Australians play video games for 1.5 hours a day: survey

AUSTRALIA might be a sunburnt country but it’s also a land of sweeping games — and the fastest growing gaming crowd is old enough to retire.

THINKSTOCK - Happy Senior Couple Play Video Game with Remotes

AUSTRALIA might be a sunburnt country but it’s also a land of sweeping games, with six in 10 Aussies playing video games, and dedicating almost an hour and half every day to interactive entertainment.

And while children are still most likely to play video games, the average age of gamers is creeping higher, and the fastest growing gaming crowd is old enough to retire.

The findings were revealed today in the sixth Digital Australia report, created by Bond University and the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association, which surveyed more than 1200 Australian households and 3300 individuals.

It found 68 per cent of Australians play video games, the average age of players has crept up to 33 years, and while most players are male, 47 per cent are female.

Australians also appear to be dedicating a significant chunk of their free time to interactive entertainment, playing games for an average of 88 minutes every day.

Casual games, such as Words with Friends and Candy Crush Saga, account for 25 minutes a day for both males and females, the study found, while “in-depth” video game play takes up 100 minutes every day for males, on average, and 75 minutes for females.

The tally seems to be a significant jump on gameplay 10 years ago, when the same Bond University study found just 62 per cent of gamers played for up to an hour in one go.

The Digital Australia report found the age of players is also climbing.

Though children aged between five and 14 represent the most active gaming group, with 91 per cent playing video games, those aged over 50 years of age are “the fastest growing segment“. Most of the more mature button-mashers reported they played games to keep “the mind active”.

The study predicted adults aged 75 and over would represent one in every 10 Australian game players by 2018.

You can follow Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson on Twitter: @jendudley.

Originally published as Australians play video games for 1.5 hours a day: survey