Seven in 10 respondents said they played video games all the time growing up – even to the extent that 64% said they would classify their favourite games as a part of their family! Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of World of Warships by Wargaming, the survey also found that three-quarters of respondents said their love for video games influenced their preferences for other forms of media – like TV and film. These findings come as the video games industry was recently revealed to be larger than the US film and sports industries combined.
Perhaps surprisingly, 66% of respondents said video games were better back in the days of their youth because they were just simpler. However in the modern era, 88% of these respondents agreed that gaming is actually a productive hobby with multiple benefits.
In fact, the most important aspects of a video respondents shared were the ability to learn something new and problem solve. While online multiplayer games are more popular than ever, 46% of respondents said they prefer to look for a game with an interesting narrative and story arc.
The survey also looked at the relationship between families and gaming and found seven in 10 respondents can’t wait to pass along their love of gaming to their future kids. Of those polled with children, 68% said their kids have encouraged them to play more video games while they’ve been in quarantine together. Another 69% of these respondents also said they’re thankful for video games during this time because it’s allowed them to spend more time with their children.
Sixty-six percent of respondents said they often get so excited when they’re playing a video game – it’s like the rest of the world disappears. This feeling may also be closely related to the competitiveness that comes alongside playing video games. Over half of respondents said they often get frustrated when playing a video game for the first time – but 71% feel just as accomplished when they finish a challenging video game as they do making other accomplishments in their life.
The most valued aspects and features of video games by US respondents are as follows:
- The ability to learn something new - 52%
- The ability to problem solve- 52%
- An interesting narrative / story arc - 46%
- The console I can play it on - 42%
- Being able to digitally download it - 35%
- The ability to customize my character - 24%