Americans Spend Billions on Video Games

Wavebreak Media/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — More than 150 million Americans play video games, according to a new report by the Entertainment Software Association.

The group is the trade association that represents the video game industry, but the stats from the new survey remain significant.

According to the group’s 2015 Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry report, consumers spent more than $22.41 billion on game content, hardware and accessories in 2014.

The report also reveals that 42 percent of Americans play video games regularly, or at least three hours per week.  Fifty-six percent of the most frequent gamers play with others, and 54 percent play in multiplayer mode at least weekly.  According to the report, frequent gamers say video games help them connect with friends, and about half of them say that video games enable them to spend time with family.

The report also reveals that about 60 percent of parents whose kids are gamers play computer and video games with them at least weekly.

Additional findings:

• The average game player is 35 years old.
• The most frequent female game player is on average 43 years old.
• Women 18 years or older represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population than boys 18 years old or younger.

The report surveyed more than 4,000 U.S. households.

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