It's common knowledge that gaming is one of the most popular activities on the Web, but we often don't have a good sense of what type of person a modern gamer is. A new research report from Latitude set out to answer the question: who is today's gamer?
As one participant in Latitude's study noted, traditionally gamers have been thought of as the "stereotypical, petulant and portly adult playing a viscerally violent game in his parents' basement." According to the report findings, that stereotype of the anti-social, immature gamer is outdated. Today's gamer is "social, tech-savvy, goal-oriented" and is much more social than they're usually given credit for. For example, 84% of the study participants use social media "at least several times per week."
The findings come from a Web survey amongst 290 smartphone owners between the ages of 15-54 who self-identified as at least "casual gamers," with nearly half labeling themselves "game enthusiasts." This infographic from Latitude summarizes the findings:
Click here to view large image.
The following visualization answers this question: How Would You Like to Interact with Games in the Future? Gesteral systems, such as Microsoft's motion-controlled gaming system Kinect, is the most popular request.
This visualization asks: Where Would You Like to See More Games Applied? Education and healthcare were the two most popular answers.
Finally, check out this video analysis of the findings:
For other research on gaming demographics and usage, see these ReadWriteWeb posts from earlier this year:
