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Teens Losing Interest In Gaming?

Posted by Zonk on Mon Apr 10, 2006 03:28 PM
from the come-back-to-us-kids dept.
Entertainment Games
Survey firm Piper Jaffrey has results saying that teenagers are losing interest in videogaming. From the Gamasutra article: "Interestingly, almost 80 percent of teens indicated that they intend to spend less time playing video games in 2006 and nearly 70 percent indicated that their interest in playing video games is decreasing." What do you think could be causing this drop in interest from young people? Sequels? Mature themes? Sequels?
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  • Dumb dah dumb dumb (Score:5, Insightful)

    by MyLongNickName (822545) on Monday April 10 2006, @03:30PM (#15101002) Journal
    Radical idea. Puberty hits. Older kids get interested in girls. Making friends. Socializing.

    I'd post more, but I don't want to frighten off Slashdot's majority population.
    • That's what I was thinking too.

      Then there are cars, and clubs, activities, drinking, partying, hobbies, etc.

      As kids grow up more of the world becomes available to them.

      And then there is still the stigma associated with being a gamer; of being childish or geeky or dorky.
    • Or else they say that they intend to spend less time gaming just like they say they intend to study more and lose weight and get a job and find a girlfriend etc...

      Do they actually do any of those? maybe

      • That being said, I thought I should add that as someone who is only seval months away from not being a teenager any more: I play games less now.

        I'm in college and there are simply a lot more things to do whether it be work or walking down the hallway to someone elses room. No longer to I get home from school like I did in 10th grade at 3:00 to an empty house and load up a game of counterstrike since thats where all of my friends are, now my friends are down the hall (and really, though people still play CS to this day, gamers are much more spread out than they were back then). Even still in high school I started playing less. Last year I certainly played less. There were definately games that I would devote my time to (such as HL2 when it came out) but there was much less compulsive multiplayer action. Frankly, by then my friends and I all could drive, I had a part-time job and a girlfriend who was closer and more readily available than the girlfriend I had through so much of my counterstrike time.

        there will always be computer games, I played some WoW over the summer (and intend to play again this summer) and I still will hop into a CS:s server or something in college when I feel like some gaming (the HL2 expansion gets released the first day of my reading period before finals week, its probobly going to kill me) but other things certainly have priority over gaming.

    • Re:Dumb dah dumb dumb (Score:5, Funny)

      by JeanBaptiste (537955) on Monday April 10 2006, @03:39PM (#15101082)
      "Puberty hits. Older kids get interested in girls. Making friends. Socializing."

      Those are strong words. Strong, bewildering words.
    • Individuals grow up, but the age range of the teenagers asked remains the same.
      • Bzzzt.

        Interestingly, almost 80 percent of teens indicated that they intend to spend less time playing video games in 2006 and nearly 70 percent indicated that their interest in playing video games is decreasing.

        At least TFA did not refer to anything showing that the afe group itself was experiencing a declne. If you looked at the underlying data to see otherwiser, then I just have one thing to say: "You must be new here".
        • Okay, here's the problem. You seemed to me to be saying that teenagers as a whole were growing up. How the fuck did I interpret it like that? Don't know.

          The problem with the Slashdot article, on the other hand, is that it should read Teens lose interest in gaming?, because without comparing the results from the ten previous studies done by this bloke, the stats in the article have nothing to do with the general trend implied by the Slashdot title.

          If the figure had been much lower in all his other studies, w

    • your comment is spot on. to go a little further one could point to the massive growth of youth culture on the web in places like myspace, faceparty etc as an example in a movement towards socializing as the preferred norm for teenagers.

      In another vein if game developers want to pay attention to the socializing aspect of their games (MMOGs come to mind) then they will want to start adding alot more interactive, social aspects that do not necessarily follow the old fashioned game progression ethos.

      Games like
    • 1. What are these teens doing instead of playing games? Socializing is definitely a good bet. Maybe they're spending more time online in non-gaming pursuits. Maybe they're seeing more movies (probably not, I'm sure there's astudy somewhere showing movie attendence continuing to plummet even among the coveted teenage audience). There are only 24 hours in a day, and unless they're sleeping more, if they've cut back on games that means something else is more interesting.

