Current gamers are big into watching either live gaming competitions or just informal video of streaming gameplay by others, to the tune of 44% of all gamers in the past six months, according to a study from The NPD Group.
Of those who stream, 46% do so weekly and 18% will do it at least once a day. Among all those who stream gaming content, the average session comes out to almost three hours.
“[Live gaming] may have seemed like a niche phenomenon in the past, but it has clearly taken off with strong activity and engagement with consumers,” said Liam Callahan, industry analyst for The NPD Group. “This is positive for the gaming industry on multiple levels, not only bringing excitement from the events themselves, but also from a marketing standpoint as consumers learn and can then potentially spend on games featured at e-sports events.”
The survey — which features responses from more than 4,000 gamers — found that two-thirds of those who stream are playing the game they’re watching, and nearly 70% said they purchased the full game or downloadable add-on content because they watched someone playing the game online.
And gamers don’t seem to care about the prizes or number of online contestants involved in online competitive gaming competitions. Instead the game itself and the quality of the players are why they watch, the survey found.
