According to Dentsu’s latest “Ready Player Brand” report, about 70 per cent of British adults participate in some form of game, and more than half of them play every day. The report shows that as players shift time from social media and streaming media platforms, the game is becoming one of the main social spaces in Britain.
The report also found that about 25 per cent of British players indicated that they expected to spend less time on social media over the next five years in order to make more time available for games, while 20 per cent indicated that they planned to give priority to games over television and films. In addition, the report notes that the game is closely linked to personal identity. In Britain, 52 per cent of the people who played at home said that the game formed an important part of their identity. This proportion rose to 60 per cent in the millennium generation and 70 per cent in the Z generation.
Community participation is another key factor. Nearly half (49 per cent) of the British players indicated that they felt that they were part of the preferred or serial community. In the Z generation, this proportion rose to almost three quarters, with more than half indicating that they made friends in real life through games. The Managing Director of Dentsu, Flora Kong, said: “The game is more than entertainment; for many, it is a social place. Our data show that players spend less time on social media and stream media, while playing more time. This marks a cultural shift that we anticipate will intensify in the coming years, as genuine human relations are more popular for many than well-planned and purified social media.”
