Video games by the numbers

Video games may be all about fun, but it’s big business. Just how big? You might not believe it.

Video games may be all about fun, but it’s big business. Just how big? You might not believe it.

According to the latest stats, the interactive entertainment industry has ballooned into an incredible $30 billion dollar-a-year business worldwide, with nearly $12 billion of that coming from the sale of video game hardware and software in North America.

Impressive numbers to say the least – especially for an industry that’s barely 30 years old (Pong, anyone?) and so we decided to do some additional number crunching about video games, its players and Canadian gaming habits

A look at video games by the numbers:

30 – The average game player age, according to the Entertainment Software Association. The average age of a game buyer is 36 (thanks mom!).

17 – The percentage of U.S. video game players over the age of 50; this is exactly half of the percentage of players who are under the age of 18 (at 34 percent).

35 – The Percentage of Canadian households that own a video game console, such as a Microsoft Xbox or Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 2 or Nintendo GameCube. Households with heads under 35 years of age are nearly twice as likely as the national average to say they intend to purchase a console or portable video game system (13 percent versus 7 percent).

14 – The percentage of video games rated “Mature” by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, therefore suitable for players 17 years of age or older.

72 – The percentage of Canadian households who overwhelmingly believe parents are best suited to guide children in their choice of games

3 – The number of hockey video games amongst Canada’s Top 10 best selling video games. Surprised? In the U.S., 6 out of the Top 20 titles are based on football.

55 – The percentage of Canadian game companies who are developing proprietary technology for the creation of video games.

Sources: Entertainment Software Association of Canada, Entertainment Software Rating Board, Retail Council of Canada, NPD Group, Peter D. Hart Research Associates, The National Research Council, Industrial Research