Yes, we did play more video games during the coronavirus pandemic.
Hey, when you are asked to stay at home and social distance as a way to stop or at least slow the spread of COVID-19, who could blame you for bingeing on "Animal Crossing," "Call of Duty" or "Fortnite."
More than half of players (55%) said they played more games during the pandemic, and most players (90%) said they will continue playing after the country opens up, according to a survey of 4,000 U.S. adults conducted by market research firm Ipsos in February for the Entertainment Software Association.
For players during the pandemic, video games were a source of stress relief (55%) and distraction (48%), the survey found.
Video games also served as an escape and a break for children, 71% of parents surveyed said. More than half of parents (59%) said their children played educational games and two-thirds of parents (66%) said video games made the transition to distance learning easier for their children.
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More parents began playing games with their kids, too, with 74% of parents saying they play video games with their children at least weekly – up from 55% in 2020, the survey found.
Overall, more Americans – 227 million – say they play video games, up from 214 million in the previous survey conducted the previous year.
"When we were doing this survey we had a sense the numbers would go up, but we weren't sure on the scale," Stanley Pierre-Louis, the Entertainment Software Association's president and CEO told USA TODAY. "We were excited to see the trend line. … That’s just a huge leap. And it was up in all categories."
- 67% of American adults (aged 18+) are players
- 76% of U.S. children (under 18) are players
- The average video game player is 31 years old
- 45% of gamers identify as female.
- 80% of video game players in the U.S. are over 18.
- More than half of all gamers (51%) played 7+ hours weekly.
- The most popular game genre? Casual games, played by 63% of players, followed by action games (39%) or shooter games (39%).
