YouGov has recently published a report highlighting gaming trends across 2021, as the year starts wrapping up and we look towards 2022.
2021 has been an interesting year for gaming, and even technology as a whole for reasons that I will delve into later. We’ve been in this era of gaming being considered a more and more mainstream hobby as opposed to just some “nerdy” gig for a few years now. Even if Dark Souls and Bloodborne players want to keep reminding everyone that they’re the true gamers and everyone else is, to use a more censored version of the saying, a “filthy casual”, there’s no denying that gaming has generated a lot of interest in recent times. 2020 was an especially transformative year for gaming as a whole, not just across consoles but for smartphones as well, since the pandemic essentially forced everyone to retreat further and further into such devices. To be fair, we did get one of the best Animal Crossing games ever out of the deal, and 2021 finally saw the launch of a new Metroid title after over two decades, so trust me when I say that I have zero complaints on the matter. If you can’t tell by now, I kind of like Nintendo titles.
However, 2021 has been an interesting year due to there being a shortage of consoles in the face of this rising interest. Due to the overall chip shortages that have been plaguing other avenues such as smartphone prices as well, 2021 has seen a relatively short dip in old console prices, and the shortage still keeps going on. In a survey YouGov conducted with consumers across the UK and the USA, 63% of them revealed that if their console of choice wasn’t available, they were more likely to shift to some other platform as opposed to waiting for availability.
Another interesting trend that saw a massive rise in popularity across 2021 was the further development of interest in VR technology. However, YouGov was more interested in what it is that users like to utilize their VR headsets for. On average, 37% of the population as a whole would like to play video games, which tracks. While men mostly wanted to play video games, with 44% of their population displaying interest in the matter, women had more varied answers. Gaming, movie watching, and exploring holiday destinations held the attention of 30, 33, and 31% of the women population respectively.
Rather interestingly, despite the worldwide increased interest in gaming, interest in the USA itself has actually decreased in 2021. More so, gamers seem even more interested in trying outdoor activities as opposed to other groups. When questioned, gamers were more likely to dine out at least once a month, plan trips to other areas, and visit casinos or theaters.
Read next: Analysis Reveals That Hyper-Casual Games Are Some Of Best Earners And Most Downloaded Of All Mobile Games
2021 has been an interesting year for gaming, and even technology as a whole for reasons that I will delve into later. We’ve been in this era of gaming being considered a more and more mainstream hobby as opposed to just some “nerdy” gig for a few years now. Even if Dark Souls and Bloodborne players want to keep reminding everyone that they’re the true gamers and everyone else is, to use a more censored version of the saying, a “filthy casual”, there’s no denying that gaming has generated a lot of interest in recent times. 2020 was an especially transformative year for gaming as a whole, not just across consoles but for smartphones as well, since the pandemic essentially forced everyone to retreat further and further into such devices. To be fair, we did get one of the best Animal Crossing games ever out of the deal, and 2021 finally saw the launch of a new Metroid title after over two decades, so trust me when I say that I have zero complaints on the matter. If you can’t tell by now, I kind of like Nintendo titles.
However, 2021 has been an interesting year due to there being a shortage of consoles in the face of this rising interest. Due to the overall chip shortages that have been plaguing other avenues such as smartphone prices as well, 2021 has seen a relatively short dip in old console prices, and the shortage still keeps going on. In a survey YouGov conducted with consumers across the UK and the USA, 63% of them revealed that if their console of choice wasn’t available, they were more likely to shift to some other platform as opposed to waiting for availability.
Another interesting trend that saw a massive rise in popularity across 2021 was the further development of interest in VR technology. However, YouGov was more interested in what it is that users like to utilize their VR headsets for. On average, 37% of the population as a whole would like to play video games, which tracks. While men mostly wanted to play video games, with 44% of their population displaying interest in the matter, women had more varied answers. Gaming, movie watching, and exploring holiday destinations held the attention of 30, 33, and 31% of the women population respectively.
Rather interestingly, despite the worldwide increased interest in gaming, interest in the USA itself has actually decreased in 2021. More so, gamers seem even more interested in trying outdoor activities as opposed to other groups. When questioned, gamers were more likely to dine out at least once a month, plan trips to other areas, and visit casinos or theaters.