      2. What do the numbers say for the s

  • Better Things to Do? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by dankney (631226) on Monday April 10 2006, @03:30PM (#15101008) Homepage
    I'm not suprised because I've never really seem the appeal of hard-core gaming. Sure, a game can be a nice distraction once in a while, just as a movie can. But in the long run, stimulating activities (books, athletics, social interactions, programming) are always more interesting.

    • Re:Better Things to Do? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Krach42 (227798) on Monday April 10 2006, @03:45PM (#15101138) Homepage Journal
      Your point is much more intelligent, unlike everyone else in this forum, who's going on about "teens think screwing > gaming", I'm not going to take as much of a narrow view. Reasoning why? Kids were playing these games hard-core to begin with over sex.

      Sex has little to do with the change of interests here. What's actually the case is that fads, and popularity of things are generally determined by what other people are doing. These kids were playing video games because their friends were all playing video games, and they didn't want to be left out.

      Same reason people bought Pet Rocks. You bought them because everyone else was.

      Unlike Pet Rocks though, video gaming is not a useless exercise, and contains a reasonable enjoyment level, similar to television. I expect to see gaming decrease in popularity as kids find other entertainment to do, and we'll see the amount of gaming level off.

      God, heaven forbid table-top RPGs ever become truely popular with the in-crowd. Then when they all would lose interest, everyone would think that RPGs would be dying out, when they would really just be returning to normal levels. Just like what's happening with gaming right now
        • "Studies have shown that the average age of a gamer has gone up to the mid 30's."

          Well, I'm a gamer right in the middle of the 30's, and I also find myself less attracted to games lately. So while this is just one guy, so not a statistic or analysis or anything, I'll still go ahead and post my impressions. Namely that it isn't "broadening", it isn't waiting for the next console, it's just interest seems to fade at my end of the market too:

          A) less and less games are any good.

          - Sequels, f-ing sequels. And verb
    • Games are just one of many activities a person can pursue. It doesn't seem surprising that teens would spend less time gaming if there are more things to do right?

      Hard core gaming is no more unusual than hard core gardening or hard core house decoration. It's really just another hobby.
    • Hey. I, for one, enjoy marathon gaming sessions. In fact, I am currently addicted to a game which has hours of intense game play, and is difficult to walk away from. When I find Slashdot isn't enough to keep me stimulated, I wander over to this game. [nasa.gov].
    • 'm not suprised because I've never really seem the appeal of hard-core gaming. Sure, a game can be a nice distraction once in a while, just as a movie can. But in the long run, stimulating activities (books, athletics, social interactions, programming) are always more interesting.

      Why do you think that passively reading a book is a stimulating activity, while actively participating in a game isn't. This is complete crap. That said, programming is just a big game (but I actually get paid to do it..... and N

        • I'll further your comments by saying that there are a lot of shit books being published, just like there are a lot of shit games.


          But there are a lot more good books than good games, simply because there are very few classic games that keep value after their "tech peek" (like Tetris).. But there are lots of good books that were written a long time ago that are still interesting... The library is just larger.

  • Growing up? I would think as people grow up, fewer people actually do gaming or devote less time to gaming if they still are.
    • No, not growing up. Sure, the current generation of gaming teens will grow up - but then there'll be a new generation who are starting gaming. That said, the article only looks at the former, so I'd have to conclude that it jumps to conclusions about overall teen gaming numbers. I'd say that I'll try to reduce the time that I spend gaming, because of other commitments - but I know that I won't.

  • Saw it coming (Score:4, Insightful)

    by falcon5768 (629591) <Falcon5768NO@SPAMcomcast.net> on Monday April 10 2006, @03:32PM (#15101024) Journal
    Between the cost of gaming these days (prohibitive on the PC unless you have a new computer, outragious on the systems) and the sheer lack of anything decent new or inovating unless its by Nintendo out there. The writing was on the wall for another Video Game Crash.
    • prohibitive on the PC unless you have a new computer, outragious on the systems

      Go out and pick up a used Gamecube with four controllers and Smash Bros Melee for under $200 and tell me its outrageous on systems.
    • Nintendo? Innovative? All they do is pump out the same crap year after year following the same themes. This may change with the revolution, but I don't think so. Look at the DS - half the titles are re-released N64 games. Nintendo innovates in it's games about as much as anyone else. Which is to say, hardly at all.

