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Average Age of MMO players
BrendonB
Member Posts: 76
Is there any data out there which estimates the average mmorpg players age?
Comments
It is easy to dismiss video games as pointless activities that only teenagers indulge in. The truth is that the average age of MMORPG players is around 26. In fact, only 25% of MMORPG players are teenagers. About 50% of MMORPG players work full-time. About 36% of players are married, and 22% have children. So the MMORPG demographic is fairly diverse, including high-school students, college students, early professionals, middle-aged home-makers, as well as retirees. In other words, MMORPGs do not only appeal to a youth subculture.
The wide appeal of MMORPGs is all the more striking because of usage data that shows how strong that appeal seems to be. On average, MMORPG players spend 22 hours a week in these environments and usage is not correlated with age. In other words, older players spend the same amount of time playing these games as younger players. Also, the strength of this appeal is further highlighted by the finding that 60% of players report having played an MMORPG for at least 10 hours continuously.
Another caricature of video gamers is that they are solitary hermits, but the data on MMORPG players show that 80% of MMORPG players play with someone they know in RL (a romantic partner, family member, or friend)on a regular basis. Thus, MMORPGs are in fact highly social environments where new relationships are forged and existing relationships are reinforced.
I have also heard that the MMO aveage age has been increasing as years passed. It was about 20 with 1st generation games and is now on its way to nearly 27 years old. Mostly due to the fact that 1st generation MMOers are still playing and plan to keep playing the same or new MMOs. (MMO=Addiction???). I would, however, like to see the average age for each MMO curretnly out there. Just out of curiosity hehe.
When you enter the MMO world.. take ANY MMO and apply this.. you'll notice right off the bat the teenagers who have figured out their actions online play little to concequences in reality.. you'll find alot of immaturity and misbehavior.. which will most likely immediately lead you to believe the gaming genre, especially the MMO is filled with 12-16 year olds with no decency. However thats not the case.. they just pop up the most and are easily noticed. In actuality the average age is around 25-28 where players are still a gamer-kid at heart.. but also have the job and capability to finance such a hobby..
Gaming is no longer just a "kids" thing or something for teenagers to dabble in. Alot of older ages are beginning to pick up their mice/controllers and begin playing video games..
Everquest - 2000 - '02
Anarchy Online - '01-'02
Earth and Beyond - '02-'04
Star Wars Galaxies - '03-'06('07)
World of Warcraft - '04-'07
Age of Conan - '08 - shelved.
-Waiting on-
Star Trek Online
SW: The Old Republic
I think I read somewhere the average age of the official forums not long ago was 27 or 28?
You are right in saying that the average age is 25-28, but it's not the 12-16 year olds that are acting immaturely (speaking about the majority). It's mostly the "kids" ages 18-25, or even 18-30. I've seen and know personally many people that played MMOs that were in their 20s but you'd never guess it by their play style or manners in the game.
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I live to fight, and fight to live.
I think the avarage age is late 20s and early 30s, reason is simple, you gotta pay for it and its a social game. Kids love to play single player stuff or halo or console games. MMOs are PC games (for the most part) and to own a PC you need some money which a teenager couldnt afford (unless their parents bought it for him). I think that is the main reason, when you see MMOs come out for PC and Consoles than you may see alot of teenagers but PC games have always been more adult oriented community.
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That's interesting Lateris. By any chance, do you know where you read / saw / heard that information?
Check out: www.nickyee.com/daedalus/
Ha, at 42 I guess I have helped to raise the average.
Hehe, I think 3-4 months ago it probably was, if you re-did the survey today I'm half afraid that number would take a large dip, as there seem to be a large number of teenage types, and more to come after E3 I'm sure.
Check out: www.nickyee.com/daedalus/
i jsut checked out that site, i saw the bar graphs, but not the info it was based on. whether it was a local survey, or a worldwide thing.. one thing i do know is that those stats definitely do not apply to the asian market. from what ive seen and heard ( i live in korea) its all little kids.
Quick question about the site.
How old is the data that is being presented? I notice that most of the graphs indicate a 2003 date, and I did not find anything indicating that it had been updated more recently. Also admitting that I was pressed for time, I only spent a couple minutes, so it easily could be there, and I missed it, which is why I'm asking.