocial weirdo stereotype still being deployed in relation to games, anything that points out the differences between negative assumptions about who is playing videogames and the reality of how they integrate into people's lives is of value.

The poll was commissioned by Pixwoo, a gaming social network that started in the US in 2012 and has recently begun pushing its service in the UK. As well as looking at age and relationships, the results also took gender into account. "Not only are women just as likely to be gamers as men, but we are talking about fully grown adults who work, have a family and are in a relationship."

As with any study dealing in averages some of the results seem a little odd and over-specific -- this average gamer stays up until 10.58pm precisely playing games unless it's a special occasion in which case they might manage 1.12am. (FYI, our own slightly less rigorous straw poll of the two people currently in the office found that 100 percent of gamers have actually stayed up all night playing games.)

But, in terms of social functionality, the results are a bit of a mixed bag. Gaming is given as the source of two arguments per week with a partner and 15 percent of those polled have broken up over an issue related to gaming. Online friendships fared better, with gamers' social circles including an average of five online gaming buddies. For 29 percent, at least one of those online friendships had translated into a real-world meet-up.

Overall, the function of the poll is clearly as a marketing tool for a social network but it's also pleasing to see a study which paints gamers as social and functional members of society being given attention.?

Source: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/05/average-gamer

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