  • Technology and Creativity (Score:4, Insightful)

    by vga_init (589198) on Monday April 10 2006, @03:36PM (#15101059) Journal
    On one hand, I believe that technological advances in video games and computer games has decreased dramatically. It's true that games kept getting more and more sophisticated graphics, but I don't think the graphical difference between games today and a few years ago are that great. Compare that to when I was a child (late 80's, early 90's), each new game offered something totally different, and most popular games took unique approaches to graphics that enhanced the game. Even newer games released for the same platform were significantly better--you see this less and less on modern platforms.

    Also, I also like to believe that games were more fun and creative. When was the last time you played a game like Quest for Glory? How about Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure? I'm sure there are still creative games being made today, but it gets difficult to find the gems among the rest of what's being produced (I liked Katamari Damacy ;).

  • Maybe... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by plantman-the-womb-st (776722) on Monday April 10 2006, @03:40PM (#15101094)
    They are just growing up and have better things to do than sit in front a screen wasting time making pixels kill each other all day.

    Perhaps they've discover this thing called "Real Life".

  • Are they being honest? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by AnotherBlackHat (265897) on Monday April 10 2006, @03:42PM (#15101112) Homepage
    Of course people said they were "intending" to play less.
    Smokers usually "intend" to quit too.
    Saying it isn't doing it.

    -- Should you believe authority without question?
    • But the smokers intending who don't to quit view smoking as negative. You seem to be implying that playing video games is a bad thing, and that teenagers intend to do something productive instead. The way I take the data is that teenagers are intending to play less video games in favor of other forms of entertainment.

    • Re:Are they being honest? (Score:4, Informative)

      by The-Bus (138060) on Monday April 10 2006, @04:38PM (#15101568) Homepage
      As is expected, this is a usual cut-and-paste from a press release with little to no analysis. As alarming as this may sound, I believe the parent poster is correct. I'm going to guess that a large majority of teens also "intend to" exercise more, watch their health, and do better in school.

      Anyway, let's take a look at some past Piper Jaffray survey results [piperjaffray.com]:

      Percent of surveyed student households that have at least one video game platform
      Q1 2006: 81%
      Q3 2005: 79%
      Q1 2005: 76%
      Q3 2004: 81%
      Q1 2004: N/A

      Percentage of students state who state they are occasional game players (playing at least monthly)
      Q1 2006: 59%
      Q3 2005: 58%
      Q1 2005: 49%
      Q3 2004: 54%
      Q1 2004: N/A

      Now, this is only over a two-year period, but correct me if I'm wrong, I'm seeing a (possible) slight increase in the number of occasional game players and a somewhat steady number of households with at least one video game platform.

      I didn't look for their past surveys so I don't know what the mindset was in 2003 and earlier.

      To me, it doesn't look like anything is moving. Also, bear in mind just because you spend less time playing games doesn't mean you're going to buy less games: it could just mean you're playing each game less.

      Add all this to the fact that Piper Jaffray seems more interested in where teens are buying shoes [pbs.org] that I am ready to write this off as non-news.

  • I'd like to know exactly what was asked and the options given. I grew up with gaming and still play them enthusiasticly. Do I play less? Yes, that whole wife/family/job thing sort of takes up some time after all. Does that mean I don't want to play more? No, it just means I can't. As phrased, we don't know if these are kids planning on going to college, getting f/t jobs, married, etc. What conditions are they citing for not playing more? Or is it apathy towards gaming, which is what they seem to be
  • Crap games:

    Sequels:

    Stupidly expensive Consoles...

    Handhelds which are instantly outdated...

    PC's which are cheaper than said console, do alot more than said console, and even cost less than said console.

    Hum... i wonder why kids today play less games.
  • WoW is still HUGE, the Next Gen Consoles WILL sell like hotcakes, and people will continue to buy Madden well into 2020......
    • WoW has been suffering from a series of community rumbling lately (no thanks to their continued server instability and PvP queues), the NextGen consoles are flat-out too expensive for the average teenage college student ($300 for the regular Xbox360 and the PS3 reportedly being $500+ is enough to pay a month's rent in some areas not to mention games and accessories) and Madden sales have gone flat thanks to EA's poor improvements and Sega's (arguably) better Blitz series.

