If you’re an Australian reading this, there’s an excellent chance you’re a gamer, whether or not you’ve thought about identifying that way.
See, there’s three ways to define the term “gamer”. Firstly, there is someone who intensely and competitively plays a narrow selection of first-person shooters and racing simulators. Secondly, someone who plays a lot of video games. And third, anyone who frequently plays games.
Playing video games is just one form of gaming.Credit:iStock
I like the third definition because it’s more inclusive and accurate. Hobbies only become better when more people with more life experiences become involved.
That third definition is so inclusive, in fact, that it covers 17 million Australians, according to research conducted by the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association and Bond University. The latest Digital Australia 22 report gives us a much clearer picture of who plays games, and why.
The data shows that most of us have been picturing the typical gamer (18-year-old boy mainlining Red Bull in a darkened room) incorrectly. The average gamer is 35 years old; 46 per cent of gamers are female and 11 per cent of gamers are aged 65-84 years old.
Forty six per cent of gamers in Australia are women, according to a recent study.Credit:Sandy Huffaker / New York Times
The why is also interesting: the main reason was obvious (have fun), but another big reason was keeping the mind active, showing that more people recognise the health benefits of games.
We know that more people played games during the lockdowns, judging by the worldwide sell-out of Nintendo Switches, and how it’s still next to impossible to buy a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X. Games are now the second most popular entertainment medium in Australia, behind streaming services and ahead of free-to-air TV.
But it’s so great to see almost all gamers included in the report saying they played more games during the pandemic to stay connected to friends and family. My wife went from playing very rarely, to playing with me for at least an hour every day for the past 19 months, and it’s brought us closer and allowed us to go on adventures, despite not being able to leave the apartment past curfew.