It may be a relatively new pastime, as hobbies go, but millions of people around the world enjoy watching others play video games. Researchers at SuperData pegged the global audience for gaming video content at 665 million people and predicted that those figures would exceed 800 million people by 2021. The current number of gaming video viewers is now more than those who watch HBO, Netflix, ESPN, and Hulu, combined. “Young, tech savvy consumers are leading the ‘cord-cutting’ charge, and are watching (gaming video content) instead of primetime TV,” the SuperData report concluded.
Games people play -- and watch:
- In the United States, the average gamer is 35 years old, according to the Entertainment Software Association. In fact, 72 percent of all gamers are over age 18, and 31 percent of gamers are women.
- Professional competitive gaming, called eSports, is expected to generate $1.49 billion USD in revenue by 2020.
- The National Basketball Association has teamed up with Take-Two Interactive Software to launch an eSports league in 2018, built around its popular basketball video game.