63% of Young Adults in US Prefer Gaming to Movies
Many young adults would rather play video games than watch movies, according to a new survey.
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), which calls itself "the voice" of the US video game industry, reported that 63% of adult gamers in Generation Z prefer video games to movies.
People in Generation Z — also called Gen Z — were born between 1997 and 2012.
The ESA asked 4,000 people who play video games, and 1,000 who don't, about gaming and other types of entertainment.
About 55% of game-playing millennials — people born between 1981 and 1996 — would prefer to play video games, while this was true for 33% of gamers in Generation X — those born between 1965 and 1980.
Just 14% of gamers born before 1964 said they'd rather play video games than watch movies.
More than six out of 10 gamers said they think video games are better value for money. However, there are other reasons for their preference.
Gaming website Gamer Blurb suggests that younger people who have grown up with digital technology like to be able to control the narrative in their entertainment.
This means it's up to them what happens next in a video game, while in movies they have no control over the story.
They also use gaming as a social activity. About 71% of adult gamers in Gen Z and 66% of millennial gamers agreed that playing video games is a great way to socialize.
But this isn't the number one reason they like playing video games. For most, it's just to have fun.
According to the ESA, more than 190 million people in the US play video games every week.
The average age of gamers has actually been increasing over the last 20 years. It was 29 in 2004, but it's 36 now.
