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Forty-one per cent of Canadians say their mobile devices are their preferred method of playing video games, according to a new survey from the Entertainment Software Association of Canada.
“There’s no doubt anymore that video games are entrenched in popular culture and entertainment,” said Jayson Hilchie, President and CEO of ESAC. “Mobile games have exploded in popularity; top charts for mobile apps are routinely dominated by video games. Pokémon Go is a great example of a successful mobile game that has combined the popular adventure genre with a nostalgic franchise on an innovative Augmented Reality (AR) platform. No longer relegated to arcades and basements, video games are omni-present thanks to the mobile games phenomenon.” added Hilchie.
Phones and tablets are now the most popular game platforms. Although ownership and game play on video game consoles has remained steady since 2014, 41% of Canadians reported playing video games on mobile devices most often. That’s a huge jump from 2012 when only 6% reported playing on mobile devices the most often.
What’s more, the mobile games phenomenon has captured the attention of new audiences, particularly the female demographic. Female gamers are now playing 9% more on a daily basis with their mobile device than their male counterparts. Through continuous innovation and technological changes, mobile has become the leading platform to play video games among the female demographic.
Many Canadians do not even consider themselves to be gamers even though they regularly play on mobile devices. When asked if they considered themselves a “gamer”, a modest 38% of Canadians self-identified as such, when in fact, 52% of Canadians have played a video game in the past 4 weeks – the threshold by which ESAC measures game play. Among those who did not consider themselves to be a “gamer”, 79% reported actually playing games on a mobile device in the past 4 weeks, highlighting the role of mobile games in bringing new players to the medium as a whole.
Agencies/Canadajournal
