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It's a rare occasion that a professional report becomes a free download. A company called Newzoo created a gift for all of us. I recommend reading through the whole report, but here are a few highlights:
Newzoo’s PC & Console Gaming Reports 2023-2024 (and other studies)
- Thread starter Antimatter
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Decided not to start another thread for this and post here instead. A new study from Fandom is now available.
According to Fandom’s “Inside Gaming” report:
variety.com
And a note about Gen Z vs Millenials etc:
"Anyone born between 1981 and 1996 is considered a Millennial, and anyone born from 1997 onward is part of a new generation."
www.pewresearch.org
According to Fandom’s “Inside Gaming” report:
- The younger generations of gamers are more interested in competitive gaming and making social connections, while older gamers gravitate more toward games with potential for intellectual stimulation.
- Among gaming genres, adventure, sandbox, survival and fighting games are most popular with Fandom gamers of all age.
- Tweens, however, are most likely to play battle royal (49%), racing (46%) and survival games (39%); while Millennials gravitate more toward MMO (41%), strategy (27%) and RPG (26%) genres, with games like Elden Ring or World of Warcraft.
- The biggest drivers for Gen Z and Millennials are character and storyline, with rich and complex backgrounds; while younger gamers gravitate more toward competitive games, with an emphasis on coordinated teamwork.
Millennials Spend More Time Playing Video Games Than Gen Z and Teens, New Study Finds
Millennials are spending more time per week playing video games than both Gen Z and teens.
variety.com
And a note about Gen Z vs Millenials etc:
"Anyone born between 1981 and 1996 is considered a Millennial, and anyone born from 1997 onward is part of a new generation."
Defining generations: Where Millennials end and Generation Z begins
Pew Research Center now uses 1996 as the last birth year for Millennials in our work. President Michael Dimock explains why.
www.pewresearch.org
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GameIndustry.biz presented new data and graphs about games in 2023. It's a bit funny to come back to my OP here and see BG3 as the game with least awareness and purchase intent when this year started.
More stats and all the credit: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/gamesindustrybiz-presents-the-year-in-number-2023
More stats and all the credit: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/gamesindustrybiz-presents-the-year-in-number-2023
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Gamers seem to be spending less and less time in new games and more and more time in already-established franchises and live-service titles, making it harder for publishers and developers to find an audience.
kotaku.com
"Newzoo’s data shows that the top 10 games on each platform (ranked by their average number of monthly active users, or MAU) are filled with old, established titles. Fortnite took the crown on all platforms, including Switch and PC. The rest of the lists included titles that won’t surprise you, like Grand Theft Auto V, Counter-Strike 2, Roblox, Minecraft, Rocket League, Apex Legends, Fall Guys, Valorant, and Call of Duty. Across Xbox and Playstation consoles, only one dedicated single-player game cracked the top ten: Starfield.
To further prove that gamers are primarily focused on older games, Newzoo’s data shows that just 66 titles accounted for 80 percent of all playtime in 2023. And 60 percent of that playtime was spent in games that are six years old or older. In fact, in 2023, five old games—Fortnite, Roblox, League of Legends, Minecraft, and GTA V—accounted for 27% of all playtime in the year.
It gets worse. Of the 23 percent of playtime spent in 2023 on new games—defined as 2 years or younger—more than half was spent in big annual sequels like the latest Madden or NBA game. Only 8 percent of video game playtime was spent on new, non-annual titles like Diablo IV or Baldur’s Gate III."
60 Percent Of Playtime In 2023 Went To 6-Year-Old Or Older Games, New Data Shows
A report shows that while the industry is growing, its biggest competition is Fortnite, GTA, Call of Duty, and Roblox
kotaku.com
"Newzoo’s data shows that the top 10 games on each platform (ranked by their average number of monthly active users, or MAU) are filled with old, established titles. Fortnite took the crown on all platforms, including Switch and PC. The rest of the lists included titles that won’t surprise you, like Grand Theft Auto V, Counter-Strike 2, Roblox, Minecraft, Rocket League, Apex Legends, Fall Guys, Valorant, and Call of Duty. Across Xbox and Playstation consoles, only one dedicated single-player game cracked the top ten: Starfield.
