With iconic superheroes, action-packed first-person shooters and fast-paced sports action, today’s video gaming industry is certainly not short on energy or flash. And given the hype around many of the industry’s most-anticipated game franchises, it’s easy to lose sight of the genres that don’t have a popular brand like Marvel or Madden promoting them—as well as who’s engaging with them.
Os jogos de simulação - aqueles que abrangem uma supercategoria de jogabilidade imersiva, permitindo que os usuários simulem atividades do mundo real - movem-se em um ritmo diferente dos jogos de RPG, aventura e esportes, mas são os favoritos de muitos jogadores de um grupo demográfico importante: a comunidade LGBTQ+. De fato, a Pesquisa Games 360 de 2020 da Nielsen descobriu que os jogadores LGBTQ+ têm uma probabilidade significativamente maior de jogar jogos de simulação em todas as plataformas do que seus colegas não LGBTQ+.
As video games and digital channels remain at the forefront of the modern entertainment experience, it’s clear that the gaming industry should continue innovating to keep audiences engaged and online. Given the LGBTQ+ community’s penchant for simulation games, the industry stands to gain by amplifying its efforts in this sub-genre. According to SuperData, a Nielsen company, the simulation game audience accounted for 13% of the U.S. games audience last year and accounted for $1.5 billion in revenue.
In addition to gravitating more frequently to simulation games, LGBTQ+ consumers are younger (33 vs. 44) and more likely to have a gaming system (54% vs. 44% [non-LGBTQ+ consumers]) than the general U.S. population. They also spend more money on video games each month ($13.14 vs. $10.40) and amplify their experience along the way, as they’re much more likely to own a specialized headset for media/music than the general population (29% vs. 19%) and continue the conversation online via gaming social media platforms like Twitch and Discord.
While the video game industry has been growing steadily in recent years, it’s been among the industries best suited for the new normal that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has forced on consumers. With a shift toward life online, a Nielsen study found that 82% of global consumers were passing the time at the height of shelter-in-place restrictions earlier this year by playing video games and watching video game content. And the increase was highest in the U.S. (46%), followed by France (41%), the U.K. (28%) and Germany (23%).
Now, eight months into living in a pandemic, many of our media behaviors have largely normalized, while the gaming industry continues to adapt to a more virtual world—a world where games have become a place to hang out with friends, see a concert and participate in other communal experiences. That increased engagement is good news for the games industry, as worldwide digital game revenue was up significantly in March, April, May and June of this year on a year-over-year basis.
E quando analisamos a intenção de gastos, a Pesquisa Games 360 de 2020 da Nielsen destaca como os gamers LGBTQ+ gastam mais dinheiro do que o público em geral em todos os dispositivos e serviços.
É importante ressaltar que a pandemia da COVID-19 não diminuiu o apetite desse grupo por videogames. Dados de setembro de 2020 da Nielsen Scarborough mostram que as famílias LGBTQ+ têm 25% mais chances de possuir um console de jogos do que a população geral dos EUA e 91% mais chances de planejar a compra de um novo console nos próximos 12 meses.
While Americans’ media consumption has been trending up in recent years, there’s no mistaking the early spring spike brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest Nielsen Total Audience report found that Americans now spend 12 hours and 21 minutes with media per day, which is up nearly an hour from the previous year. As the U.S. prepares for the colder fall and winter months, many will turn to media options as social distancing remains the safest way to stay healthy. And if the options are there, many in the LGBTQ+ will be in search of simulation options as they seek to get their gaming fixes.
