ESports competitions are set to hit the big time, estimated to make $1.9 billion by 2018. However, they’re not just limited to the PC market.
A new study from Nielsen indicates that consoles are also playing a big part in the eSports scene, with games like Halo 5: Guardians and Call of Duty: Black Ops III set to get huge attention between devoted tournaments and online sessions. The report indicates that only 35 percent of the U.S. eSports audience plays on a PC. That leaves 65 percent that prefers the likes of the Xbox One, the PlayStation 4, and, in some cases, the Wii U, where games like Splatoon have thriving popularity in the competitive market.
In addition, the report also states that 10 percent of eSports fans actually don’t play games at all, showing a draw to seeing other players compete rather than taking part themselves.
The study, dubbed the Nielsen eSports report, broke down the stats when it comes to what platform players prefer to game on. As you can see, 90 percent would be fine playing a game on any system, while 78 percent actually prefer a console over playing on a PC, and 49 percent of today’s gamers prefer playing on a newer console like the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Mobile also has a startling standout number here, with 65 percent of those polled indicating that they would happily compete using a smartphone or tablet device.
Breaking down numbers even further, Nielsen reported that 57 percent of U.S. eSports fans are in the millennial (18-34 age bracket), while 34 percent are actually millennials. In addition, eSports fans that live in households have a higher household income, by about 10 percent higher than most gamers overall.
A secondary chart breaks down the specifics of eSports fans versus actual gamers, breaking down everything from average age (32 vs. 37), Total Household Income ($64,900 against $58,900) and other brackets. It’s included at the bottom of the article.
Speaking with [a]listdaily, Nicole Pike, director of Nielsen Games, had plenty to say about the report. “With popular PC franchises like League of Legends, Counter-Strike, and Dota dominating the current eSports landscape, it’s easy to assume players of these games are the same people watching eSports competitions. However, knowing the strength of the U.S. console gaming market, the heavy skew toward console gamers our survey shows isn’t surprising. The implications of this will be interesting to watch in the near future, with leagues for top console franchises like Call of Duty, Halo, and more picking up steam; the console fan base is already there, and hopefully the leagues can peak their interest in the same way PC-focused competitions have already succeeded.”
With more tournaments taking place over the next few months and more competitive games like Black Ops III and Star Wars: Battlefront arriving next month, the eSports scene will be stronger than ever. Who knows where it will go from here.
