My friends, my job, my marriage... for a game of video games...

Online video game players devote 7 hours a week to their passion, an increase of nearly 20% over last year according to an international study. Gamers have relegated their social and professional lives to the background. While the French spend an average of 1h18 playing in a row, a gaming session can last up to almost 3h45. Thus more than a quarter of French players (23 %) have already missed an outing with friends or an appointment to be able to continue playing and almost half have missed their sleep. An increasingly worrying addiction phenomenon.

 

Aublic health experts are concerned about an emerging disorder: video game addiction. In January 2018, the WHO published, for the first time, a definition of this contemporary disorder. It is, according to her, " video or digital gaming behaviour characterised by a loss of control over gambling, an increased priority given to gambling to the point where it takes precedence over other interests and daily activities, and the continuation or increasing practice of gambling despite damaging repercussions ".

To establish the diagnosis, this extreme behaviour must have consequences on personal, family, social, educational and professional activities. According to the Director of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction of the WHO, Shekhar Saxena, " The person plays so much that other interests and activities are neglected, including sleeping and eating. ». In June 2018, the WHO has officially recognized video game addiction as a disease and has incorporated it into the 11^e version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD).

 

L ‘study Limelight Networks' recently released international "State of Online Gaming" survey is based on responses from more than 4,500 consumers aged 18 and over who play video games at least once a week in France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States.

 

The study produces a series of figures that confirm fears of addiction. It reveals that the popularity of online video games continues to grow, especially among young adults aged 26 to 35, who spend 8 hours and 13 minutes a week playing, an increase of 25 % over last year. German gamers are at the top of this ranking with an average of 8 hours per week; at the bottom of the table, South Korean gamers have the lowest weekly average with 6.69 hours. French players are in the international average with just under 7 hours per week.

 

 

The report established precise statistics on an increasingly worrying social phenomenon: gamblers are relegating their social and professional life to the background. While the French spend an average of 1 hour and 18 minutes playing in a row, a gambling session can last up to almost 3 hours and 45 minutes. Thus more than a quarter of French players (23 %) have already missed an outing with friends or an appointment to be able to continue playing and almost half have missed their sleep. Italian gamers are the most addicted to video games to the detriment of their social life; 41 % of them say they have already missed a social event (dinner with friends, a date or a business meeting. 12 % of gamers around the world did not show up at work to complete their gaming session. More than a third of them (35 %s) admit to playing at work at least once a month, and 10 %s play daily.

 

E-Sport has become more than just a fad, it has become a new type of sport consumption... and a source of income...

Many gamers, when not playing, watch other people play online. There are nearly 60 %s in the world who engage in this activity every week, and 10 %s spend more than 7 hours on it. In France, half of the players devote their time to it with an average of 2 hours per week. For young players, watching others play online is more enjoyable than watching traditional sports on TV. In fact, gamers aged 18 to 25 spend nearly 4 hours a week watching video games online, which represents 77 % more time than the time spent watching traditional sports programmes.

The evolution of e-sport and its expansion are such that now 36 % of the players in the world would be ready to leave their job to become professional players if they could make a living from it, i.e. +11 % compared to last year; 29% of the French players are also tempted by this professional reconversion.

 

Downloading remains the most common and popular acquisition method in all countries, but the exchange of video games between players or in stores remains popular in France (14.4%). Sales of physical games are highest in the United Kingdom, where nearly 40 %s prefer to buy a physical copy, while 9%s of Italians choose to rent.

 

Mobile devices continue to stimulate interest, but rather for casual gaming, which alone accounts for more than half (57 %) of the gaming market. More and more gamblers are playing on the move and report using their mobile phones for this purpose. Single-player casual games such as Candy Crush and Angry Birds are the most popular type of gaming-related content in the world. However, younger players (aged 18-25) prefer first-person shooter games and royal battle games such as the Fortnite phenomenon.

 

In terms of securityMore than half of the players (54 %) say they will not continue to use a gaming platform that has previously experienced a security breach. Security concerns are highest in Germany (62 %), Japan (63 %) and South Korea (66 %).

 

Speed. "As online gaming becomes more important in terms of game time and audience size, expectations for faster online performance are growing," said Michael Milligan, Senior Director at Limelight Networks. "Whether it's downloading game updates, joining an online team to compete against opponents, or learning new techniques live with a favorite streamer, no player in the world will tolerate latency or download interruptions that slow them down. »

 

Visit report State of Online Gaming is based on responses from more than 4,500 consumers aged 18 and over who play video games at least once a week in France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States.