Nowadays, it’s common for gamers to spend several hours per day playing video games on their gaming devices, and one would think that more powerful gaming hardware would entice you to play more. However, a recent study has proven that console gamers actually spend more time playing games than PC gamers despite the less powerful gaming hardware.
The study came from Midia Research, which was published earlier this week. Midia’s new consumer research for Q4 2024 has yielded some somewhat surprising results about gamer activity across different platforms and has found that console gamers on average, spend “10 hours gaming per week.” Meanwhile, PC gamers spend around “9.7 hours.”
While the difference might not seem big, the averages don’t paint the whole picture. Because 40 percent of PC gamers spend less than five hours per week actually gaming. For console users, only 36 percent of them spend less than five hours per week gaming. So by technicality, console gamers are more avid gamers than PC gamers.
For other statistics, two-thirds of gamers from both PC and console groups spend less than 10 hours per week with video games, meaning that fraction could be comprised of adults with professional and social responsibilities or work and family.
For other platforms, specifically mobile gamers, they spend less time gaming with only 7.6 hours on average. Overall, however, gamers, regardless of platform, spend eight hours of their week on video games on average. Midia Research’s study was done as a reaction to modern games demanding more consumer time to finish or even play, and the data could help devs further tailor video game experiences based on gaming frequency.
So Many Games, So Little Time
Midia further suggests in the study that shorter games might be more sustainable for the gaming industry when it comes to customer satisfaction or even marketing. Previous studies at the research institute, for example, highlighted negative correlations between game length and completion (as expected).
Meanwhile, some veteran game developers have also noted a need for the industry to shift into more digestible games instead of 100 or 200-hour behemoths, which games like Skyrim or Fallout popularized. Shorter games also generate better buzz since more players can get into them without feeling left out.
With that in mind, Midia Research has praised the most recent Avowed RPG for giving players a choice. Avowed being a streamlined RPG allows players to finish the game in 15 hours, or some of the more hardcore RPG fans to bask in it for 40 hours.
As for the PC gamers themselves, their losing to console gamers is best summed up in a Redditor’s comment on the matter, “We (PC gamers) have grown old and are in pain after a few hours in the chair.”
