Research study on demographics and opinions of "gamers" vs "people that play games"

darkewaffle

Diamond Member
Oct 7, 2005
8,152
1
81
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/...oorer-more-male-less-white-than-game-players/

Interesting idea. I'd be curious to see it cover "why" people identify one way or another though. I think the assumption is that people who call themselves "gamers" are the most 'devoted' but I wouldn't call myself one simply because of the connotation. Despite having spent what is probably tens of thousands of hours on games in my lifetime.

The biggest surprise for me though was the figure that only 34% of "gamers" (and 17% of 'game players' and 5% of non players) consider the medium superior entertainment to television. I guess TV still holds the heart of the masses lol, but maybe that also says something about what people 'want' out of an entertainment experience. TV is definitely easier to share, digest and requires less time/effort/expense. Maybe a great experience to 'most people' is more about convenience than quality. Not that great TV shows don't exist but you can probably watch multiple great shows in the time it can take to play a single great game - and it's cheaper and easier.

Though for my money I'd take a game over TV 99/100 times.
 

sweenish

Diamond Member
May 21, 2013
3,656
60
91
I stopped calling myself a gamer years ago.

Public opinion aside (never cared about that), gamers have been confirming that bias just fine in spite of all the amazing things like GDQ and HiB.
 

pathos

Senior member
Aug 12, 2009
461
0
0
I used to identify myself as a gamer, but then 2 things happened.

I got older. As I did so, my tastes changed. I still like certain types of games. But, I'll no longer play just any type of game. My range of taste, when it comes to games, is quite small now.

And second, games have changed over the years. They really don't make em like they used to. Technology has gotten better over the years. And, as such, there have been a lot of game advancements. But, there is a lot less focus on originality, game play, or story. We mostly get soulless rehashes, games made for the lowest common denominator, or money sink phone games. Sure, I'm exaggerating. But, sometimes that's how it really feels.
 

sandorski

No Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
70,085
5,618
126
Gamers are just people who play games that want to feel superior at it. I find the distinction between the 2 to be nonsense.
 

Fenixgoon

Lifer
Jun 30, 2003
31,494
9,825
136
I used to identify myself as a gamer, but then 2 things happened.

I got older. As I did so, my tastes changed. I still like certain types of games. But, I'll no longer play just any type of game. My range of taste, when it comes to games, is quite small now.

And second, games have changed over the years. They really don't make em like they used to. Technology has gotten better over the years. And, as such, there have been a lot of game advancements. But, there is a lot less focus on originality, game play, or story. We mostly get soulless rehashes, games made for the lowest common denominator, or money sink phone games. Sure, I'm exaggerating. But, sometimes that's how it really feels.

look at the number of new IP's vs sequels.

call of duty has what...3 different series that are on a multiple revision?
 

ImpulsE69

Lifer
Jan 8, 2010
14,946
1,077
126
I'm a gamer that plays games. If I played non-games, I would not be a gamer. I've always considered the cutoff to be how much time you spend 'gaming'. I certainly don't spend as much time on it as I used to, but probably more than most people my age.
 

Harrod

Golden Member
Apr 3, 2010
1,900
21
81
I used to see trouble tickets at work that said stuff like, "Customer is a gamer", those are the jackasses that I would automatically throw to interleave if they were complaining of slow speeds, and if there were errors on their ports.
 

runzwithsizorz

Diamond Member
Jan 24, 2002
3,500
14
76
Individuals can call themselves anything they like, which doesn't mean that is what they are. To me, a "gamer" means someone who takes "game playing" to the next level, i.e. competes in major online tournaments for money or has made gaming a major part of their life, such as in Eve online (Goon Squad for example).
Beating a game or other players for fun is one thing; playing for serious money is something else.

The Wife
 

justoh

Diamond Member
Jun 11, 2013
3,686
81
91
Difficult to make the distinction.

Maybe you could say that a person who "plays games" does it to waste time or for distraction instead of primarily for enjoyment. I only play a few different games in any given year, intensively, and then maybe nothing for months. In this sense it's interchangeable with any other media.

Then you have people who have extensive libraries and who play a variety of games, constantly, for its own sake and not because of some kind of pathological need to avoid real life or whatever, or not simply to relax or pass time (since the former could apply to both). And so for true "gamers" the media is less interchangeable. They like playing games above all (not just when they're especially bored), and can play and enjoy any genre. Or something.
 

smackababy

Lifer
Oct 30, 2008
27,024
79
86
Gamers are the ones on Internet forums whining about stuff nobody but them care about. They are big babies.
 

master_shake_

Diamond Member
May 22, 2012
6,430
291
121
Gamers are the ones on Internet forums whining about stuff nobody but them care about. They are big babies.

and the people they whine about are the ones who don't play games have no intention of buying them or even care when they are released as long as their feels aren't hurt by a butt slap.
 

