The old stereotype that games are mostly for younger people – and males – has once again been proved outdated. The Entertainment Software Association's (ESA) latest survey shows that the average age of respondents is 41, and the split between men and women is almost 50/50.

The ESA's latest Power of Play survey involved 24,216 participants from 21 countries across six continents. It covers several categories, from gamer demographics to reasons why people play games.

One of the highlighted findings is that the average age of respondents – all of whom were aged 16 and over at the time – is 41. Moreover, the gender split is 51% men and 48% women.

As for the respondents' top reasons for playing games, the most obvious one, to have fun, is the most common, named by 66% of respondents. In second place is stress relief/relaxation at 58%, which one presumes comes from those playing the likes of Anno 1800 rather than Elden Ring. Finally, keeping minds sharp and exercising brains was the third most common reason named (45%).

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5785214&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=5307129#49340749)

In the 80s they were badass and a showcase of Skill to beat even the easiest of them. Mario 1-3 take skill to beat and they’re creampuffs compared to most titles.

In the 90s they were both badass/violent plus you had the technical showcase and storytelling of RPGs

Games now are extremely long Experiences Engineered to take money from losers. It’s just not the same thing. The sheer amount of Time they occupy is ludicrous….

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5785214&forum_id=2\u0026mark_id=5307129#49340873)