The discussion in class was on target audiences for computer games genres.
A recent survey has listed 33 million computer game players in the UK alone. The interesting point for me was proof that gamers don’t give up and move on to other media .
25 to 45 year olds are identified as having the most number of players (44%) compared with 45 to 65 year olds (33%) and 16 to 24 year olds (23%) with the least amount.
Some game genres appeal more specific groups in the population and age ranges. These are defined as the target audience. Take for example the games at the cbeebies website, these are aimed at the pre school audience. Some games are aimed at one gender more than others, there has been a recent rise in the number of games aimed at female gamers. This has been partially driven by social networks and smart phones as well as pink consoles. If you look at the numbers on the survey you will see the there is only 2% of a difference in the number of male/female gamers.
The PEGI (Pan European Game Information) ratings system, classifies games to better inform the consumer about the games they are purchasing. The UK also uses the BBFC system which is legally enforceable. Here is a list of their recent classifications.