  • Many factors (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Lord_Dweomer (648696) on Monday April 10 2006, @03:47PM (#15101161) Homepage
    I think a large part is due to the lack of exciting new games...but what is interesting is how there have been quite a few blockbusters that pulled in many from non-traditional gamer demographics. Guitar Hero and World of Warcraft for example.

    I really think this is just the regular ebb and flow of the games industry. I have a hard time believing that people are becoming less interested in games, although the one thing that might contribute to it would be the increase in interactive media. Rather than play a game, people are browsing on YouTube, updating MySpace, etc.

  • The new baby boomers. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by AdamThirteenth (857966) on Monday April 10 2006, @03:53PM (#15101219)
    We're just a generation of video gamers that's older now. Gen X-Y played/plays video games... This new generation doesn't. It used to be that target markets were 12-20, now we're older and its changed along side us to 18-30.

  • The Hollywood effect (Score:5, Insightful)

    by caffeination (947825) on Monday April 10 2006, @03:54PM (#15101226)
    A cash cow starts to get fat. The parasites move in. Sequels and remakes become the norm. Flashy style takes precedence over substance. Innovations move from the product itself to the maximisation of profit.

    Sound familiar? It's the same thing we constantly take the piss out of Hollywood for every time movies come up. At the forefront of this are the likes of Bethesda and Bungie - flashy graphics, sequels and series, micropurchases, and universally unsatisfactory gameplay saved only by a few major strengths.

    • "At the forefront of this are the likes of Bethesda and Bungie - flashy graphics, sequels and series, micropurchases, and universally unsatisfactory gameplay saved only by a few major strengths."

      Good post, bad examples. Bungie, whose almost every game had impressive physics and realism for its day (compare Marathon Vs Doom, Myth Vs Command and Conquer, Halo Vs Quake 3). Bungie, who turned genres upside down with innovation (again, Myth: The Fallen Lords) instead of Westwood Studios, the king of RTS franch
  • I joined an anime community a while ago, and while there is the typical mention of gaming, I don't see much interest about it. Specially when games offer you less than 8 hours of gameplay in average. Two boring weekends and you finished the game.

    What I see in the forum, is lots of people talking about their problems and getting new boyfriends/girlfriends.

    Perhaps there's a social implication in this - now people lose their virginity at a much younger age than before.

    So I guess that nerds (who can't get a gir
  • I'm guessing that money and value for the money are two big reasons they're planning to play less. The average price of a game they'd want to play is way to high.

  • Lack of compelling games (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ShawnDoc (572959) on Monday April 10 2006, @05:22PM (#15101828) Homepage
    I'm going to take a stab at this and say its the same reason I find myself playing less (or one of the two main reasons). There's just not much new out there I want to play. I haven't been excited by a game release since GTA:SA, and even that was muted since I knew it was more of the same. I have no plans to by a 360 or a PS3 (I own both companies current gen systems), because I don't see any reason to own them. It looks like more of the same, but with better graphics. The only system that I'm even paying any attention to is the Revolution, just because it seems to be the only one that has any potential for "new" games. Heck, I just installed Baldur's Gate II on my PC to play (never played it before) since there was nothing out there that I wanted to spend $40-60 on. I think this is a real problem for the industry. There's nothing truely new on the horizon, and there's a HUGE back-catalog of games for much less to choose from, that besides graphics, offer essentially the same gameplay and what's coming out.

  • Teens are not the market anymore... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by binaryspiral (784263) on Monday April 10 2006, @06:28PM (#15102283)
    Now with $500+ consoles, $60-$80 games, and monthly subscription fees that exceed what I used to spend on gas in a month -

    Adult gamers are the cash cow of the gaming industry - teens are a secondary market.

    This is news, how?
    • This was my first thought as well. Who is going to admit or say they are going to play more video games or watch more TV?

      Polls like this are almost next to worthless except when you use them to look at the disparity between what people say and reality (sales figures)

      Imagine how the junk and fast food companies stocks would fall if people put stock into these kinds of polls for those things.
    • I don't think parents trying to "ban" a videogame has anything to do with teens playing less games. I have a hard time imagioning most teens agreeing with their parents on any games.

      I know when I was a teen, I wanted to play MA-17 games just because they were MA-17. Now that I'm a "grown-up" I can't stand most M rated games.

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