Nielsen’s survey says that we spent a lot more time with games, plus online purchasing (both in and out of games) have also increased.

Nielsen says 29% of gamers in the US say that they are now playing with their friends online more often. Nielsen shared data from a survey with 3000 active players, who at least own a PC or a PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and/or a Nintendo Switch, spend at least one hour per week on average gaming, and had purchased at least one game in the past six months. The survey covered four countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.

At least 20% of the active regular players are now playing more specifically because of COVID-19 (and those who play more also socialize online more and spend as well). The United States’ ratio is significantly higher (45%), France has a 38% ratio of playing more frequently, and the United Kingdom sees a 29% growth in playtime. People play more with friends online than in-person. 29% of the people from the US do as such. However, France’s ratio, in this case, is just 5%, while 9% of them said they played more in-person, probably because of the coronavirus-caused lockdowns.

Spending has also increased. 39% of the respondents in the United States are spending more money on games. 42% says that they spend specifically more on digital content. At least 23% of the surveyed people say in each country that they spend more money on digital games than physical, retail copies (which is understandable in lockdown countries and states – not all food stores carry games). Nearly half of the respondents in the US have watched more streamed gaming content (Twitch, for example) last week. 40% has done so in France, too.

The gaming industry sees growth in the short term for this reason.

Source: Gamesindustry

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