Gamers are emotionally invested in video games, and make buying decisions based on the emotional response the game is likely to trigger.
We asked our gamers about their buying habits. Below are the key findings from our 2016 survey.
Core Demographics
- 18 - 24 is the most common age bracket for gaming
- Interestingly, ages ranged from 18 - 74 years
- The market is 92% male and only 8% female
Which of these are an important factor in influencing you to purchase a new game?
- Gameplay was the most important factor
- Story and character development was the second most important factor to gamers
- Dexterity and skill was the least popular deciding factor in purchasing a new game
Which of the following emotions have you commonly experienced when playing Video Games?
- 89% of gamers surveyed described their emotional state as “excited”
- 79% described “happiness”
- 73% of gamers regularly experienced “frustration”
- 44% felt “angry”
- 42% were “content” whilst playing video games
- 41% had experienced “sadness” at some point
- 40% described “elation”
Which of these genres do you play most regularly?
- Role Playing Games (RPGs) were the most popular genre, with 90% playing RPGs regularly
- First Person Shooters (FPSs) were the second most popular genre
- Party games were the least popular
What sort of difficulty level do you prefer to look for in a game?
- 63% of Game Rant’s audience preferred hard, but playable games over easier ones
- Only 25% sought out highly challenging games
- Less than 10% looked for easy games
Game Rant can reveal that 80% of gamers cite story and character development as a key influence on their decision to purchase a game. And 48% of those surveyed also buy based on the emotions the game is likely to enable them to experience while playing.
This compares to only 41% declaring the complexity of the game as being a deciding factor, and only 19% considering the skill and dexterity needed to play. Furthermore, only half took into consideration repeat gameplay value.
When asked to describe the range of emotions they experienced 89% of gamers surveyed described their emotional state as "excited" while playing, 79% described "happiness", and 73% described "frustration" at different times, which is not surprising when 63% of Game Rant’s audience preferred hard games over easier ones. However, "anger" was one of the least common emotions, with only 44% of gamers having experienced bouts of anger while playing.
New, fully immersive role-play games (RPGs) like Destiny, focus on complex stories and character development, over button mashing and dexterity-based play that ruled the console gaming industry from the 1970s - 90s.
Almost 90% of our surveyed audience preferred "Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games" or MMORPGs as they’ve become known to genres such as first person shooter, and platformer.