1. Profiling Video Gamers
Research by YouGov
On behalf of Tribal Fusion
graham.ratcliffe@tribalfusion-corp.com
agatha.moskal@yougov.com
shaun.austin@yougov.com
elsa.gregori@yougov.com
July 2011

2. Contents
1. Background, Objectives and Methodology
2. The Gaming Audience
3. Gamer Profiles
4. Genres of game
5. Research and Purchasing Patterns
6. Summary
7. Appendix
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3. Background, Objectives and
1 Methodology

4. Background, Objectives and Methodology
Background
 Tribal Fusion commissioned research to evaluate what forms of media are most important to gamers
during the gaming purchase process
 This research complements a wider strategy so that Tribal Fusion understands:
 the gaming market
 the gaming audience
 gamer profiles
Objectives
 Profile video gamers demographically and behaviourally (i.e. consoles owned, frequency and duration of
playing video games)
 Determine the genre of games video gamers enjoy playing
 Investigate the purchase process: where video gamers look for information about new game releases,
game news and information about where to purchase games.
Methodology
 Online survey conducted among respondents that have played a video game in the last month between 6th
– 12th July, 2011
 The survey was completed by 937 respondents aged 13 – 35 years old
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5. 2 The Gaming Audience

6. Age and gender and occupation
Age
Q: Firstly, are you…? AND How old are you? AND Which of these describe what you are doing at the moment? Base: All (n=937)
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7. Profile of heavy gamers…
24% of gamers are often first 28% of gamers pre-order games:
amongst their friends to buy new
games:
44% own a Xbox 360 (cf. 38% of all respondents) 50% own a Xbox 360 (cf. 38% of all respondents)
52% own a Playstation3 (cf. 34% of all 48% own a Playstation3 (cf. 34% of all
respondents) respondents)
Q:To what extent do you agree with each of the following statements?
Q: Which, if any, of the following devices do you own to play video games on?
Q: Firstly, are you…? AND How old are you? Base: All (n=937)
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8. Console ownership
Males more likely to own Xbox 360, PlayStation 3; but females more likely to
own Nintendo Wii, DSi/DS, and PlayStation 2
Males 44%; Females 69%
Males 42%; Females 32%
Males 23%; Females 49%
Males 40%; Females 26%
Males 20%; Females 31%
Q: Which, if any, of the following devices do you own to play video games on? Base: All (n=937)
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9. Combination console ownership
Frequent buyers are most likely to own a PC/Laptop and PlayStation 3/Move
(first to buy amongst their friends) or Xbox 360/Kinect (often pre-order)
PC/laptop Wii Xbox 360 Playstation
100% 52% 37% 33%
65% 100% 29% 26%
65% 44% 100% 26%
63% 44% 27% 100%
Q: Which, if any, of the following devices do you own to play video games on? Base: All (n=937)
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10. Frequency of playing games
Nintendo Wii gamers are the least frequent gamers with 47% playing at least
once a week compared to three quarters of those who play on other consoles
47%
76% 74%
76%
Q: How frequently do you play video games on each of the following devices? Base: All who own each console (n=varies)
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11. Time spent playing games
Unsurprisingly, Nintendo Wii is played for the shortest amount of time
Xbox360 is played for the longest period of time on average
Average number of minutes spent playing
Q: Thinking about each time you play video games on the following devices, how long on average would you say you play for? Base: All who own each console (n=varies)
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12. 3 Gamer Profiles

13. Female Gamers
 The average female gamer is 25 years old
 The consoles most commonly owned for
gaming are Nintendo Wii (69%), PC
(68%), and Nintendo DSi/DSn (49%)
 Female gamers use PC’s for gaming most
often – once every 3 days on average
 However the console which they spend the
longest playing is the PlayStation 3 – on
average they play it for 2 hours each time
 The PlayStation 3 is also the console which
female gamers are most likely to play
against others online – 43% do this
 The games female gamers find most
enjoyable are puzzles (60%) and
action/adventure (57%)
 The most common place they hear about
new releases is online (70%), it is also the
most common place to research games to
buy (89%)
 The most common way to buy games is to
buy a physical copy through a high street
retailer (77%), or an online retailer (72%)
13 | 8

