Mobile Games Surge in Canada

To mark National Video Game Day, the Entertainment Software Association of Canada today released new stats about Canadian gamers. Survey results highlight that more people are playing games on mobile devices than any other platform, that more than half of all Canadians are gamers and that women are playing video games just as much as men.

Phones and tablets are now the most popular game platforms. Although ownership and game play on video game consoles has remained steady since 2014, 41% of Canadians reported playing video games on mobile devices most often. That’s a huge jump from 2012 when only 6% reported playing on mobile devices the most often.

What’s more, the mobile games phenomenon has captured the attention of new audiences, particularly the female demographic. Female gamers are now playing 9% more on a daily basis with their mobile device than their male counterparts. Mobile has become the leading platform to play video games among the female demographic.

Many Canadians do not even consider themselves to be gamers even though they regularly play on mobile devices. When asked if they considered themselves a “gamer”, a modest 38% of Canadians self-identified as such, when in fact, 52% of Canadians have played a video game in the past 4 weeks – the threshold by which ESAC measures game play. Among those who did not consider themselves to be a “gamer”, 79% reported actually playing games on a mobile device in the past 4 weeks, highlighting the role of mobile games in bringing new players to the medium as a whole.