There’s a clear shift in how people play and think about video games today, with Millennial gamers reporting they watch other people play video games more than they watch traditional sports on television.
That’s according to the latest State of Online Gaming research report from Limelight Networks that explores consumers’ gaming behaviors and expectations.
With the rise of websites featuring people playing video games and esports, watching other people play video games online is growing in popularity. In fact, young gamers (ages 18-25) worldwide spend an average of three hours and 25 minutes each week watching other people play video games online. That is nearly an hour more than the two hours and 33 minutes they spend watching traditional sports. Gamers in South Korea spend the most time watching other people play video games online, with nearly half (48%) watching for more than an hour each week.
Worldwide gamers noted fast load times and speedy performance as their top priorities in gameplay, and more than three-quarters (77 percent) reported frustrations with the process of downloading video games. Security is another important consideration, as more than half (57 percent) of gamers say they won’t play online games or make purchases from a gaming site that has previously experienced a security breach. Security concerns are the highest in South Korea and France, where the majority (71 percent and 68 percent, respectively) of gamers note they would not visit a gaming site that has experienced a security issue.
“Video gaming – much like the rest of the media and entertainment industry – has shifted online, leaving content vulnerable to performance and security issues,” said Michael Milligan, Senior Director at Limelight Networks. “With gamers playing on mobile devices, PCs, and more advanced gaming consoles, software developers must not only focus on creating engaging content, but also ensuring content is secure and optimized for the best possible gaming experiences.”
Additional insights from the report show:
The State of Online Gaming report is based on responses from 3,000 consumers in France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States age 18 and older who play video games at least once a week.