“Better mood” through gaming in the corona pandemic

Seven out of ten Austrians regularly play video games. That is 5.3 million people who are so distracted from everyday life in a pandemic. Compared to 2017, the playing time has increased by 25 percent, also because of the lockdowns, in which the players had more time. The most popular gaming device is still the smartphone, as a current survey by GfK market research on behalf of the Austrian Association for Entertainment Software (ÖVUS) shows among more than 3000 gamers.

“The short game on the go, in the subway, on the way to work, that is simply part of everyday life for many people,” said study director Christoph Zeh from GfK market research when the survey results were presented on Tuesday. Around 50 percent of gamers use smartphones to play games. After the cell phone, TV consoles are the second most popular gaming devices, and are used regularly by 36 percent of gamers. This is followed by PCs (30 percent) and tablets with 18 percent. “No more men’s hobby” The girls and boys in the age group of ten to 15 year olds are the most active. Over 90 percent of them regularly play video games. Zeh said the older generation had also become gamers with the cell phone. More than every second over-50-year-old now plays regularly, preferably on a smartphone. In addition to the cliché that gamers are mostly young, another fact is outdated, the expert said: “Video games are no longer a men’s hobby.” Among gamers, the ratio of 52 percent men to 48 percent women is now almost balanced.More While the absolute number of players remained stable at a high level compared to the preliminary studies, according to the survey, something has changed in terms of playing time over the past two years: more and longer games are being played on all platforms – in 2021, an average of 13 hours per week was played . That is 1.5 hours more than in 2019 and even 2.7 hours more than 2017. The game time on TV consoles has increased in particular. Gamers spent an average of 7.5 hours a week here in 2021. “Better mood” in pandemic The pandemic, including lockdowns, also contributed to the longer playing times, said Zeh. 45 percent of those surveyed said that they had more time for gaming during Corona, 42 percent said that video games had distracted them from everyday life in the pandemic. “Every third person also said he was in a better mood, 23 percent said they could meet up with friends, which they did not have the opportunity to do in real life,” said Niki Laber, President of ÖVUS, emphasizing the positive aspects of gaming According to the experts, the ceiling for the number of players has not yet been reached by a long way. “That can still go up – because playing is becoming more relevant with older people. There are still opportunities to grow and reach new target groups, ”they forecast.

Reference-www.krone.at