Facts & Figures

Today the computer and video games industry is a mass-market leisure activity. It now has a firm foothold in today’s consumer lifestyle culture – and it is an important and highly prominent UK industry. In the last few years our more traditional leisure pursuits have been superseded by the computer and video games phenomenon.

· Over 25 million dedicated gaming devices have been sold in the UK (not including PCs) since 1995 – this is enough for at least one device in every household.
· In the last 10 years, more than 335 million computer and video games have been bought in the UK - that's five games for every person and at least a dozen games for every household!
Who is the average British gamer today?
Computer and console gaming is now a mass-market leisure activity, with millions of players across Europe. In the last few years the age group of those playing games has increased, and the average gaming age is now 23+.
Games are played across sexes, ages, and classes. Their spread is now almost universal.
· 38.2% of the UK population is an active computer gamer.
· 51.2% of British men and 25.1% of British women aged 10-35 play games regularly (SomeResearch).
· The average computer gamer has been playing for over 10 years, approximately since the Sony PlayStation was released, with younger players having spent proportionately more of their lives with interactive entertainment.
· On average, gamers play for 12.6 hours per week. To put that into perspective, it is estimated that the average person will watch three hours of television every night.
· UK female players spend more on games than any other demographic in Western Europe (except UK males).
· 27.2% of all active gamers in the UK are women.
· The average age of the UK female gamer is 30-35 years old.
What are the different types of games?
In the decade since the PlayStation first launched, when the vast majority of titles fell into the categories of shooter and sports simulation, publishers have become aware of the vast array of play styles that are available and attractive to a broadly adult demographic. There are many genre categories today, ranging from action adventure series like the international best-sellers Rainbow Six, Prince of Persia and Tomb Raider to life simulations like the tremendously successful Sims 2 and sports games such as EA’s FIFA football series.
As a result of today’s more demanding gamer, storylines and plots have developed added depth, elements of self-expression and personalisation. Games are often now expected to feature social interaction as part of the experience – from games which use multiple input devices to Massive Multiplayer Online games (MMOs) and Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORGs). Multiplayer games played online tend to encourage teamwork and friendship development between thousands of gamers all over the world who are all online simultaneously and take part in global gaming sessions.
Where does the UK gamer sit in the world market?

· 32.2% of the UK population are gamers.
· 26% of French nationals are gamers.
· 22 % of German citizens have a games platform available to them.
· More people play more games in the UK than anywhere else in Europe.
· UK gamers spend more than their European counterparts.
· In 2004, 827 computer and video games were published in the UK - only 17 received a BBFC 18 rating.
What are the most popular games?

· The Sims and Sims 2 are the best-selling PC games of all time. Here players nurture their ‘little people’ who progress through the game with healthy social interaction and by holding down a job and progressing through the career ranks accordingly.
· Across Europe, a staggering 1.1bn-plus games or ‘edutainment’ DVD-Roms and CD-Roms have been sold since 1995. Across the world, the total number of leisure software units sold since 1995 is over 3.5bn. (2003 figures)
· Compared to the rest of Europe, the UK console software market is larger than both France and Germany combined, despite the UK population being just under 60 million while that of the other two countries totals more than 140 million combined.
· The UK's best selling games (FIFA, Sims 2, the Harry Potter series) now sell close to one million copies each in a year across all formats. That can bring gross retail revenues approaching £50m for each title - making the best-selling games similar in their earning potential to the biggest films at box office, or around twice as lucrative as music's biggest earners.

The UK industry is the third largest interactive entertainment market in the world, worth over £2 billion every year, with the highest number of games development companies and publishers in Europe. It consistently leads the way in technological innovation and world class products, stretching the imaginations of consumers and creators around the world.
Facts
"Over 50% of British men play games regularly"
"In 2004, 827 computer and video games were published in the UK - only 17 received a BBFC 18 rating"
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