When You’re a Gamer, You’re a Gamer For Life

Consumer turnover in the videogame market is remarkably low, a report shows, suggesting that when people pick up videogames, they stick with them for life.

Though “gaming fatigue” is a common enough phenomenon with gamers who claim periods of lapsed interest in their favorite hobby, I like to think that anybody who plays games will, to some degree or another, always play games. A new report from the Entertainment Merchants Association argues my sentiments exactly: when you’re a gamer, you’re a gamer for life.

The report stated that “consumer turnover in the video game market is exceedingly low. Older gamers continue to be engaged by video games, rather than dropping out and being replaced by a new generation. Once a consumer decides to play video games, they continue to play for life – adding to the growing number of gamers worldwide.”

By the EMA’s numbers, a considerable 68% of all American households are playing games nowadays, industry sales have been on the up in the bigger scheme of things, and rentals are a lucrative business as well. Sales for movies on DVD and Blu-Ray, meanwhile, are behind with $22.4 billion last year (as compared to $23 billion for games).

That statistic isn’t surprising at all – it’s common enough to say that games are beating movies for consumers’ dollars these days. It is interesting to know that people are sticking with the hobby, though. Here I thought I’d be all alone with my videogames decades from now.