To further prove that gamers are primarily focused on older games, Newzoo’s data shows that just 66 titles accounted for 80 percent of all playtime in 2023. And 60 percent of that playtime was spent in games that are six years old or older. In fact, in 2023, five old games—Fortnite, Roblox, League of Legends, Minecraft, and GTA V—accounted for 27% of all playtime in the year.
It gets worse. Of the 23 percent of playtime spent in 2023 on new games—defined as 2 years or younger—more than half was spent in big annual sequels like the latest Madden or NBA game. Only 8 percent of video game playtime was spent on new, non-annual titles like Diablo IV or Baldur’s Gate III."
JustKneller
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That doesn't surprise me. Being that the industry standard is to rush release of games (that are subsequently often buggy and incomplete) and then polish it up after the fact, there's no incentive for the consumer to spend more for an early release. Might as well leave things to simmer and see how they shake out. Of course, weaker opening sales lowers the post-market support so devs are kinda shooting themselves in the foot there. I think indie devs have it tough, but for other reasons. That is, most indie games I've played are pretty tight right out of the box. But, the market saturation is much higher now. It's hard to stand out in the pack. New indie devs have it even tougher because nobody really knows who they are. If we were to talk indie devs 10 or so years ago, I'd have a lot to say. At this point, though, I can't keep up. Too much in the market and too many other things going on in life. My M.O. now is to just look at $10 and under games on GOG (I don't really even bother with Steam anymore). Anything in that category with decent reviews has probably stood the test of time and will run on whatever hardware I'm currently using. I'm thinking back, and I honestly think that the last time I bought something truly new was when I bought Throne of Bhaal or Final Fantasy IX (whichever came last) as a kid. Everything else, I waited out.
I think the new generation now is far more shrewd than the industry expected. Add economic uncertainty (as least in the U.S.) to it, video games can be a little too expensive of a hobby, particularly if one is keeping up with the new stuff. I actually, think that the predominantly post-modern perspective of Millennials (especially with their education) has had a cascading effect in fostering more pragmatism in the next generation. On top of that, we're at a point where parents and kids are both potentially gamers. My kids are going to be potentials in this new market. I'm sure going to teach them to be discerning about video games and even encourage more board gaming. Hell, when they're old enough, I would likely drop video games all together for board games (and maybe ttRPGs) with my kids.
I'm surprised Starfield made the top 10. After FO4 and FO76, Bethesda lost some traction with not just the old carryovers from Interplay, but the tried and true Bethesda fans. Starfield has a 6.9 user score on metacritic. That's not a top 10 score, for sure. It pretty much has the same scores as Fallout 4, and I'm sure that's not on any top 10 list.
I took a pass on Baldur's Gate 3 for two reasons. One, I really don't like D&D 5th edition (and the direction WotC is going in general). Someone could create my dream RPG, but if they put it in 5e, I'm noping out of it. Second, a lot of what I've read suggested that the dialogue and story was a little iffy and the last act fell short. I think the most entertaining review I've read said something to the effect of, "It's like playing D&D with friends, but with a lot more sex". I've mentioned a few times before that romance in video games is just hokey in my book.
On the other hand, I'm not sure why I never got Diablo III or IV. I played the hell out of the first one and the sequel. I'm not normally an ARPG kind of person, but I liked those games. I also never picked up Wasteland, despite liking Fallout, or Torment: Tides of Numenera, despite liking Planescape: Torment. I dunno. Maybe someday. I'm thinking right now about my "queue" of games to play next (finish my BG trilogy run, do a PoE full run, do an IWD 1+2 run, maybe a BG trilogy solo/no-reload stint, maybe run the Bioshock series) and what I already have on the table will easily keep me busy for the rest of this year.
