People are spending more time and money than ever on video games, obviously

November 30th, The NPD Group, an industry tracking company, released its “2020 Evolution of Entertainment” report. Their report uses a set of data that explains video game engagement in the U.S. 

Their key finding was that four out of five consumers in the United States played at least one video game in the last six months. The number of people that played video games has gone up by six percent and is now at 79%. The total spending on video games increased by 33%, whereas the total time spent on gaming grew by around 26%.

Even though growth is steady over all platforms, mobile and console gaming are particularly strong. Mobile gaming increased because it is the most accessible platform. On the other side, console gaming became more popular as families were interested in group play. With the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X now available, console interest is at an all-time high, as well.

However, the most surprising finding was that it is not just the young people that drive the increase. As it turned out, users of all ages spent more money and time on video games.

On a year-to-year basis, US-based video game players aged 45 to 55 increased their gaming time by 59% and spent 76% more money on video games. Simultaneously, those aged 55 to 64 increased their spending on video games by 73% and increased their average playing time by around 48%. 

Then there are the ones that belong to the oldest demographic, 65 and older. They also spent more time and money on gaming compared to last year. NPD data speaks of an increase of 29% in money spent on gaming yearly. As far as the increase in gaming time, NPD’s record puts it at 45%. 

NPD researchers came to this data by surveying 5,000 people as young as age two. Children and teens were surveyed by their parents, whereas 18 years and older participants completed NPD’s survey on their own, based on their habits.

What do you think? Surprised by these results? Have you spent more time this year playing video games? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Deep Ballu