Breaking the Gaming Stereotype

Ever been curious about the stereotype of a "common gamer"? Most of you - like me - would think of a scrawny white (most likely American) male within the age range of anywhere from 16 to 30, with the older they are, the less scrawny you become and the more likely you are to be overweight. Part of the problem with this stigma isn't just that fact that it doesn't accurately represent the population of gamers in America, but it also sets an invisible boundary used to keep people that don't fit this mold out of the culture.

But be uninformed no longer! A study done by the Pew Research Center reveals a more accurate distribution of the population of the gaming community, specifically what kinds of people own consoles and handheld gaming devices. (click here for the full article)

What we should think of as the "common gamer" is actually quite different. In fact, the distribution of gender, age, race, and other factors contain a lot less variance than you would think.

Results of the Research Survey (numbers represent %)

So if you took all of the largest statistics from each category, the stereotype for a console owner that we should think of is actually: a Hispanic woman between the ages of 18-29, living in an urban or suburban community who finished some college and has a household income of over $75K.

This study not only shows how inaccurate our current views of the gaming community are, but also that there shouldn't even be a stereotype anymore. Our community has become so diverse that there are actually a very insignificant amount of people who fit what used to be the common mold anymore. Next time you see someone different buying a console, or attending a con, you should be thinking 'damn, its awesome that I belong to such a big community,' because let's be honest, if all of us banded together, we could take over the world.

Where do you fall in these statistics? According to this chart, how 'common' of a gamer are you?