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The digital age has certainly impacted our culture and lifestyle, particularly over the last couple of decades, as more people have simple and easy access to the internet and mobile communications. This has inevitably led to an evolution of preferences when it comes to popular hobbies, now that playing video games is considered to be a mainstream pastime.

Some of the most popular titles for Australian gamers include Grand Theft Auto: Online and Minecraft, due to both featuring core multiplayer elements including co-op gameplay. Likewise, international studies have also demonstrated that amongst the Generation Z age demographic, born between the late 1990s and early 2010s, people are now spending more time online with in-game friends.

But intriguingly, it’s not only the younger generations that have increasingly embraced gaming. Just as importantly, gamers come from all societal and economic backgrounds, while the largest majority are also adults, including an ever-growing number of retired people in the older age ranges. Gaming is now enjoyed by millions of people, with no stigmas attached, as we all seek to find new and novel forms of entertainment.

Key numbers for the Aussie gaming industry

For a very long time, gaming was often misrepresented as being a hobby for kids or adolescents, yet adults have always been just as fascinated by the escapism of playing video games. Nowadays, there are no longer any stigmas attached to grown-ups joining in the fun, evidenced by the wider spectrum of demographics available, proving that adults are actually now form the majority of gamers.

Based upon survey statistics compiled for the Digital Australia 2022 Report, undertaken by the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (IGEA), the organisation located in New South Wales revealed some insightful numbers. Principally, that 95% of adults polled believe producing games is good for the economy of their country. This actually tallies with the massive growth of the gaming industry itself, throughout the country.

The average Aussie gamer is now 35 according to the study, which is a consistent increase in age range compared to research from previous years, largely due to more adults having access to varied gaming devices and platforms. This coincides with other studies, indicating that more than 80% of adults now play games on mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets.

Indeed, more than 17 million Australians now consider themselves to be gamers, which is more than 65% of the 2022 population of just over 26 million. Highlighting the importance of gaming as entertainment, people in more than 8.6 million households regularly play games, while more than 5.5 million homes now have at least two gaming devices. Those numbers are projected to grow exponentially in the coming years.

Social gaming brings newfound ways to connect with people

The whole concept of social gaming is quite broad in scope, although many will often associate the idea with games played by social networks, ranging from Facebook to Twitter and beyond. However, the term itself also relates to multiplayer and cooperative games, whereby multiple people are participating at any given time, either via online play or local network connections.

In fact, the opportunity to connect with other people is now considered one of the major attractions to gaming, and for a wide variety of reasons. According to the polling data, 75% of Australian gamers indicated that playing socially was the main appeal, while 36% said they have made friends directly through games. Just as revealing, some 22% acknowledge they often communicate with other people via games.

Those figures arguably reinforce some of the other figures produced, with 74% of respondents accepting that games are a great way to connect people, with 80% even suggesting that regularly playing games has improved their mental health. Social interaction has become an increasingly key facet of games, as more and more participants engage directly with multiplayer titles online.

Evidently, there are many reasons for participating in multiplayer and co-op games, with social interaction being one of the principal motivations amongst many of those polled. But social gaming brings various other appealing elements, whether players are competing or cooperating, as both provide them with a sense of being part of a wider community. Aussies also tend to enjoy hooking up with international gamers.

Niche sectors like iGaming are increasingly popular

While there are many niches within the broader gaming industry as a whole, one particular sector has grown phenomenally in recent years. Often referred to as the iGaming sector, this tends to encompass online gambling activity around sports betting and online casino gaming. Likewise, one of the most popular trends in iGaming has involved pokies, which are commonly known as slots elsewhere around the world.

Just to highlight how pokies have evolved, the spinning reels are based around a broad range of themes, from hit movie and TV franchises to musical acts and much more. Getting reviews for the top Australian online casinos is always recommended, affording adult gamers the chance to compare all the options available, including bonus offers and coverage of which sites have the best selection of games available.

Finally, underlining the point that gaming is constantly growing, recent statistics indicated that over 80% of adults in Australia wager on something each year. Gambling has always been popular down under, although with more games to choose from than ever before, there’s no surprise that most of the adult population has embraced this digital age, which brings greater diversity and entertainment to the masses.