Profile of Americans using gaming PCs

Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, October 9, 2021

Profile of Americans using gaming PCs

  • All online American adults who regularly use a gaming PC
    • They number 25.3 million – 12% of all online American adults
    • Defined as using a “Gaming desktop or gaming notebook – designed for playing video games, such as with special video cards and extra memory”
  • Profiled by characteristics that are distinctive
    • Only profiled by those characteristics which have an index of 80 or below and 120 and above – those which are 20% above or below the average by category 
  • Expressed as market penetration – the percentage of online adults within each group
  • Distinctive characteristics profiles
    • Age, gender, age within gender
    • Employment status
    • Presence of children
    • Household size
    • Life stage (age, employment status, presence of children)
    • Number of home PCs used
    • Technology ecosystems
  • Characteristics examined and not found to be distinct
    • Educational attainment

Americans who regularly use a gaming PC by age group

  • Gaming PC users skew younger
    • Game console use is strongest among the youngest American adults – aged 18-44
    • Penetration among online Americans aged 18-44 is 19%-20%
  • Beyond age 45, the rate drops steeply
This content is for subscribers only.
Join Now
Already a member? Log in here
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used with a generative AI system without separate licensing and express written permission. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.

Profile of American game console users

Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, October 2, 2021

Profile of American game console users

  • All online American adults who regularly use a game console
    • They number 77 million – 35% of all online American adults
  • Profiled by characteristics that are distinctive
    • Only profiled by those characteristics which have an index of 80 or below and 120 and above – those which are 20% above or below the average by category 
  • Expressed as market penetration – the percentage of online adults within each group
  • Distinctive characteristics profiles
    • Age, age within gender
    • Employment status
    • Presence of children
    • Household size
    • Life stage (age, employment status, presence of children)
    • Number of home PCs used
    • Technology ecosystems
  • Characteristics examined and not found to be distinct
    • Educational attainment

Americans who regularly use a game console by age group

  • Game console users skew younger
    • Game console use is strongest among the youngest American adults
  • Penetration among online Americans aged 18-34 is 58%-59%
  • Beyond age 45, the rate drops steeply
This content is for subscribers only.
Join Now
Already a member? Log in here
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used with a generative AI system without separate licensing and express written permission. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.

Activities for PCs versus smartphones

Users with a choice of devices choose home PCs over smartphones more often for certain entertainment and shopping activities. Conversely, users choose smartphones over home PCs for other activities such as listening to paid streaming music. This MetaFAQs reports on which activities out of over 80 activities are done with smartphones, home PCs, or game consoles versus any of the other types of devices.

This content is for subscribers only.
Join Now
Already a member? Log in here
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used with a generative AI system without separate licensing and express written permission. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.

Low scores – the decline of game-playing by Americans [MetaFAQs]

Americans use various connected devices to play games—but not as much as they used to. Since 2016, fewer Americans regularly play an immersive or other game with each passing year.
This MetaFAQs reports the trend in active use by online Americans by platform – game consoles, smartphones, PCs, and tablets – from 2016 through 2020. The research results showcase the TUP/Technology User Profile study, MetaFacts’ survey of a representative sample of online American adults profiling the full market’s use of technology products and services. The current wave of TUP is TUP/Technology User Profile 2020, which is TUP’s 38th annual.

This content is for subscribers only.
Join Now
Already a member? Log in here
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used with a generative AI system without separate licensing and express written permission. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.

PC gaming by household size [MetaFAQs]

Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, December 6, 2020

Is playing immersive or other games on a PC more likely in a smaller or larger household? How widespread is PC game-playing in the US, Germany, UK, and Japan by household size?

This content is for subscribers only.
Join Now
Already a member? Log in here
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used with a generative AI system without separate licensing and express written permission. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.

Mobile phone game playing by household size [MetaFAQs]

Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, November 29, 2020

Is playing immersive or other games on a smartphone or feature phone more likely in a smaller or larger household? How widespread is mobile phone game-playing in the US, Germany, UK, and Japan by household size?

This content is for subscribers only.
Join Now
Already a member? Log in here
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used with a generative AI system without separate licensing and express written permission. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.

Tablet game playing by household size [MetaFAQs]

Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, November 24, 2020 Are tablets being used to play games? After all, many tablets are being used for passive activities, where the user is leaning back in a chair (or sprawled on a sofa) instead of sitting at a desk. Is the share or tablet gamers higher or lower among…

This content is for subscribers only.
Join Now
Already a member? Log in here
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used with a generative AI system without separate licensing and express written permission. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.

Game-playing trends – convenience gamers, dedicated gamers, and device-gamers [Highlights]

Overview Playing games is a regular activity for most adults whether using game consoles or gaming PCs, or any of their connected devices – mobile phones, tablets, or PCs. Convenience Gamers – those using only a connected device to play games – have near-equal market penetration to Dedicated Gamers – users of game consoles or…

This content is for subscribers only.
Join Now
Already a member? Log in here
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used with a generative AI system without separate licensing and express written permission. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.

Pocket full of fun – entertainment activities [MetaFAQs]

Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, February 1, 2018 Which is more fun – the one-trick-pony device that does one fun thing well, or the device you can use for many types of entertainment? In India, the most-preferred connected device for fun is a smartphone or a basic feature phone. Connected adults in India find more…

This content is for subscribers only.
Join Now
Already a member? Log in here
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used with a generative AI system without separate licensing and express written permission. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.