With 2020 consumed almost entirely by the COVID-19 pandemic, more than half of U.S. residents turned to video games to fill the time. According to the Nielsen company SuperData’s 2020 reporting year, 55 percent of people picked up video games – out of boredom, to escape from the real world, to socialize – during the first phase of lockdown.
The move indicates greater entertainment. Movie theaters, sports, plays and more were largely inaccessible, if not completely dangerous to public health. Just as streaming, both of the Twitch and Netflix varieties, has become a major source of entertainment, so have games – especially for adults. According to SuperData, 66 percent of consumers from 18 to 24 played more console games, while 60 percent played more mobile titles. It is not surprising that buyers are also prone to digital purchases.
SuperData reports that 27 percent of people – about 1 in 4 – played games to stay in touch. In 2020, games like Animal crossing: new horizons and Between us cultural touchstones. Animal transition wash the hit of the earlier pandemic, while Between us had nearly half a billion players in November alone. Politicians like Joe Biden and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have capitalized on their popularity to raise awareness for this year’s presidential election. Even Pokémon Go managed to adapt to the pandemic and grow by 39 percent year after year, thanks to updates from Niantic.
As physical spaces disappeared, video games became one of the few places where people could spend time – whether they were virtual concerts Fortnite, learn how to vote, or just hang out. SuperData estimates that digital games alone earned $ 126.6 billion during the year. The numbers may not rise as much this year as in 2020, but SuperData predicts ‘the long-term habits formed during lock-in are here to stay.’