Percentage of US Homes With Game Console Drops for First Time in Years -- Survey

The Entertainment Software Association this week released its annual "Essential Facts" report for 2016. Among other things, it shows that console ownership in the United States is falling for the first time in years.

According to the survey of 4,000 American households, 48 percent of US homes reported owning a dedicated game console. As observed by Gamasutra, this is the first dropoff in years, as 51 percent of US households said they owned a gaming console in 2013, 2014, and 2015.

65 percent of households reported owning a device that can play games. This is down from 2015, when the survey said "four out of five" (80 percent) of homes own a device used to play games.

Additionally, 63 percent of households are home to at least one person who plays games "regularly," which is described as at least three hours per week. Among the households that reported playing games, there was average of 1.7 gamers per home.

Here are some other standout statistics from the report.

• Average gamer is 35 years old
• 59 percent of gamers are men, while 41 percent are women
• Women aged 18 or older accounted for a larger percentage of the game-playing population (31 percent) than boys 18 or younger (17 percent)
• The average number of years gamers have been playing video games is 13
• The average age of the most frequent game-buyer is 38
• Of the most frequent game-buyers, 60 percent are men and 40 percent are women
• 52 percent believe video games provide value for their money than DVDs (23 percent), music (14 percent) and going to the movies (10 percent)
• Most popular platforms for frequent gamers include PC (56 percent), console (53 percent), smartphone (36 percent), wireless device (31 percent), and dedicated handheld system (17 percent).

You can see more stats in the full report here [PDF link]. The Entertainment Software Association is the organization that organizes and runs E3 every year; it also represents the video game industry's interests in Washington.