14. Male Gamers
 The average male gamer is 26 years old
 The consoles most commonly owned for gaming
are PC (67%), Nintendo Wii (44%), and Xbox
360 (42%)
 Male gamers use PlayStation 3s and PC’s for
gaming most often – once every 3 days on
average
 However the console which they spend the
longest playing is the Xbox 360 – on average
they play it for 1 hour and 53 minutes each time
 The PlayStation 3 is the console which male
gamers are most likely to play against others
online – 67% do this
 The games male gamers find most enjoyable
are action/adventure (70%) and first person
shooter (64%)
 The most common place they hear about new
releases is online (87%), it is also the most
common place to research games to buy (92%)
 The most common way to buy games is to buy a
physical copy through an online retailer (81%),
or a high street retailer (69%)
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15. Xbox gamers
Typical profile:
 Most likely to be males, aged 25
 Play their Xbox once every 2.6 days
on average
 Typically play for 1 hour 53
minutes each time
 Other devices commonly owned are
PC (65%) and Wii (44%)
 55% play online against others on
their Xbox
 The games most enjoyed are
action/adventure (71%) and first
person shooter (61%)
 The most common place to hear about new releases
is online (83%), it is also the most common place to
research games to buy (92%)
 The most common way to buy games is to buy a
physical copy through an online retailer (81%), or a
high street retailer (76%)
15

16. PlayStation gamers
Typical profile:
 Most likely to be males, aged 26
 Play their PlayStation once every 2.9 days on
average
 Typically play for 1 hour 50
minutes each time
 Other devices commonly owned
are PC (63%) and Wii (44%)
 64% play online against others
on their PlayStation
 The games most enjoyed are
action/adventure (71%) and
first person shooter (58%)
 The most common place to hear about new releases
is online (86%), it is also the most common place to
research games to buy (93%)
 The most common way to buy games is to buy a
physical copy through an online retailer (80%), or a
high street retailer (77%)
16

17. Nintendo Wii gamers
Typical profile:
 Likely to be either male or female, aged 26
 Play their Nintendo Wii once a week on average
 Typically play for 1 hour 10
minutes each time
 Other devices commonly owned
are PC (65%) and Nintendo DSi/
DS (50%)
 25% play online against others
on their PlayStation
 The games most enjoyed are
action/adventure (64%) and
puzzle (55%)
 The most common place to hear about new releases
is online (74%), it is also the most common place to
research games to buy (90%)
 The most common way to buy games is to buy a
physical copy through an online retailer (80%), or a
high street retailer (77%)
17

18. PC/Laptop gamers
Typical profile:
 Most likely to be males, aged 25
 Play video games on their PC/laptop once every 3
days on average
 Typically play for 1 hour and 42 minutes each time
 Other devices owned to
play games on are
Nintendo Wii (52%), and
Xbox 360 (36%) and
Nintendo DSi/DS (36%)
 37% play games online
against others on their PC/
laptop
 The games most enjoyed are action/adventure
(67%), role playing (49%) and puzzles (49%)
 The most common place to hear about new releases
is online (83%), it is also the most common place to
research games to buy (92%)
 Most common way to buy games is to buy a physical
copy through an online retailer (75%), or at a high
street retailer (70%)
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19. Those who buy games before their friends
Typical profile:
 Most likely to be males, aged 26
 Are most likely to own a PC/laptop to
play games on, and play it 4 times a week on average
 The console which they play for the longest each time is
the Xbox, which
they play for 2 hours and 15
minutes on average The games most
enjoyed are action/ adventure (72%),
first person shooter (58%) and role
playing (48%)
 They are even more likely than the
average gamer to hear about new
releases online (91% cf. 80%), online
is also the most common place to research games to
buy (94%)
 Most common way to buy games is to buy a physical
copy through an online retailer (84%), or at a high
street retailer (73%). They are more likely than the
average gamer to download games (41% cf. 31%)
 They are significantly more likely than the average gamer
to rely heavily on the internet to find out about new
games (86% cf. 73%)
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20. Those who pre-order games
Typical profile:
 Most likely to be males, aged 26
 Are most likely to own a PC/laptop to
play games on, and play it 4 times a week on average
 The console which they play for the
longest each time is the Xbox, which
they play for 2 hour s and 5 minutes
on average
 The games most enjoyed are action/
adventure (69%), first person
shooter (53%) and role playing (51%)
 They are even more likely than the
average gamer to hear about new
releases online (90% cf. 80%), online is also the most
common place to research games to buy (95%)
 Most common way to buy games is to buy a physical
copy through an online retailer (86%), or at a high
street retailer (69%) They are more likely than the
average gamer to download games (37% cf. 31%)
 They are significantly more likely than the average gamer
to rely heavily on the internet to find out about new
games (86% cf. 73%)
20

