The ESA – Essential Facts about the computer and video game industry 2018

Today’s video games provide rich, engaging entertainment for players across all platforms. Our friends at the ESA recently released  2018 Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry report underscores how video games have evolved into a mass medium:

• More than 150 million Americans play video games, and 64 percent of American households are home to at least one person who plays video games regularly, or at least three hours per week.
• 60 percent of Americans play video games daily.
• The average gamer is 34 years old and 72 percent are age 18 or older. Women age 18 and older represent a significantly greater portion of the video game-playing population (33 percent) than boys under age 18 (17 percent).
• Most parents (70 percent) say video games are a positive part of their child’s life. Most parents (67 percent) also play video games with their child at least once weekly and 94 percent say they pay attention to the video games played by their child.

To learn more about the key findings from 2018 Essential Facts click here or download the full report here.

Video games are a strong engine for economic growth. In 2016, the industry sold over 24.5 billion games and generated more than $30.4 billion in revenue. Total game sales included purchases of digital content such as online subscriptions, downloadable content, mobile applications, and social networking games. Computer and video game companies provide jobs to more than 220,000 peoplein 50 states.

ESA, in conjunction with the Higher Education Video Game Alliance, released a geographic impact overview of the US video game industry’s diverse geographic presence. An interactive map, which includes a compilation of developer and publisher facilities and universities with video game degree programs, can be found at www.AreWeInYourState.org.