Midwayman

Diamond Member
Jan 28, 2000
5,723
325
126
The biggest surprise for me though was the figure that only 34% of "gamers" (and 17% of 'game players' and 5% of non players) consider the medium superior entertainment to television. I guess TV still holds the heart of the masses lol, but maybe that also says something about what people 'want' out of an entertainment experience. TV is definitely easier to share, digest and requires less time/effort/expense. Maybe a great experience to 'most people' is more about convenience than quality. Not that great TV shows don't exist but you can probably watch multiple great shows in the time it can take to play a single great game - and it's cheaper and easier.

Though for my money I'd take a game over TV 99/100 times.

It goes a long way to explaining why there is still a large contingent of people without a DVR and dislike the idea of stuff like IPTV/on demand type programming. They actually have to make a choice. So many people just want to sit back and have entertainment happen to them.
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
It goes a long way to explaining why there is still a large contingent of people without a DVR and dislike the idea of stuff like IPTV/on demand type programming. They actually have to make a choice. So many people just want to sit back and have entertainment happen to them.

I ditched cable and went all in on streaming. I had to pay extra to lift my monthly cap but I haven't missed cable at all. Between all the shows and movies on Amazon Instant Video, Netflix, and live stuff from SlingTV I don't need cable and I save over $100 a month to boot.
 

BSim500

Golden Member
Jun 5, 2013
1,480
216
106
Gamers are the ones on Internet forums whining about stuff nobody but them care about. They are big babies.
Depends on exactly what they're whining about. If I bought a Blu-Ray and the movie froze up mid-film whilst half the buttons on the remote control including basic "pause" and "FF/Rew" were locked out due to PUOP's on that specific disc, taking it back and asking for a refund or usable replacement wouldn't make you a "spoilt big baby cinema enthusiast". Some "gamer whine" is indeed over the top. OTOH, other "whine" is entirely justified when it comes to bashing appalling "quality" control of half-working titles you wouldn't get away with releasing any other form of entertainment in to anywhere near the same extent. "People who play games" are stuck between a rock & a hard place. The "gamer" whine over the trivial / unreasonable taints everyone who plays games who uses the label "gamer" with a childish entitled image, and yet that general larger "antsy attitude" towards publishers didn't exactly fall out of a vacuum for no reason...
 

pathos

Senior member
Aug 12, 2009
461
0
0
Depends on exactly what they're whining about. If I bought a Blu-Ray and the movie froze up mid-film whilst half the buttons on the remote control including basic "pause" and "FF/Rew" were locked out due to PUOP's on that specific disc, taking it back and asking for a refund or usable replacement wouldn't make you a "spoilt big baby cinema enthusiast". Some "gamer whine" is indeed over the top. OTOH, other "whine" is entirely justified when it comes to bashing appalling "quality" control of half-working titles you wouldn't get away with releasing any other form of entertainment in to anywhere near the same extent. "People who play games" are stuck between a rock & a hard place. The "gamer" whine over the trivial / unreasonable taints everyone who plays games who uses the label "gamer" with a childish entitled image, and yet that general larger "antsy attitude" towards publishers didn't exactly fall out of a vacuum for no reason...

I love the internet...I'd find it really hard to go back to the time before it was around (I'm old enough to remember it btw). But, for everything great thing it's brought us, it's brought us something stupid, pointless, disturbing, or just down right crappy.

In this case, it's turned most of the known world into crybaby whiners. And, it's not just gamers, it's everyone. People have learned that those cry the loudest are the ones that get noticed. So, it's caused us all to pretend everything is an outrage, a personal insult, or dire villainy, no matter how sad or silly the actual subject matter is.

The worst part is it's all sound with no fury, or bark with no bite, if you will. People will complain about how wronged they were, how outraged they are...but, it never makes a difference in sales, does it? The companies cranking out said products or service, rarely even notice, or just notice long enough to throw out some media blurb, then immediately forget about it, because they know they don't have to take it seriously. 6 months down the road, everyone will have completely fogotten, until the next outrage.
 

dank69

Lifer
Oct 6, 2009
35,206
28,225
136
Gamers are just people who play games that want to feel superior at it. I find the distinction between the 2 to be nonsense.

IMO, gamers are people that spend significantly more than 50% of their free time playing video games. Free time is defined as time not spent working/sleeping. I wish I could be a gamer but family life gets in the way. As it is I have to cut way back on sleep just to have any time to play games, and I still feel like there aren't enough hours in the day.
 

cbrunny

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 2007
6,791
406
126
If I played pickup hockey, I wouldn't say I was a hockey player. I'd say I sometimes play hockey.
 

jonks

Lifer
Feb 7, 2005
13,918
20
81
The big brouhaha over this study around the interwebs was that it found 50% of men and 48% of women played video games, contrary to prevailing thought that men dominate the demographic. Although not broken down, the reason the female number is so high is likely due to the inclusion of "mobile/cell phone" games. The fracas that followed was the debate over whether including people who play candy crush, like my grandmother, are worth including in the demographic of "people who play video games", or whether mobile games like words with friends, etc, should even be included in the "video game" category for the purposes of a survey. I doubt game developers or marketers pitching AAA titles to the console crowd are tailoring their games as if half of the players were female.