21. 4 Genres of game

22. Favourite genres amongst frequent buyers
1 in 5 males prefer first
person shooter games
compared to 4% of females
17% of males prefer
strategy games compared
to 6% of females
12% of males prefer sport
games compared to 0% of
females
18% of females prefer
puzzle games compared
to 3% of males
11% of females prefer
simulation games
compared to 4% of males
Q: Which is your favourite genre of video game? Base: Those who selected more than one genre they enjoy playing (n=897)
Q. I am always amongst the first to buy a new games in my group of friends Base: 937
22 Q. I often pre-order games Base: 937

23. Favourite games by Console
Amongst those who game at least once a week on the following consoles…
 17% of PC/laptop owners prefer to play role playing games
 25% of Xbox 360 owners prefer to play first person shooter games
 21% of PlayStation 3 owners prefer to play role playing games
 12% of Wii owners prefer to play action/adventure games
Amongst those who ONLY own the following consoles…
 22% of those who only own a PC/laptop prefer to play strategy games
 30% of those who only own an Xbox prefer to play first person shooter games
 18% of those who only a Nintendo Wii prefer to play dance games
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24. 5 Research and Purchasing Patterns

25. Sources of information about new releases
Gamers predominantly hear about new game releases online
Chart shows %
who ranked each
source first
PC/Laptop Nintendo Wii Xbox 360/Kinect PlayStation 3/Move
Only own Own this and Only own Own this and Only own Own this and Only own Own this and
this others this others this others this others
Online 82% 83% 63% 74% 80% 83% 85% 86%
Word of mouth 64% 51% 37% 44% 55% 48% 43% 47%
Family/Friends 48% 48% 46% 49% 45% 47% 49% 48%
TV 31% 41% 65% 56% 48% 42% 44% 43%
Magazine article 20% 26% 27% 27% 26% 29% 26% 28%
Retailers 18% 25% 30% 27% 32% 30% 32% 26%
Newspaper article 16% 12% 15% 12% 8% 13% 12% 13%
Q: Now we would like to know where you typically hear about new game releases. Which, if any, of the following do you use? Base: All (n=937)
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26. Online sources of information about new releases
62% of PC, 72% of Xbox, 72% of PlayStation gamers and 50% of Nintendo Wii gamers hear about new
releases through game sites but 50% of Nintendo Wii gamers also hear about new game releases
through retailer websites
Males 64%; Females 46%
Males 27%; Females 37%
Males 20%; Females 12%
Q: You said that you use the internet to research new game releases. Where do you typically look on the internet to hear about new game releases? Base: All who hear about
new game releases online (n=751)
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27. Sources for research prior to purchase
Online is also the main source used for researching games to purchase
Chart shows %
who ranked each
source first
PC/ Laptop Nintendo Wii Xbox Playstation
Only own Own this and Only own Own this and Only own Own this and Only own Own this and
this others this others this others this others
Online 86% 92% 91% 90% 95% 92% 89% 93%
Word of mouth 51% 47% 47% 45% 46% 46% 45% 45%
Family/Friends 50% 57% 46% 55% 59% 61% 38% 52%
TV 16% 16% 26% 21% 16% 19% 28% 20%
Magazine article 24% 27% 22% 27% 24% 29% 31% 31%
Retailers 22% 28% 29% 33% 40% 28% 26% 25%
Newspaper article 9% 10% 15% 12% 11% 11% 17% 17%
Q: Now we would like to know which, if any, of the following sources you use to research which video games to buy. Looking at the list below, please rank the three sources that
you use most often. Base: All (n=937)
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28. Purchasing Patterns
A third of gamers download games, but physical copies prevail
12% of males download
video games online
compared to 5% of
females
Amongst those who game on the following consoles at least once a week
PC/ Laptop Xbox 360/Kinect PlayStation 3/Move Nintendo Wii
Purchase physical
copies of video
52% 59% 56% 58%
games from an
online retailer
Purchase physical
copies of video
30% 33% 34% 34%
games from a high
street retailer
Download video
16% 6% 8% 6%
games online
Q: From which, if any, of the following places do you buy video games? Base: All (n=937)
And which of the following do you do most frequently? Those who buy games in more than one place (n=630)
28

