LadiesGamers is run by two ladies who are getting on in years, and we have a vision of how we want to raise our baby. For that’s what it often feels like: the site is our baby that we have to nurture and care for. So for the fourth time, we asked you to fill out the survey Super Proud to be a Gamer! Time for the results and what they tell us.
This is the first of two articles. This one concerns the gaming habits, what kind of games you like and how you get our information. The second article is about LadiesGamers itself, what kind of articles you want on the site and the special comments you left for us.
Our Audience
People sometimes ask us if, with a name like LadiesGamers, we only have ladies in our writing team. Or if we are aimed solely at the female audience. I can assure you that this is not the case. And it shows in the insights that we have into our audience. Our google analytics shows a variety of genders, and as you know, our team is mixed too.
What we do find very interesting to see is in what age group our audience is.
From the survey, we have learned that the majority of our respondents are between 35 and 44 years old (37,1%), followed by the age group of 25-34 years old (29,3%). 2,7% of the people who completed the survey are between 18 and 24 years old. Still, I think it’s great that there are obviously more and more older gamers out there. The age categories above 45 years old are 30,9% together. To me, remembering how I felt in the first years I was gaming, and there were hardly any adults playing, it feels great.
This chart shows how the age of our responders has changed over the past 7 years: our audience is getting a bit older.
How Much Time We Game
The majority of our responders play video games every day of the week (43,6%), and the option of 5 or 6 days a week has scored 25,7%. The others play less than four days a week. Not surprising, I guess, when you ask gamers.
Looking back over the years, there is no specific shift in the number of days we play video games. But it is very interesting to see that the older the gamers are playing. 100% of respondents over 65 years old pick up their game every day of the week, and in the age category of over 55 years old, 85%. It seems that younger people have much more to do in everyday life, which fits with having younger children.
Why Do We Play Games?
The reasons why we play video games are very personal, but still, there are some we have in common. Not surprising when we have a website that focuses on cosy games that 96,4% of our voters game to relax. And that 79,3% have ticked the box for ” to escape from everyday life”.
A lot of answers were added by many of you. Although worded in different ways, another reason that was mentioned more than once had to do with mental wellbeing, playing video games can relieve depression. One that stood out to me, too, is “to spend time with my children”. I couldn’t agree more; playing video games with kids can be a great way to spend quality time. Others added had more to do with how creative gaming can be or that it’s just plain fun!
Which Devices do We Use?
The Nintendo Switch came out on top for the devices we used in the past 90 days, with 90% of our readers have played on Nintendo’s console. Not surprising I guess, as LadiesGamers started out as a site for handheld gaming only, even though since then, PC gaming has been added into the mix. We still don’t cover games that are PlayStation or Xbox only.
Over the years, you can see in our surveys that the Switch is holding steady, and gaming on a mobile phone/tablet is gaining importance. Gaming on the Wii/WiiU and 2/3DS family is slowly sinking away, but the other handheld device, the PS Vita, holds its ground. I’m guessing we have some dedicated fans of Sony’s stepchild in our audience. The percentage of responders playing on Xbox and PlayStation remains approximately the same.
What is nice, though, is that people still do play on their PS Vita and 2/3DS systems and that SteamDeck is getting a good foothold with 18%. Also, a lot of people play games on their phones or tablet. Don’t let anybody tell you that mobile gaming isn’t real gaming, as half of our audience uses it.
When playing on the Nintendo Switch, the majority of people (41%) only use it as a handheld device like me. And over the years, this percentage is rising. My own console is hardly familiar with the tv, and the fact that I can indeed play anywhere without bothering others is the main reason I love it. Plus, almost as many people (36%) use a combination. A minority of 23% only use it hooked to a TV.
Gaming with Others
First, most of us have a fellow gamer in our own household. 70% have two or more people playing, and 30% of people are solo gamers. It’s nice to be able to share the gaming hobby with someone nearby, but with technology, as it is, you can also reach out across the world to play with others.
If the Covid years have taught us one thing, it is that gaming is a great way to connect to others without the need to be in the same room. During lockdowns, it was the perfect way to make it feel like you were together in a shared passion. All the more surprising then that the results show that most people still prefer to play alone! 87,1% wasn’t what I was anticipating there.
Looking at who we play with shows that we like to keep it in the family (46,9%) and friends circle (13,6%), playing together in person. Online accounts for 39,5%, but most of that online gaming is done with online friends. We don’t often reach out to strangers, which I did expect as a leftover from lockdown gaming.
Physical or Digital
The recurring debate: will you buy your game digitally or physically? Over the years, the preferences are changing, helped by the influx of indie games that aren’t available as a physical cartridges. Some companies focus on remedying that by publishing Indies as physical games.
As we first had a survey in 2016, it’s interesting to see the change. In 2016 75% of our respondents bought their games physically, and to 70% in 2018 and 2020, it shifted: a minority of our audience (44%) bought their games physically, and 58% went digital.
In this Survey, we added a third option: buying a mix of physical and digital, as it doesn’t seem to be a hard choice anymore. Depending on what game you want, if you intend to sell it again after playing the game and if it’s even available in physical form.
I’ve also asked you for the reason you chose digital or physical. A recurring theme is that digital games are so easy: no need to go to the store, swap cartridges, and instant gaming at your fingertips. I’ve also read several times that you lack the space in your home to store all the physical boxes and that it’s great to always have your entire collection with you. Cost is a factor, too; digital often comes at a nice price in sales.
The reasons to go for the physical cartridge often have to do with pride in showcasing the entire collection or in being able to sell the game once you’re done playing it. That’s where the mix often is chosen: go physical if you want to sell or if the game is even available on the cartridge; otherwise, you go digital.
Favourite Gaming Genres
Somehow I had expected, with LadiesGamers being so enthusiastic about simulation games and puzzles, that they come out on top. But RPG is the genre of games that 66% of you choose as one of your three favourites. Simulation and Adventure come next, almost equal at 58% respectively 56%.
It’s a nice representation of our gaming tastes, but again, the site’s origins and the kind of content we feature also partly make for the outcome.
Getting Information Online
Of course, our money is precious and often scarce, so we want to be well-prepared before we buy a game. That’s, of course, the main gist of the answers about why you look for information.
One can have favourite writers or YouTubers whose opinion has proven to be aligned with your own tastes in gaming. Those are the ones that matter most and can help decide whether to buy or not. I am very fortunate to read that some of you feel LadiesGamers gives the right advice and often mirrors what you feel is important in a game.
I also asked you whether you read or watch YouTube when you want more information on a game.
The graphs are pretty clear: 7,1% prefer to watch YouTube to get information, 22,9% reads articles to make up their mind about a game, and 70% use a combination of both. I had expected the older audience to perhaps have a preference for reading articles online, but that was not the case.
The reasons for choosing either or a mix were diverse, and some stood out to me:
- Watching Youtube clips is a favourite when someone wants to see the gameplay in action and to ensure the visuals and play style are something one will enjoy.
- When you’re too tired to play yourself, it’s also fun to watch someone else play the game on YouTube.
- Several people commented on getting information quicker from an article than from a YouTube review. It’s often faster as you can scroll down, and YouTube clips have a lot of ads and ‘blabla’ before you get the relevant information.
- For guides and walkthroughs, and if you’re stuck, you all resort to YouTube more often.
Of course, I myself love the written article too, and I couldn’t help but smile when one of you commented: “I read because I’m an adult and reading is quicker than watching”.
The End?
So there you have it, the results of our Survey, Super Proud to be a Gamer. This one concerned your gaming preferences; the second article, which will follow soon, is all about LadiesGamers, the content and the lovely feedback we got from our respondents.