Global audiences: Trends

    To find out what kind of character I should design I researched Global Trends in the game industry. The first article that I was influenced by was Popularity of mobile game art styles and genres – data breakdown (2021) by Erno Kiiski. Its data stated that top-grossing visuals in the US are realistic, while in Japan manga was the most popular. It is supported by the fact that the top 7 best-selling games of 2019 were made in realistic art style (ISFE 2020).

    According to Statista (2020), most players in the US are between 18 to 34 years old and Victor Yanev reports that 72% of gamers are 18+ (2021). The biggest group of players in Europe are 15-24 year-olds (ISFE 2020). Men in that age group usually prefer action games and on the contrary women like casual games the most. Statistics say that 75% of males use consoles to play, while 77% of females play on smartphones at the same age (Nestor Gilbert 2021).

    As stated by Newzoo (2020) games become more and more diverse and inclusive as big companies are intending to improve that subject in the game industry. Around half of the players in the US and UK value the inclusiveness of characters in video games (Marie Dealessandri 2020). 

    In the 2020s top 10 bestselling games 60% of titles were destined for 16+ audience (Jesse Lennox 2021). That means that right now the most popular franchises are characterised by displaying violence, sexual activity, the use of bad language and illegal substances (PEGI 2020).

    

    Taking all that information into an account, I could summarize it by stating that current global trends in games are:

- realistic art style

- most players are between the age of 15 to 34, so the average age is 24

- the most popular genre is an action for men and casual for women

- males prefer consoles and women select smartphones for gaming in the mentioned age group

- diversity and inclusiveness are now being promoted in the game industry and half of the players acknowledge the importance of it

- the most frequently bought titles are destined for a 16+ audience

    I will be taking under consideration those trends while designing my character. 

Bibliography:

Websites:

Erno Kiiski, 2021. Popularity of mobile game art styles and genres – data breakdown [online]. . Available at: https://www.gamerefinery.com/popularity-mobile-game-art-styles-genres/. [Accessed 23/06/2021]

ISFE, 2020. Key Facts 2020 [online]. . Available at: https://www.isfe.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/ISFE-final-1.pdf. [Accessed 23/06/2021] 

Jesse Lennox, 2021. The bestselling games of 2020 [online]. . Available at: https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/bestselling-games-of-2020/. [Accessed 23/06/2021]

Marie Dealessandri, 2020. Half of US and UK players want more diverse characters in games [online]. . Available at: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-11-12-half-of-us-and-uk-players-want-more-diverse-characters-in-games. [Accessed 23/06/2021]

Nestor Gilbert, 2021. Number of Gamers Worldwide 2021/2022: Demographics, Statistics, and Predictions [online]. . Available at: https://financesonline.com/number-of-gamers-worldwide/. [Accessed 23/06/2021]

PEGI, 2020. What do the labels mean? [online]. . Available at: https://pegi.info/what-do-the-labels-mean. [Accessed 23/06/2021]

Statista, 2020. Distribution of video gamers in the United States in 2020, by age group [online]. . Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/189582/age-of-us-video-game-players-since-2010/ [Accessed 23/06/2021]

Victor Yanev, 2021. Video Game Demographics – Who Plays Games in 2021 [online]. . Available at: https://techjury.net/blog/video-game-demographics/#gref. [Accessed 23/06/2021]