29. Purchasing Habits – Online Venues
Almost 3 in 4 buy games from Amazon
82% of gamers who game on a
Nintendo Wii at least once a
week buy from Amazon.com
compared to 74% of those who
play on a PC/Laptop at least
once a week
Q: Which, if any, of the following online retailers do you purchase video games from? Base: Those who purchase games from online retailers (n=784)
29

30. Purchasing Habits – High Street Retailers
Game is the most popular high street retailer
Males 12%; Females 17%
Males 8%; Females 4%
Males 4%; Females 1% 37% of gamers who game on a
Nintendo Wii at least once a
week, buy video games at Tesco
compared to 25% of gamers
who game on a PlayStation at
least once a week
Q: Which, if any, of the following high street retailers do you purchase video games from? Base: Those who purchase from high street retailers (n=675)
30

31. Frequent Buyers
Those who pre-order games (86%)
and who are often first amongst
their friends to buy games (86%)
are more likely to rely heavily on
the internet than the total sample
Of those who are the first amongst
their friends to buy new games,
74% notice online adverts
compared to just over half (54%) of
all gamers
Q. How strongly do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements? Base: All (n = 937)
Filtered by frequent buyers: ‘I am always amongst the first to buy a new games in my group of friends’ Base: All who agreed with this statement (n = 227) AND ‘I often
pre-order games’ Base: All who agreed with this statement
31 (n = 259

32. 6 Summary

33. The Gaming Audience
 Of the gamers we spoke to, there is a slight male skew – 60% are male compared to 40% females. They are also
most likely to be over 25, in full-time work or education (school or college)
 PC/Laptop is the highest incidence gaming device owned – 67% of those interviewed played games on a
PC/Laptop. 26% of PC gamers play daily – the highest of all devices, the average time spent playing games on PC
is 102 minutes. Just over half (52%) of all PC gamers also own a Nintendo Wii. Amongst weekly PC gamers, role
playing games (17%) are the favourite type of game.
 Nintendo Wii is the next most commonly owned gaming device, with 54% of gamers interviewed owning one. This
is higher amongst females (69%) compared to males (44%). Those who own a Wii play games least frequently
compared to other gaming devices and gamers spent the least amount of time playing on the Wii (70 minutes on
average) compared to the other devices. Amongst weekly Wii gamers, dance games (18%) are the favourite type of
game.
 38% of gamers interviewed own an Xbox360 – this rises to 42% amongst males and falls to 32% amongst females.
Of all the devices the Xbox360 is played for the longest (113 minutes on average) and just under 1 in 5 (17%) play
on a daily basis. Amongst weekly Xbox360 gamers, first person shooter games (25%) are the favourite type of
game.
 34% of gamers interviewed own a PS3, amongst Males this rises to 40% and amongst females this falls to 26% -
the lowest of the major devices owned amongst females. Playing frequency on PS3 is quite similar to that of
Xbox360. 20% play on a daily basis and the average amount of time spent playing per session is 109 minutes.
 Amongst female gamers, puzzle games are the most popular, whilst amongst male gamers, first person shooter
games are most popular
33 | 8

