Gaming Video Content Surpasses Hollywood in Audience Size!
A new report from Super Data Research states that more people watch gaming related Let’s Play’s than Netflix, HBO, ESPN, and HULU combined! Viewers of gaming related content also have an estimated audience of more than 666+ million viewers worldwide! Contrary to popular stereotypes, the report shows an estimated 46% of these viewers are actually female, and collectively these viewers have an average income of $58,000 annually.
Super Data’s report seems to signal that brands are missing out by not connecting with these high income earners, and calls them the most important new media audience. Being they’re the big-spending consumers of the future, it would only make sense for brands and ad firms to better target these individuals.
Game play videos saw exponential growth in audience size as platforms like YouTube grew over the years, and gaming appears to be YouTube’s most sought after content the platform has to offer its audiences today. Given the fact that online social gaming has long eclipsed Hollywood in recent years, it should come as no surprise that same audience enjoys watching as much as they do playing their favorite games.
Online gaming platforms have amassed humongous audiences in recent years, with XBOX Live now tipping the 60 million mark, while Sony’s PSN now boasts 70 million active monthly users with close to 30 million PS Plus subscribers; while Steam, the online gaming platform for PC gamers now has an estimated 125+ million active users. These figures don’t include the explosive growth of mobile gaming either, which can easily eclipse the quarter billion mark on an average month.
This video from The Know, seeks to highlight some of the additional figures that were included with Super Data’s report:
Super Data’s report also states these tech-savvy viewers are leading the cord-cutting charge with the preference of viewing gaming video content over traditional prime time TV. This isn’t a big surprise given the number of current cable subscription users in the U.S has actually dropped by over 1 million in the past year alone, as more and more users turn to the internet to get their news and entertainment fix.
Even Hollywood actors has taken notice, often lending their talents for voice-overs in a number of AAA games. Elijah Wood not only provided voice-overs for the feature film series Lord of The Rings, but also for the game series that followed. He even provided the voice for the purple dragon in The Legend of Spyro series.
Actor Kevin Spacey found a lead role by lending his voice to the world’s most famed FPS game series Call of Duty. Famed actor Jeff Goldblum took on a role in Call of Duty: Black Ops 3’s zombies!
It’s also no secret that Hollywood revenues have for the most part taken a big hit in recent years, likely as a result of the explosive growth of gaming. As the old saying goes, if you can’t beat em, join em! In the case of finding roles to play in today’s AAA games, the Hollywood elite haven’t shied away from adapting to a changing entertainment industry to fit in wherever they can and ultimately remain relevant.
After all, you have to go where your audience goes, and if that just so happens to be gaming, then that’s where actors and actresses within the entertainment industry should be as well.
And, what about the video sharing platforms themselves? With 1.5 billion active monthly users, YouTube is proof that gaming videos are the world’s #1 source of entertainment, and any content that can surpass Netflix must be a force to reckon with. Other leading platforms like Twitch and even Facebook have amassed humongous audiences in the Let’s Play realm as well.
Check out Super Data’s official report for more info:
Written and published by Gamers Bay staff!
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