Search

10 UK Video Game Audience Stats

rebeccaphillips-iad
Dec 4, 2014
2 min read

(2011)

The IAB Games Steering Group has released a ground-breaking new study, titled Gaming Britain proving the enormity of the video game playing audience : 32.9 million people. Using a nationally representative sample of 4,000 people aged 8 – 65 years old, the study proves that games provide not only a mainstream audience but one of the biggest, most social, demographically varied and most engaged audiences. In this respect, the study confirms a lot of what people in the games industry already know. For brands however, it shows a painful neglect of an incredibly important platform for reaching consumers. The breadth of advertising opportunity in 2011 is exceptional, it’s easier than ever to buy advertising in and around games media, and when done correctly, game players are incredibly receptive . To whet your appetites, below are some of the key findings from the research: 1. 32.9 million people across the UK play games, 82% of the 8 – 65 year old online population 2. 51% male, 49% female 3. Playing games was found to be more than twice as engaging compared to any other media 4. Seven out of ten 16 – 65 year old game players regularly use a gaming device (at least 3 times a week) 5. 54% of games players are ABC1, 46% are C2DE 6. Games consoles are more likely to be played for longer periods (30 mins – over 3 hours), while mobile and tablets are played more frequently but for shorter periods (less than 30 mins), similarly browser and social network games are likely to be played frequently for shorter periods (less than an hour). 7. 72% play socially – either with friends and family in person or online, or with people they don’t know online 8. 81% of games console players have played with friends or family in person 9. During the week, adults (16 – 65 years) play most games in the evening after work, peaking between 8 – 10pm – the only exception is mobile and tablet which peaks from 5-10pm but remains relatively flat across the day compared to other devices 10. 25 to 45 year olds are identified as having the most number of players (44%) compared with 45 to 65 year olds (33%) and 16 to 24 year olds (23%)