34. Research and Purchase Patterns
 The biggest source of awareness for new game releases is online (80%), which is significantly higher than the other sources
of awareness. Those who are the first among their friends to buy new games and those who often pre-order games are even
more likely to hear about new releases online (91%, 90% respectively). The next biggest sources of awareness is Word of
mouth (49%) and Family/Friends (48%).
 Amongst those who hear about new game releases online, games websites (58%) are the most prominent sources, followed
by retailer websites (40%) and social networking sites (31%). Males (64%) are more likely to visit games websites compared
to females 46%), while females (37%) are more likely to find out about new releases from social networking sites compared to
males (27%). Those who are the first among their friends to buy new games and those who often pre-order games are even
more likely to hear about new releases on game websites (73%, 71% respectively), and on game manufacturers websites
(36%, 35%, cf. 25% of the total).
 In addition to being the main source of awareness for new game releases, online is also the main source that gamers use to
find out more in-depth information about games. 91% of the gamers interviewed put online in their top 3 sources for game
research. Family/Friends (55%) and word of mouth (46%) were the next sources.
 Online is also the dominant purchase channel. 77% of gamers purchase physical copies from online retailers, compared to
72% who buy physical copies from high street retailers. However, the dominance of online is more apparent when
considering that 56% said that buying physical copies online is their most common way to purchase games, compared to only
32% who do so from high street retailers. The dominance of online is even stronger for those who are the first among their
friends to buy new games and those who often pre-order games (84% and 86% respectively purchase physical copies
online).
 Amazon (73%) is the most popular site for purchasing online, followed by Play.com (53%) and then Game.co.uk (36%).
 The importance of the internet in game research and purchase is backed up by almost 3 in 4 gamers agree that they heavily
rely on the internet to find out about new games (73%), research and buy them – a figure which rises to 86% of and 86%
those who are the first among their friends to buy new games and those who often pre-order games. Furthermore, more than
1 in 2 gamers (54%) say they often notice online adverts for video games, rising to 74% and 67% respectively among those
who are the first among their friends to buy new games and those who often pre-order games).
34 | 8

35. 7 Appendix

36. Gamer Profiles – Heavy Gamers
24% of gamers agree that they are often first amongst their friends to buy new games
 The most commonly owned console amongst those who are the first to buy games amongst their friends is
a PC/Laptop (69%), followed by a PlayStation 3/Move (52%)
 The favourite game genre amongst this group is first person shooter (23%)
 72% hear about new game releases online, with 73% getting information from game websites and 43%
from gaming forums
 The internet also dominates as the most commonly-used source of information (91%)
 86% also state that they rely heavily on the internet to hear about, research and buy new games, with
nearly 3 in 4 stating they notice online adverts (74%)
 Physical copies of video games prevail, with 2 in 3 buying video games from online retailers (59%) and 1 in
3 buying video games from high-street retailers (30%)
 Amazon.com (72%) and Play.com (61%) are the most popular online retailers, with 69% buying video
games from Game and 44% buying video games from HMV
36

37. Gamer Profiles – Heavy Gamers
28% of gamers agree that they ‘often pre-order games’
 Those who often pre-order games are also mostly PC/Laptop owners (67%) but are next most likely to own
an Xbox 360/Kinect (50%)
 20% claim that their favourite games to play are first person shooter games
 90% hear about new game releases online, mostly via gaming websites (71%) and retailer websites (45%)
 Online dominates as a source of research, with 84% researching new releases online
 86% state that they rely heavily on the internet to hear about, research and buy new games, with over 2 in 3
(67%) stating that they notice online adverts
 Online dominates as the main purchase method with 63% purchasing video games from online retailers
and 26% from a high-street retailer
 The most popular online retailers that gamers buy video games from are Amazon.com (73%) and Play.com
(59%)
 Of high-street retailers, Game is most popular (74%), followed by HMV (39%)
37