I think the new generation now is far more shrewd than the industry expected. Add economic uncertainty (as least in the U.S.) to it, video games can be a little too expensive of a hobby, particularly if one is keeping up with the new stuff. I actually, think that the predominantly post-modern perspective of Millennials (especially with their education) has had a cascading effect in fostering more pragmatism in the next generation. On top of that, we're at a point where parents and kids are both potentially gamers. My kids are going to be potentials in this new market. I'm sure going to teach them to be discerning about video games and even encourage more board gaming. Hell, when they're old enough, I would likely drop video games all together for board games (and maybe ttRPGs) with my kids.
I'm surprised Starfield made the top 10. After FO4 and FO76, Bethesda lost some traction with not just the old carryovers from Interplay, but the tried and true Bethesda fans. Starfield has a 6.9 user score on metacritic. That's not a top 10 score, for sure. It pretty much has the same scores as Fallout 4, and I'm sure that's not on any top 10 list.
I took a pass on Baldur's Gate 3 for two reasons. One, I really don't like D&D 5th edition (and the direction WotC is going in general). Someone could create my dream RPG, but if they put it in 5e, I'm noping out of it. Second, a lot of what I've read suggested that the dialogue and story was a little iffy and the last act fell short. I think the most entertaining review I've read said something to the effect of, "It's like playing D&D with friends, but with a lot more sex". I've mentioned a few times before that romance in video games is just hokey in my book.
On the other hand, I'm not sure why I never got Diablo III or IV. I played the hell out of the first one and the sequel. I'm not normally an ARPG kind of person, but I liked those games. I also never picked up Wasteland, despite liking Fallout, or Torment: Tides of Numenera, despite liking Planescape: Torment. I dunno. Maybe someday. I'm thinking right now about my "queue" of games to play next (finish my BG trilogy run, do a PoE full run, do an IWD 1+2 run, maybe a BG trilogy solo/no-reload stint, maybe run the Bioshock series) and what I already have on the table will easily keep me busy for the rest of this year.
BelgarathMTH
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@JustKneller , you and I seem pretty sympatico about a lot of things. You articulate very well why I still haven't bought BG3 and may never buy it. Concerning romance (and especially sex) in games becoming distasteful to me, that's a change in myself that has happened gradually over several decades of gaming. Young me wanted to fantasize about sex and love with game characters like Anomen. Middle-aged bordering on senior me just rolls my eyes at the thought of "every character in the game wants to have a romantic relationship with me."
It's interesting to me as I engage in introspection. I know that as a young man, the idea of gay romances being an official part of games would have been very exciting to me. If I had been 28 when BG3 came out, I can imagine that I would have been as excited by it as everyone else now seems to be. As I am now, the whole idea of it makes me yawn at best, and roll my eyes at worst. Every once in a blue moon, I get a flicker of the old feelings of interest and excitement about a game romance, but that's usually after a few evening cocktails and is gone with morning sobriety.
I also have a whole aspect of my personality (both young and old versions of myself) of finding the "edgy and/or evil is cool, good is boring" trend in games to be *extremely* distasteful. I've talked about that again and again elsewhere, so I don't need to go into it in depth again here.
It's interesting to me as I engage in introspection. I know that as a young man, the idea of gay romances being an official part of games would have been very exciting to me. If I had been 28 when BG3 came out, I can imagine that I would have been as excited by it as everyone else now seems to be. As I am now, the whole idea of it makes me yawn at best, and roll my eyes at worst. Every once in a blue moon, I get a flicker of the old feelings of interest and excitement about a game romance, but that's usually after a few evening cocktails and is gone with morning sobriety.
I also have a whole aspect of my personality (both young and old versions of myself) of finding the "edgy and/or evil is cool, good is boring" trend in games to be *extremely* distasteful. I've talked about that again and again elsewhere, so I don't need to go into it in depth again here.
JustKneller
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I think I was more tolerant of it when I was younger, but I never really cared for it. However, I think a large part of it is that I separate the story of romance from the immersion in or experience of it. I mean, for any book or game, I never felt like "I" was the character, but more that I was following this protagonist's story and I had some agency in how it went, kind of like a choose your own adventure. What tends to put me off on romances is that they are not organic to the larger story (BG2 is a great example of that) and don't really add anything to it. I feel like it's just something devs do now add to check a nerd box. I know my standards for writing in video games is (possibly unreasonably) high, but it doesn't really cost more to write a better story, and I have played some really well written games, so I know it can be done.
