By Adam Hood
Hi Everyone, Adam here from Kirklees Gaming Central, this week we have two stories for you.
The first notes that the percentage of people playing games has increased by over 50% while we’ve all been under lockdown restrictions.
Our second story today looks at the National Videogame Museum (yes there is a museum for video games!) and the recent grant it has received to help support it through the pandemic.
We hope you enjoy the stories and look forward to more in the future!
UK Gaming Population Grows 63% During Lockdown
During the lockdown, the overall UK gaming population increased by 63%, according to a report from the market research agency Opinium.
The report found that more people are playing games and that they are playing for longer, as the average playtime for games rose by two hours.
The report also suggests that spending on gaming has increased as the UK spent a third more during the lockdown than the previous year.
The report, which identifies people who have only started gaming during the lockdown as “Covideogamers,” says these new players now make up 18% of the gaming population.
The report suggested that the reason the majority of people have started playing was due to the free time they had because of lockdown.
Over 37% reported they played out of boredom, while 36% also noted they were looking for a way to keep their mind active.
Over Two-thirds of all participants surveyed agreed that they found gaming as a great way to take their minds off the current crisis. 55% said that gaming helped them get through the lockdown.
Covideogamers have also found it easy to get into games as they already had the devices needed to play them.
Almost half played on their phone at 46%, and over a quarter played on thier Tablet at 28%.
In terms of dedicated hardware, the split came out as PC – 43%, Games console – 19%, Handheld console – 9%
The report shows that 41% of ‘Covideogamers’ saw themselves as casual gamers with an average playtime of 6.5 hours a week and spent an average of £17 a month on games.
When it comes to who do they play games with:
- 26% played on their own
- 17% with other gamers online
- 23% with friends (in person)
- 32% with friends (online)
- 27% with their partner
- 8% with parents
- 12% with their children
- 2% with work colleagues
Single-player gamers also saw a resurgence among the lapsed gamers, who gave up gaming but only recently started again during the lockdown. In lockdown over 52% of lapsed gamers found themselves playing on their own too.
Puzzle games are the most popular gaming genre to Covideogamers, according to the report, with games such as Angry Birds and Candy Crush and action games such as Grand Theft Auto and Batman Arkham series.
A significant amount of people also said that they would continue playing games after lockdown,
Andė Milinytė, Research Manager at Opinium, commented: “It is no secret the industry expanded over lockdown, a result of lapsed gamers returning and the rise of Covideogamers – those who have picked up gaming having more time on their hands.
“Now, the industry is asking how they can capitalize on this.”
James Endersby, Chief Executive, Opinium added: “With lockdown restrictions getting tighter, time and money spent on gaming shows no sign of abetting.
“Younger gamers are much more likely to play with their friends online than older gamers, and it’s the same for new gamers who are attracted to the sector because of the social opportunity it provides.
“This report shines a spotlight on how the gaming industry is transforming. There will no doubt be some winners and some losers, but retention will be key. How brands react, listen, and tailor their products to the diverse needs of their customers – old and new- will be critical to their success.”
The National Videogame Museum Recieves £400,000 Grant for Covid-19 Support
The National Videogame Museum (NVM), governed by the British Games Institute, has received a £400,000 grant to help it get through the Covid-19 pandemic.
A blog post on the British Games Institute, which helps with the NVM website’s running, said the museum received the grant from the Arts Council of England’s Culture Recovery Fund.
The purpose of the money is to keep the museum operating until the spring of 2021.
The National Videogame Museum is one of many organisations that have received grants with the Recovery Fund giving more than £250 million to various theatres, museums, venues, and more.
In regards to the funding, British Games Institute chairman, Ian Livingstone CBE said, “We were delighted to hear this news and would like to express our sincere gratitude to Arts Council, DCMS and the Culture Secretary for supporting the cultural sector during its hour of need.
“The generous funding for the nation’s cultural organisations including the UK’s only museum dedicated to video games is very much appreciated. It was a great relief to learn that our educational and cultural programmes will be able to continue in Sheffield for the foreseeable future.”
“Our mission is to preserve, celebrate and promote video games culture for years to come in this exceptional and unique museum.”
The National Videogame Museum was the world’s first cultural centre that was dedicated to video games. It originally opened in Nottingham in 2015.
During its first 3 years, they welcomed over 100,000 visitors and had won two TripAdvisor awards. It had also staged four original exhibitions and kicked off a games music festival.
The museum is recognised by the Arts Council of England, Creative England, Creative Scotland, UK Young Artists, the British Library and many others as a leading proponent of videogame culture.
Before the pandemic hit, the museum hosted game talks, conferences and events about games culture, production, education and diversity.
In 2016 Rick Gibson and Ian Livingstone proposed that the games industry needed an agency for games culture, the British Games Institute (BGI), mirroring the British Film Institute but for games.
The campaign for the BGI was launched in early 2017 and quickly won support from over 550 games, arts, education and finance organisations.
In December 2018, they moved the National Videogame Arcade to Sheffield, officially renaming it the National Videogame Museum.
The NVM is currently in the process of full museum accreditation. In January 2020 the BGI acquired the National Videogame Museum, its Collection, staff and assets from the National Videogame Foundation.