This is a site for discussing roleplaying games. Have fun doing so, but there is one major rule: do not discuss political issues that aren't directly and uniquely related to the subject of the thread and about gaming. While this site is dedicated to free speech, the following will not be tolerated: devolving a thread into unrelated political discussion, sockpuppeting (using multiple and/or bogus accounts), disrupting topics without contributing to them, and posting images that could get someone fired in the workplace (an external link is OK, but clearly mark it as Not Safe For Work, or NSFW). If you receive a warning, please take it seriously and either move on to another topic or steer the discussion back to its original RPG-related theme.

Remember the giant Game survey?

Started by joewolz, September 22, 2006, 10:41:44 AM

Previous topic - Next topic
Print
Go Down Pages1
User actions

joewolz

September 22, 2006, 10:41:44 AM
Last year there was a big survey on gaming, focusing on why people game.

The first pass through the data has resulted in a non-academic first draft of the results, here.

For reference, the full URL is http://www.wargamer.com/articles/gama_survey_1/

I'll wait for some comments before I chip in.  It's got some interesting results, though.
-JFC Wolz
Co-host of 2 Gms, 1 Mic

jrients

#1
September 22, 2006, 11:03:29 AM
The ethnic diversity of the respondents is actually broader than I was expecting.
Jeff Rients
My gameblog

JongWK

#2
September 22, 2006, 11:48:03 AM
Ok, I know that survey isn't truly representative of the hobby, but... has anyone seen the contrast between current and starting age?

32.9% are between 31-38 years old, while 31.4% are in the 39-49 bracket. However, the starting age was between 7 and 11 for 36.1% of the people, or 12 to 16 years old for 38.2%.

That's an extremely depressing statistic.
"I give the gift of endless imagination."
~~Gary Gygax (1938 - 2008)

Nicephorus

#3
September 22, 2006, 11:55:48 AM
Quote from: JongWKThat's an extremely depressing statistic.

Yea but it not be as bad as it seems.  Less than a third of the responses were from roleplayers.  Board wargamers really are aging and dying, very few people under 30 play.  Young kids also may not appreciate Euro games which were another big chunk of the responses.

But I think representativeness of the survey is the big thing.  Young kids seem less likely to get online to discuss games (and thus discover the survey).

RPGPundit

#4
September 22, 2006, 03:28:23 PM
Quote from: NicephorusYea but it not be as bad as it seems.  Less than a third of the responses were from roleplayers.  Board wargamers really are aging and dying, very few people under 30 play.

Oh yea, well that's much better.. :rolleyes:  it just means that wargaming is already at where RPGs will likely be in 15 years or so, if we don't reverse these trends NOW by shifting the whole hobby back to one focused on catering to teenagers and college students instead of 30-something professional collectors.

RPGpundit
LION & DRAGON: Medieval-Authentic OSR Roleplaying is available now! You only THINK you\'ve played \'medieval fantasy\' until you play L&D.


My Blog:  http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com/
The most famous uruguayan gaming blog on the planet!

NEW!
Check out my short OSR supplements series; The RPGPundit Presents!


Dark Albion: The Rose War! The OSR fantasy setting of the history that inspired Shakespeare and Martin alike.
Also available in Variant Cover form!
Also, now with the CULTS OF CHAOS cult-generation sourcebook

ARROWS OF INDRA
Arrows of Indra: The Old-School Epic Indian RPG!
NOW AVAILABLE: AoI in print form

LORDS OF OLYMPUS
The new Diceless RPG of multiversal power, adventure and intrigue, now available.
Print
Go Up Pages1
User actions