Understanding Demographics and Play
How do demographic factors align with play behaviors in the United States?
Demographic factors and their impact on video game play are largely unexplored, especially in the when it comes to video game design and accessibility. For this project, a number of demographic factors across the United States are analyzed and assessed to highlight what types of patterns and trends we see in the context of total hours played, disability percentage in a population, and heavy players per 1000 in a population. Heavy play for these projecs is based on those playing a game for 6 or more days during the week for more than 4 hours per day on average. A major finding here is that disability percentage in a population has a significant impact on both hours played and the presence of heavy players per 1000.
Disability Percentage Impacts Hours Played and Heavy Play Per 1000
When considering demographic factors and play, disability stands out as a major influence on play. When looking at disability percentage in a city or state, when this demographic increases, both hours played and the number of heavy players per 1000 in a population increase as well.
Below is a comparison of maps highlighting the cities in the sample. The maps look at the relationship between disability percentage, average hours played, and average heavy play per 1000 in each city. Disability percentage is represented by shade of color, while average hours and average heavy play are shown through circle sizes. Each point can be hovered over for more information.
Below is an overview of the average demographic factors, average hours played, and average heavy play by state. The map highlights the proportion of heavy players per 1000, showing the highest concentrations in Florida, California, and Texas. Each state can be hovered over to show more play behavior and demographic information.
The relationship between disability percent in a state and heavy players per 1000 has a clear relationship. The bubble chart below highlights these trends and patterns, showing as disability percentage increases, so does heavy play per 1000 in a state’s population.
So What Does This Mean?
The relationship between disability percentage, total hours played, and heavy players per 1000 in a population is an important one to consider in the context of making video games. Overall, disability percentage in a population explains about 7% of the variation that we see for heavy play per 1000, suggesting that players with disabilities are an important portion of the player population. This has implications for design, especially when accessibility of video games is considered.
