In France in 2021, the regular player was rather a 38-year-old man with at least two supports and who plays almost every day, especially on mobile.
Thanks to the recent SELL report on the practice of video games in France, each year we can draw up a robot portrait of the French player. In 2020, the practice was still just as mixed, but confinement had allowed greater democratization of the industry, with a drop in the average age. What about for 2021?
In its report of last November, we can see that gender distribution remained similar, with overall one in two regular players being female in a territory where the practice (at least “occasional”) increased to 73% of the population (+2 dots). On the “real” gamer side, these are now close to 6 out of 10 French people who consider themselves players, 58% according to the numbers (at least once a week). And as always, almost all 10-14 year olds play video games.
The average age is also falling, the typical player is 38 years old, he was 39 in 2020 and 40 in 2019. In its March report, other practices are revealed by the SELL. The French are playing mostly every day or almost (33%), above regular (24%, 1 to 2 times a week) and intensive (22%, several times a day) practice. The typical player is also a CSP+ with a higher education diplomaand the practice is greater on the side of the Grand-Est, Hauts-de-France or Centre-Val-de-Loire.
Very important also in the mode of consumption, and without great astonishment, the French player mainly plays on smartphones and consoles, a practice that is still on the rise. PC gamers are less numerous but much older on average than console gamers, with almost ten years of difference. On average, a player has 2.2 (+0.1) game supports (as always we remember that Candy Crush on his toilet is considered a game practice and a dedicated support).
Finally, the practice is even more social and family-oriented than last year. In 2021, 77% of parents said they play with their children at least occasionally, i.e. 11 points more over a year.
