Notes on Phase 2 Motivation Profile Sample

It is difficult to get a representative sample of gamers across genres and platforms due to the breadth and variation of gaming. Recent controversies have also shown that what constitutes a “game” or “gamer” is itself a matter of debate.

Here at Quantic Foundry, we recognize the generalizability problem and hope to work on it in two ways. First, we’ll provide descriptive statistics around each sample so readers can interpret the findings with the sampling biases in mind. Second, we’re hopeful that the profile tools will allow us to attract more representative samples of gamers over time.

Descriptive Statistics of Sample

Over 30,000 gamers completed the Gamer Motivation Profile. We initially announced the tool in our personal and company Facebook and Twitter feeds, the Daedalus Project mailing list, and also in an AMA on Reddit. Most of the participants (83%) arrived via Facebook, which is where profile results were most frequently shared. We collected large samples of English-speaking gamers from many geographic regions:

  • US + Canada: 6,222
  • Brazil: 6,044
  • Indonesia: 6,000
  • Philippines: 3,198
  • Singapore: 2,316
  • EU: 2,004
  • Australia: 660
  • East Asia: 510
  • (long tail of other countries)

The average age of the sample was 23.4 (SD = 6.13). 82.7% of the sample identified as male, 16.2% as female, and 0.9% as other. Among those who selected “other” (n = 258), the most frequently self-reported descriptions were genderfluid (12.8%), agender (12.4%), non-binary (9.4%), and genderqueer (7.4%).

Age varied a great deal by region. Participants from the US + Canada had the highest average age (M = 25.51, SD = 8.25) while participants from Indonesia had the lowest average age (M = 21.08, SD = 4.30). Gender distribution was largely consistent across regions where we had samples of over 500 participants: ranging from 15.1% (Brazil) to 18.1% (Malaysia).

69.0% of the sample self-reported as core/mid-core gamers, 10.6% as casual gamers and 20.1% as hardcore gamers. When asked how many days a week they typically spend at least 30 minutes gaming, 55.8% of the sample selected 6-7 days, 22.2% selected 4-5 days, 15.2% selected 2-3 days, and 6.4% selected 0-1 day. In terms of platform, 45.1% regularly game on console, 87.4% regularly game on PC, 40% regularly game on smartphones, and 28.5% regularly game on handheld consoles.

Respondents were asked to list up to 3 of their favorite genres (open-ended text fields). In a simple text frequency count after converting all strings to lower case, the most frequent responses were RPG (20.4%), FPS (8.3%), Action (7.7%), Strategy (7.0%), Adventure (5.6%), MOBA (5.3%), and MMORPG (4.7%) followed by a long tail of genre combinations and niche genres (e.g., action rpgs, dating simulation, horror survival action).

The Sample in Context

Overall, the sample was broad with respect to geographic region and was primarily composed of core PC gamers with a bias towards RPG games. Compared with the ESA’s 2015 demographic report, our sample was significantly younger and had fewer female gamers. It is difficult to say how Facebook recruitment biased the sample, as the impact was likely different by region (i.e., popularity of Facebook among different demographic segments varies by country).