Is the average gamer really depressed, fat and chasing forty?

I am, it appears, a lot more average than I hoped. Well, at least when it comes to the world of computer gaming. A new study reveals, amongst other things, that the profile of the average gamer looks a lot less like the hyperactive, cola drinking teen obsessed with kicking alien ass. In fact, it reckons, your average gamer looks a lot more like me: 35 and fed up.

Not that I am a perfect match, I will admit, as I don't consider myself to be overly aggressive (your average gamer is) nor introverted (I'm more of an Andrew WK 'Party Hard' type of guy) or even particularly overweight, so there is hope for me yet to escape the bondage of being average after all.

But then again it turns out that not only is the study based on data from 2006, but the original survey carried out in 2006 was restricted to just 552 people who lived in the Seattle, Washington. Which leaves me wondering just how representative of your average gamer the report really is. Mind you, it also concludes that playing video games is bad for your health and that many gamers show multiple signs of addiction. Nothing new in that opinion, of course, people have been telling us that gaming is bad for you for years. But there is also nothing new in this report that makes me take that particular opinion any the more seriously either, so I'll continue playing and getting older I think.

[khess]

The answer is yes, they live in their parent's basement, most sport goatees and/or ponytails, have various collections of toys (Star Wars, He-Man, etc.) and can quote movies, Star Trek episodes and South Park endlessly.
And when they don't like something, they'll pull out a "Nee" or two.

[gastonci]

hey i'm a gamer myself, and I have to say that just because I once I start playing a game and can't stop till got it, doest'n mean I'm not in shape, in fact, I go to the GYM most of the week.
Ah... and by the way, sorry about inglish.

If a person is depressed and doesn't take part in extra curricular activities...I guess that's what it will come to in the end.....the belly monster growing outward.....but I guess that's not the factor about just average gamer,....that would only depend upon the background of the gamer isn't it...the environment he or she stays in,and how it affects their minds.But I guess that is a far more reason for playing video games,the only route to escape the horrors of reality.Some gamers do play just for fun,but I don't think that's many of them.

And about that thing where they say that gaming is bad......I guess my answer to that is..."and so is being extremely social"...if gaming keeps me mentally satisfied,why not game around,its helping survive,isn't it :)

[Ms. Gone]

This is actually an interesting question. How old is an average gamer? At first I thought the age would be somewhere below 18 but after my personal encounter with some game communities I did notice that most of them are older. So I took 10 minutes to search around the net for different surveys done on this topic.

There are very many different surveys done on this matter and they all have different results.

- One survey done in 2006 says that the average gamer is 35 year old, fat and overweight. That is the study mentioned in this post. But the youngest participant in that study was 19 year old. Makes me wonder how many teenagers and kids were left out. But then again another study suggests that only 1% of all gamers are under 18 years old.

- And another survey done both in USA and UK said that an average gamer is even 48 years old in USA and 38 in UK. This survey had about 5000 participants.

- Another survey states that an average gamer is a 43 year old woman.

- Yet another study (that was made after the previously mentioned one) states that the age of an average game player in USA is 29 and 27 in EU. The conductors of this survey also stated the valid fact that often players under age 18 are not included in surveys that makes the average age higher than it actually is. Funny enough they agreed with the previous survey stating that about 60% of gamers are women.

I guess it just depends what group is targeted in a survey. Naturally the age of social facebook gamers and the age of rp gamers might be different, especially if the survey is done only among 18+ players.

[JamieLynnSEO]

lol. I studied video game programming in school. I was one of the few girls in the entire gaming department. I found from my experience, if you've ever seen the movie Grandmas Boy... It's pretty accurate in the "average gamer" in the way it stereotypes the different characters.

I also worked at a video game store called Play N Trade, and work in the gaming department at Micro Center.

Middle aged men, late 20's-early 30's is what ive observed to be the "average"
But hey! I'm no expert. Just an observation.

I'm a 22 year old girl who's insanely social, yet i'm a big ol' gamer. Average? Not really. Lol. But i CAN quote star trek and south park. ha! ^_-

[Venku Tur'Mukan]

The answer is yes, they live in their parent's basement, most sport goatees and/or ponytails, have various collections of toys (Star Wars, He-Man, etc.) and can quote movies, Star Trek episodes and South Park endlessly.
And when they don't like something, they'll pull out a "Nee" or two.

a = I lived in my parents' basement (until we moved), but I'm in high school.
while a:
I probably don't have a goatee or ponytail.

I don't even know what He-Man is. Who doesn't love Star Wars? It's an epic American pasttime. Who doesn't love it, deep down? If you say "Use the Force, Luke" everybody around you is going to know what you're talking about.

South Park kind of sucks.

You spelled "Ni" wrong, dude.

[Venku Tur'Mukan]

a = I lived in my parents' basement (until we moved), but I'm in high school.
while a:
I probably don't have a goatee or ponytail.

I don't even know what He-Man is. Who doesn't love Star Wars? It's an epic American pasttime. Who doesn't love it, deep down? If you say "Use the Force, Luke" everybody around you is going to know what you're talking about.

South Park kind of sucks.

You spelled "Ni" wrong, dude.

Oh, I suppose you said Star Trek. Whatever. It's still a legacy.

[ntrncx]

i know who he-man is :p but that question doesn't have much of a meaning.

i don't believe that there is a model for average gamer,or if it was changes with the years(i think)There are so many environmental facts that can change the model,depends the country,family,school and many more.

i play video games my whole life,and i love them.
my hobby is at gym and i work hosting or bar tender in night clubs.nothing with classic sterotypes.

i think video games except children age is more like a hobby, like sports.

[sergent]

I don't even know what He-Man is. Who doesn't love Star Wars? It's an epic American pasttime. Who doesn't love it, deep down? If you say "Use the Force, Luke" everybody around you is going to know what you're talking about.

South Park kind of sucks.

I LOVE south park. And I never saw star wars!

[JackRT]

Well, I am not really depressed... fat? Yes but I used to play a lot more when I was in good shape... I am not close to 40... more so to 30...

Thanks to Black OPS, I no longer play video games btw... that game cured my addiction... such a crappy game... lol