Jul 28, 2021 - Technology

Why some young people aren’t gaming

Data: Generation Lab's GAMING tomorrow prospectus; Chart: Will Chase/Axios

Time is more of a barrier than money when it comes to why some young adults don’t play video games, according to a new poll from Generation Lab, shared with Axios.

Why it matters: There are more entry points to gaming than ever, but there’s no guarantee that young people will embrace games simply because they’re more commonplace.

By the numbers: Generation Lab surveyed 503 people between the ages of 18 and 29 to understand their gaming habits. (The margin of error is ±4.2%.)

  • 25% of respondents say they don’t have any games downloaded to devices they own.
  • Of the non-gamers responding to the poll, 42% said they don’t play because of a lack of time; 14% blamed financial constraints.
  • VR and multimedia tie-ins wouldn’t draw the non-gamers in, according to the survey.
  • Non-gamers said Hulu, Netflix and other streaming services satisfied their entertainment diet.

What would draw them in: 46% of non-gamers said they’d be more interested in games if they could socialize in them.

As for people who do play:

  • They’re averaging nine hours of gaming a week.
  • 56% say they do not think they’ll grow out of gaming.
  • And in a warning for boosters of subscription services, 77% say they’d like to try new games by buying them one at a time, rather than via a monthly subscription service.
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