05-17-24 Interview - Aubrey Quinn on more people playing video games

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
We are going to take things ina completely different direction. Because I got
an email saying, Hey, haveyou heard about this new survey by the
Entertainment Software Association about video gaming?And I was like, all bite because
I feel like I am in thislike I'm on one side of the age

(00:20):
specter where I assumed people my agedidn't play video games. But this data
show is quite the opposite. AndI'm very happy to have Aubrey Quinn from
the Entertainment Software Association, she's thesenior VP on to talk about the results
of this survey. So RB,welcome to the show. First of all,
Hi, thanks so much for havingme. So first of all,

(00:41):
what is the Entertainment Software Association,Absolutely, the Entertainment Software Association or EESA
because that's a mouthful, is thetrade association that represents the US video game
industry. So that means it's myjob to talk about the positive impact that
the video game dustry has on people, culture, and the economy right here

(01:03):
in the United States. How muchof the video game creation is in the
United States versus overseas, like asa percentage, what does that look like?
It is truly a global industry.The entertainment Software Association focuses on companies
here in the United States. Ourmembers are the creators and innovators who are

(01:25):
developing the new and engaging entertainment experiences. We are the largest market. The
United States is the largest market.I don't have the exact percentage breakdown,
but the games that we create herein the US are played all over the
world. Well, I was kindof shocked because you did a survey,
and it's a pretty big survey andabout who is playing video games in the

(01:48):
United States and what are some ofthe things that you think are kind of
the high points of this survey.Right, So, every year the ESA
puts out the essential fact about theUS video game industry because we want to
understand who was playing, and whythey're playing, and how they are playing.
What is fascinating is how much thishas changed over time. You know,

(02:10):
when we started doing the survey overtwo decades ago, we found that,
you know, no one had playedonline and even when we asked that
question, it was on dashline.And today over ninety percent of people have
right, so the way we playhas changed. We first started asking no
one played on a mobile device.Very few of us had cell phones or

(02:34):
mobile devices, and they certainly weren'tsmartphones with games. Now virtually everyone has
a gaming system in their pocket.I just flew an international trip from Paris
back home and the sweet French womansitting next to me was playing Candy Crush
and Wordle the whole way, andshe was in her sixties. And that
may not be who we think ofthe stereotype of a gamer is, but

(02:57):
the reality is everyone is playing games. Okay. I just like, all
day to day, I've been like, I don't say video games, that's
not me. But I totally haveCandy Crush on my phone right now.
I didn't even think about that.Okay, for you, you're a gamer,
you know what I feel like Ibelong now. You just that just
a weight has been lifted off myshoulders. But you know, I am

(03:19):
of the Atari age. We werekind of talking about that earlier in the
show. How video games changed theactual games that people play over the years,
and what are some of the mostpopular games now or what segment of
the of the style of game.Well, so if you take into account
that our survey found that more thanone hundred and ninety million Americans ages five

(03:42):
through ninety, so that's nearly twothirds of us play video games at least
an hour a week. And forme, that might look like I'm playing
games on my Nintendo Switch or myXbox. For you, it sounds like
we're playing candy Crush on a mobiledevice. So, when you are creating
a form of entertainment that appeals justso many people, there's really a game
for everyone. And so whether thatis a game on mobile device that's free

(04:08):
to play it doesn't cost you anythingto put it on your phone, or
it is a console game or youknow. I have three kids. They
play very different games. I havea son who loves sports, so he
is so excited about the new EAcollege football game that we know is coming
out the summer. He played witha lot of NBA two k I have
another son who's very into role playinggames, and so he is playing Valeriante

(04:30):
and Overwatch and he's always saving theworld from something. And then my baby
girl loves to create, so she'splaying Stims and she's building houses in neighborhoods
or Minecraft and you know, buildingthese whole worlds. And so what we
have seen is that there is moregames to appeal to more gamers, and
the gamer community is incredibly diverse.It cuts across every age, every demographic,

(04:56):
you know, gender, race,ethnicity, LGB two G, LGBTQ,
orientation. Everyone plays games and that'swhy it's so important. The same
way there's so many books that appealto lots of different people, there are
movies that appilled lots of different people. There's truly a game for everyone today.
I was really surprised to see notto see that seventy two percent of
American parents play video games, buteighty three percent of them play video games

(05:20):
with their children. And what's funnyis before in the last segment, when
I was like, oh, Idon't play video games, until I realized
I do, I got a textthrough who said he's been playing a game
with his father for thirty years.They've been gaming, and now his dad's
seventy and he's you know, itwas just kind of a cool story.
But that's obviously if that's not yourfamily, that can seem a little foreign.

(05:42):
But was there anything that surprised youguys that you found out here?
So for us, it's rarely asurprise because we're so close to it.
We like to come out with thesenumbers to bust all the stereotypes right like
and to help people understand that theyare a gamer. But one of my
favorite fat not that it surprised mebecause as a mom of three kids,

(06:02):
we play a lot of games together. But one of my favorite facts is
that parents do play with their kids, and they play with their kids because
it's fun. They can sit downand engage with their kids. They can
see what they're good at, theycan find out what they're interested in.
You. When it comes to kids, we encourage parents to consult all the
tools and resources and information to makesure their kids are playing online, they're

(06:26):
doing it safely, responsibly. Butin terms of benefits, we know that
video games are great for kids.One of my favorite studies i'm ESA one
and academic one out of Europe isthat playing video games helps young kids learn
how to learn. They're advancing cognitiveskills, they're learning resilience. You know,
if you think about two hours ofscreen time, if you're just scrolling

(06:50):
on social media or you're just watchinga movie, that's very passive. When
you're playing video games, you areengaged, you are making decisions, you're
learning how to lose, you're learninghow to start over. Their strategy games.
You're learning to communicate. And wealso know that ten to fifteen year
olds who play video games regularly reportlower levels of stress than their peers,

(07:12):
and girls who played video games arethree times more likely to get an advanced
degree or a STEM degree than they'repeers who don't. And so the pile
of evidence is growing that video gamesare really good for kids. That's fun,
and all of our kids deserve tohave a little fun. I've got
a link to the information. Ijust found it super interesting, and now

(07:33):
even more interesting now that I knowI'm a gamer, because not only do
I have Candy Crush, I alsohave multiple word games on my phone.
I'm thinking about it now. I'mlike way cooler than I was at the
beginning of this interview. So I'mfeeling super hips so awareness. I love
exactly a frequent I really appreciate yourtime today.