Gaming Demographics

Recently I read an article in the New York Times about the gaming industry. While the article as a whole isn't that bad, I did take issue with a few points made in it.

The first assumption made by the author of the article is that gaming has traditionally been activity enjoyed alone. "The image of the antisocial, sunlight-deprived game geek is enshrined in the popular consciousness as deeply as any stereotype of recent decades." I don't know about the rest of you, but I've been playing multiplayer games since before I was old enough to attend school. Ever since I got my Atari 2600 I've been playing games against my siblings, friends, or anyone else who would play. As I grew up I would often go to friends houses and play the NES, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, etc. Even with PC games friends and I would enjoy the games together, even if the game was single player. We would often take turns playing different levels of games like Wolfenstein, Duke Nukem, Commander Keen, Doom, etc.

The author seems to think that online gaming and multiplayer features are a new invention. Ever since the dawn of the internet there has been online gaming (even before that with modem direct connections). The only real recent innovation is the online features being available in console games. Previously this was pretty much relegated to PC only games like Starcraft, Diablo, and others. While the observation that multiplayer games are becoming ever increasingly popular is pretty obviously correct, the distinction made that hardcore gamers and gamers who enjoy multiplayer games are distinct, separate groups is blatantly false. If anything, the hardcore gamers have propagated the advancement of online multiplayer games and are the main players of them. Multiplayer games are how hardcore gamers measure their ego. Without multiplayer games, how does a hardcore gamer know how good he/she is?

While I do agree that video games are reaching an ever widening demographic, I don't agree with the authors assessment as to the reasons behind that. What I see happening is that hardcore gamers are pushing for more different types of games. They are pushing for games that they can play with family and friends. As a gamer I obviously enjoy my video games. Because of that enjoyment, I want to share it with others. While my wife may not be into the first-person shooters I am, I'm willing to try new games that may interest her. We may even eventually purchase a Wii. But the reason behind the push towards more family friendly video games comes from gamers themselves I think more than from non-gamers. I see many first generation gamers growing up and now having children of their own. They want their kids to experience gaming as they did, but at the same time, they want to participate as well.

I also don't agree in the authors assessment that video game players and video gamer reviewers are of the same mindset. More often than not I read video game reviews that are obviously written by someone who only sat down and played a game for a few minutes. A lot of game reviewers are also reviewing pre-release versions of games that may or may not be different from the retail release version. With the short time that reviewers spend actually playing the game, many fail to grasp how real gamers will accept the games. The author in the article uses Bioshock as his example. I'll use the same game to point how reviewers and gamers may disagree on a game. Most gamers will play a game for upwards of 50-100 hours before moving on to other games. I'd be surprised if game reviewers spent more than 2 hours on a game before writing their review.

But overall, I have to disagree with the assessment that older demographics will increase in the gaming industry to the point where they dominate. The increase in family friendly games is showing now with the release of the Wii. Those same families that purchased Wii consoles I really doubt will continue to purchase new games the way hardcore gamers do with their consoles. Hardcore gamers will buy new games roughly 1-2 times a month, if not more often. I don't see most families purchasing new games on that type of a schedule. The fact is that most of the money in the gaming industry comes from game purchases, not console purchases.