With BG, it's a bit of a heartbreaker. I think the devs got in their own way with the writing. They double backed on and retconned so many plot points, yet still didn't patch up all the plot holes, it's all just over-complicated and the story gets lost in its own weeds. I would have been more impressed with a single romance done well, than four that just don't make sense. In fact, one thing I would have written differently was Imoen (and I know she wasn't even meant to be a character past the prologue, but they made her one so they had a chance to do it right). I would have made her less of a "kid sister", dropped the pixie personality, and made her more of a childhood friend that could eventually grow into more. If they wanted to level 2 it, they could have had you choose Imoen's gender at character creation so a guy-guy, guy-girl, girl-guy, girl-girl romance is baked right in. I'm not gay, but one thing I've noticed about how gay people relate to each other in a relationship is that it's really not much different than straight people. You wouldn't have to "gay up" the romance storyline if players were to choose that option. But, she would make more sense as a romance option than Jaheira (with her fresh dead husband), Aerie (who needs to get to a Codependents Anonymous meeting ASAP), or Viconia (who is far too prickly for it to be worth the effort and it ends bad even if you miraculously do it right). Imoen and GW have a common history, you end up discovering she's also a Bhaalspawn, and a romance would definitely establish a good motivation to rescue her in the second game. The endless chain of "I want to rescue my friend"/"I want to get revenge on Irenicus" dialogue options are so trite, I'd rather be railroaded on a (potential) romance motivation.
But, I'm probably derailing the thread. Sorry! So, yeah, the industry. Crazy stuff, huh?
m7600
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This is one thing that Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous manages to do better, despite being a bit of a slog in other regards. The character development options are wild. You can become a lich, for example. All your romance options are forfeited if you do, though. I didn't choose that path in my run, but it's still an interesting option. It's a bit more nuanced than "I want get revenge on Irenicus", I think.
BelgarathMTH
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I know what you mean. I find myself moving that way, too. I prefer MMO's more and more, precisely because they're all sandboxes with the "create your own adventure" possibilities baked in.
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The trend continued in 2024, of course. It's very funny to see Skull & Bones here. Yes, it was an original IP, but what a disappointment it became. Still managed to get into the top 10. I guess, we should add "comes from the well-known studio" to the list, along with existing IP/non-original titles.
Source: https://newzoo.com/resources/blog/top-games-cumulative-revenue-q1-2024
Source: https://newzoo.com/resources/blog/top-games-cumulative-revenue-q1-2024
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Well, this doesn't mean anything good for people like me--who like strategy thinking, planning, and resource management.
www.ign.com
"Across its 1.7 million surveys, Quantic Foundry found that two thirds of strategy fans worldwide (except China, where gamers "have a very different gaming motivation profile") have lost interest in this element of video games. "67% of gamers today care less about strategic thinking and planning when playing games than the average gamer back in June 2015," the report reads.
"When we looked for long-term trends across the 12 motivations, we found that many motivations were stable or experienced minor deviations over the past nine years," Quantic Foundry said. "Strategy was the clear exception; it had substantially declined over the past nine years and the magnitude of this change was more than twice the size of the next largest change."
The trend was analysed but Quantic Foundry couldn't find any distinct separations between, for example, men and women or gamers based in or out of the U.S. It was likened to other trends related to a decrease in attention span, like shorter YouTube videos now generating more views and shorter lengths of time between cuts in films, but Quantic Foundry admitted "it's difficult to pin down cause and effect" and said there's a lack of evidence to solely blame social media, as many do."
Gamers Are Becoming Less Interested in Games With Deep Strategy, Study Finds - IGN
Video games with deep levels of strategy are becoming increasingly unappealing, according to a new study.
"Across its 1.7 million surveys, Quantic Foundry found that two thirds of strategy fans worldwide (except China, where gamers "have a very different gaming motivation profile") have lost interest in this element of video games. "67% of gamers today care less about strategic thinking and planning when playing games than the average gamer back in June 2015," the report reads.
"When we looked for long-term trends across the 12 motivations, we found that many motivations were stable or experienced minor deviations over the past nine years," Quantic Foundry said. "Strategy was the clear exception; it had substantially declined over the past nine years and the magnitude of this change was more than twice the size of the next largest change."
The trend was analysed but Quantic Foundry couldn't find any distinct separations between, for example, men and women or gamers based in or out of the U.S. It was likened to other trends related to a decrease in attention span, like shorter YouTube videos now generating more views and shorter lengths of time between cuts in films, but Quantic Foundry admitted "it's difficult to pin down cause and effect" and said there's a lack of evidence to solely blame social media, as many do."
JustKneller
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I can't say that I'm surprised. I feel like this has been a growing trend for the last 10 years or so and their findings seem to support it. Newer games feel more like amusement park rides than actual games. Heavy on the endorphin rush and visual stimulation, light on the cognition. This probably a large reason why, if you were to plot a chart of video games I like by the year they were released, there would be a cluster of older games and then it would peter out the closer we get to the present. I think this is also why I've ultimately found myself in the OSR/Classic D&D camp of tabletop gaming. I'm not nostalgic and pining for the "glory days", it's just that newer games do something completely different (i.e. power fantasy) and not what I want in a game.
But, so it goes. One this is for certain, if this continues, I won't be letting my kids get into video games when they are older and will (ironically) straight up forbid them in the home, instead only allowing tabletop games. I'm not letting my kids dumb themselves down with brain candy.
But, so it goes. One this is for certain, if this continues, I won't be letting my kids get into video games when they are older and will (ironically) straight up forbid them in the home, instead only allowing tabletop games. I'm not letting my kids dumb themselves down with brain candy.
Black Elk
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I read that article the other day and it kept me up half the night! hehe
I mean talk about shots across the bow right there. Who sank my battleship!? lol And what are the A&A 4X peeps like me meant to do with this revelation!? Truly though, I thought it was interesting.
Last couple all around GOATs are also interesting to ponder, since they sorta bookend things very nicely. In the one corner we got the 2022/3 GOAT in Elden Ring, and then the 2023/4 GOAT in BG3, which is sorta the mirror universe opposite right? In the same way that the gold boxes and culmination in BG1 is maybe a response to the og Rogue. Like to me BG is essentially a kind of antiRogue-like game right? I can't remember anyone talking so much about Rogue (1980) and Rogue-likes as happened in the wake of that Elden moment. Just like Dark Souls give rise to Souls-likes, there will probably have to be a Dragon-like or BG-like category to round things out here. I don't know, just that whole idea of endless variation and progressive difficulty nightmare (like playing arcade games till the upside down level) as a game design philosophy vs whatever it's polar opposite in endless repetition - the battle for tumbling eyes!!!
PC strategy games I'm sure don't stream nearly as well as either of those do. For bite sized snacks, it's probably more interesting to watch people play around an actual table top or for the board game version of whatever thing hehe
I mean talk about shots across the bow right there. Who sank my battleship!? lol And what are the A&A 4X peeps like me meant to do with this revelation!? Truly though, I thought it was interesting.
Last couple all around GOATs are also interesting to ponder, since they sorta bookend things very nicely. In the one corner we got the 2022/3 GOAT in Elden Ring, and then the 2023/4 GOAT in BG3, which is sorta the mirror universe opposite right? In the same way that the gold boxes and culmination in BG1 is maybe a response to the og Rogue. Like to me BG is essentially a kind of antiRogue-like game right? I can't remember anyone talking so much about Rogue (1980) and Rogue-likes as happened in the wake of that Elden moment. Just like Dark Souls give rise to Souls-likes, there will probably have to be a Dragon-like or BG-like category to round things out here. I don't know, just that whole idea of endless variation and progressive difficulty nightmare (like playing arcade games till the upside down level) as a game design philosophy vs whatever it's polar opposite in endless repetition - the battle for tumbling eyes!!!
PC strategy games I'm sure don't stream nearly as well as either of those do. For bite sized snacks, it's probably more interesting to watch people play around an actual table top or for the board game version of whatever thing hehe
BelgarathMTH
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Fun aside about the Quantic gaming psychology and research company - I once taught violin lessons to one of their employees. He wanted me to teach him a violin solo from a jrpg he loved playing on console. He only took lessons for a semester before saying he couldn't afford to continue, but he did learn to play that violin solo fairly well. I was proud of him.Well, this doesn't mean anything good for people like me--who like strategy thinking, planning, and resource management.
Gamers Are Becoming Less Interested in Games With Deep Strategy, Study Finds - IGN
Video games with deep levels of strategy are becoming increasingly unappealing, according to a new study.
"Across its 1.7 million surveys, Quantic Foundry found that two thirds of strategy fans worldwide (except China, where gamers "have a very different gaming motivation profile") have lost interest in this element of video games. "67% of gamers today care less about strategic thinking and planning when playing games than the average gamer back in June 2015," the report reads.
"When we looked for long-term trends across the 12 motivations, we found that many motivations were stable or experienced minor deviations over the past nine years," Quantic Foundry said. "Strategy was the clear exception; it had substantially declined over the past nine years and the magnitude of this change was more than twice the size of the next largest change."
The trend was analysed but Quantic Foundry couldn't find any distinct separations between, for example, men and women or gamers based in or out of the U.S. It was likened to other trends related to a decrease in attention span, like shorter YouTube videos now generating more views and shorter lengths of time between cuts in films, but Quantic Foundry admitted "it's difficult to pin down cause and effect" and said there's a lack of evidence to solely blame social media, as many do."
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Well, this doesn't mean anything good for people like me--who like strategy thinking, planning, and resource management.
Gamers Are Becoming Less Interested in Games With Deep Strategy, Study Finds - IGN
Video games with deep levels of strategy are becoming increasingly unappealing, according to a new study.
"Across its 1.7 million surveys, Quantic Foundry found that two thirds of strategy fans worldwide (except China, where gamers "have a very different gaming motivation profile") have lost interest in this element of video games. "67% of gamers today care less about strategic thinking and planning when playing games than the average gamer back in June 2015," the report reads.
"When we looked for long-term trends across the 12 motivations, we found that many motivations were stable or experienced minor deviations over the past nine years," Quantic Foundry said. "Strategy was the clear exception; it had substantially declined over the past nine years and the magnitude of this change was more than twice the size of the next largest change."
The trend was analysed but Quantic Foundry couldn't find any distinct separations between, for example, men and women or gamers based in or out of the U.S. It was likened to other trends related to a decrease in attention span, like shorter YouTube videos now generating more views and shorter lengths of time between cuts in films, but Quantic Foundry admitted "it's difficult to pin down cause and effect" and said there's a lack of evidence to solely blame social media, as many do."
Interesting. I read it in another place and my mind starting thinking about it. I would have enjoyed seeing the source data, because I am not buying it at face value. I know my way around statistics and big data and I've seen messed up conclusions from incorrect readings before. Not saying that has happened here, but I do find it weird.. Without reading any details I would have rather guessed the amount of players have increased a lot but the added players are perhaps not as interested in deep strategy. The added player base ups the quantity of non-strategy players making the relative amount of strategy lovers lower. But as said, that's just a guess.
There are plenty of strategy games that have record sales after record sales. It's like saying no one likes movies you have to think about to fully understand when the market is over-flowing with mass-produced marvel crap that fills up the cinemas, yet we see a smorgasbord of deep, qualitative movies every year that people love.
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According to a 2024 report by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), a staggering 63% of Gen Z individuals prefer playing video games to watching films (compared to a mere 14% of Boomers). This preference isn’t just indicative a shift in entertainment consumption but also broader changes in social interaction and technology engagement, with 71% of Gen Z also saying that video games are a great way to socialize and only 21% of Boomers agreeing with the same.
gamerblurb.com
63% of Gen Z Would Rather Play Video Games Than Watch a Movie — GamerBlurb
The battle between the Video Game and Movie industry continues on, driven by Generation Z's preference for video games over movies. According to a 2024 report by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), a staggering 63% of Gen Z individuals prefer playing video games to watching films (compared
gamerblurb.com