Why do people play Digital Games?

What really motivates a gamer when picking a new game? what are the emotional paths he experiences while hacking his way through monsters or plowing his farm with daily rows of fresh carrots?

Well, seems that games answer a clear and definite need; The need for Entertainment. Many investors and entrepreneurs have a hard time swallowing such an answer, but Entertainment (Print, Digital, TV, etc) is a real need of modern society. Its not a "nice to have", its not "i can survive without it". Its a real need that has become part of our life and draws us to experience new products and consumer patterns. 

So, why do we play games? 
Social gamers spend more than half (54%) of their time on social networking sites playing

games. In addition to playing social games (39%), social gamers also spend 15% of their time playing non social games

Two-thirds (69%) of social game players also play other types of video games including

casual and/or hardcore games. Almost three-fourth (73%) of social game players in the UK play other games, compared to 67% of US social game players.

Discovery

A recommendation from a friend, relative or colleague (60%) is the number one factor influencing the selection of social games, followed by the familiarity with the title/played a similar game elsewhere (46%)

Frequency

The majority (95%) of those surveyed play social games multiple times a week with

34% playing several times a day, 30% playing once a day and 31% playing 2 to 3 times

a week

Gaming Consoles? Surprising Numbers...

Digital Gaming takes place through a gaming interface known as a platform.
Game Platform are seldom  used to segment the gaming market, as they dictate aspects such as production value (each platform supporting a different graphic level) and user base segmentation (as each platform attracts a different audience).


PC has always been a popular platform for gaming and with the emerging popularity of Mobile gaming (iPhone, iPad, Android) the market is indeed changing. Yt, lets look at soem numbers of Game consle sales to understand the nature of this industry.

If the game can be played on multiple screens/platforms, it is seldom called a "Cross Platform Game"

Game Console

An interactive entertainment computer system with a video-oriented processing and graphic powers.


Generations: Game consoles can be categorized into 8 generations, yet only 6th to 8th generation are still present in the market. 6th generation consoles - include the Nintendo's GameCube,  Play Station 2 (which is still popular: 150m units sold during 2011) and Microsfot's Xbox

7th generation consoles dominate the market:

• Xbox360 (Microsoft) 
• PlayStation 3 (Sony) 
• Wii (Nintendo) 
• See also handheld game consoles (below); PSP and Nintendo DS
• Motion Recognition Platforms such as the Kinect (Microsoft) and Move (Sony)

 

Handheld Game Devices

A handheld game device is a lightweight, portable electronic device with a built-in screen, games controls and speakers. Handheld devices run on small size machines, enabling users to carry and play them at any time or place. NintendoDS is one of the most successful world wide selling game console, with over 145m units sold (lifetime total).

Recent introduction of the iPad and competitive tablet devices have boosted this category, evolving it from a small array of portable game consoles to industry leader.

Social Gaming

Social games have become a mighty buzz word; Startups are raising money, indies are doing social games and Zynga is monetizing like hell. So are we on a verge of a new bubble? or is this a new emerging industry that is destined to establish its presence for a long while?

good questions. Hard to answer. Mostly because we are part of this movement and judgung such phenomena can only be done retrospectively. Still, worth while examining some usage patterns among social gamers in order to understand if we are looking at a new skin for "casual gaming" or a new typology of gaming.

What is it?
Social games are An interpolation of casual games; they are a mix of casual and midcore games served over a social network . Progress in the game is dependent  on cooperation with one's friend's. In fact, playing the game in single player mode is a tedious task; content unlocks slowly, XP is hardly gained and most assets can not be triggered alone.


Usage Pattern
Many of these game focus on a Time Management Game Mechanism, meaning players need to return and play the game in given time cycles (e.g. - return in 5 hours to harvest your plowed potatoes). This dynamic generates a repetitive gameplay as well as usage pattern, exhibiting short session (5-10 minutes) occurring several (2-4 in average) times a day

• 58% of social game players in the UK are women, as are 54% in the US.
• There are two big major categories of social game players: single people with no children (28%) and married people with children living at home (28%).
• Social game players’ average age in the UK is 42, which is far younger than the 46 year old average in the US.
• 46% of Americans are 50 or older. Only 15% of Americans are under the age of 30.
• Housewives are commonly thought to be the main target of casual and social game, but the numbers show that only 11% of the respondents are homemakers and 41% work full time.

 

•  The majority (41%) of those playing social games work full-time, followed by 13% who are retired and 11% who are homemakers. 9% work part-time and another 9% are not currently working. Its is a known fact that many social games are being played during work hours, thanks to their short-session game structure

• The majority (95%) of those surveyed play social games multiple times a week with
• 34% playing several times a day, 30% playing once a day and 31% playing 2 to 3 times a week.
• The session length of social gamers varies widely with 23% playing 16 to 30 minutes at a time, 27% playing for 31 to 60 minutes and another 22% playing for 1 to 2 hours