Generation's Behaviour Comparison: Video Games by Viriya Viriyathagulthon, 16625472

Let's play a game!

Nowadays, playing video games is one of the most enjoyable activities to millions of people around the world and these aesthetic issues became a common part of our daily life. The popularity of players is rising continuously as the rapid changed of technologies such as mobile phones, or internet network. These are the reason that video game industry became interesting invest as quickly growth during very brief years. As time gone by, Video games play a big role in digital entertainment’s market and billions spend online.

How are they start?

Even if video games became originally knows, but they are the most recent products that have been developed compare to the others entertainments throughout history. If we look deeply into initial game’s story, we may need to travel back for more than several thousand years. Anyway, the game industry was actually begun by an establishing of a Japanese company as card game company during the 1880s, but it was not operated in term of a digital game. The real history of video games was started in the late 1950s.

. The first table tennis-like video game was invented on an oscilloscope, the past-day model electronic test instrument. By the following years the first interactive computer game, which is Spacewar! (1962), was made by Steve Russell, Wayne Wittanen, and J.M. Graetz, the engineers at Sander Associates, the United State. Once, the possible of Spacewar! was remarked, it ignited the century of video games and affected later game development.

After the arrival of new technologies would enable users to easily play games. The gaming became seriously industry to paid intention and hundreds of video games developed in different genres. Many gaming devices, for instance, upgraded graphics in the computer, the gaming laptop and game consoles such as Play station series, Xbox 360 and others, were invented as growth consequent.

The Generation!

The baby boomer

As the increase in the birth rate after the ending of the tormented period such as the Second World War brought the idea of a “Baby boomer” (Biggs, Phillipson, Leach, and Money, 2006). They were born during 1946-1964 and are in the 53-71 range as of 2017. Their values are individualization, hardworking as much as are workaholics, self-expression, and enjoy everyday moments.

Generation X

Generation X is the noticeable period between 2 big generations which were born during 1965-1977. Impermanent, less certainly successful, less traditional and skepticism was represented in this generation. Xers have experienced the impact of innovations, increasing of personal computers and the Internet. The characteristics, lifestyles, and attitudes of Generation X include balancing family, life, and work. (Williams and Page, 2011)

The millennials

The generation can also be called “Generation Y or Gen Y. The millennial generation is the largest generation since the baby boomers and they are the direct offspring of them. The generation refers to the person whose were born between the early 1980s to the early 2000s. The shift of mindsets from doubtfulness in the previous generation (generation X) to free-spirited, flexible and open-mind was represented (Lundin, Laura, and Press, 2016).

the marketing

During the first video game was made, in these days corresponded to Baby boomer, many computers were rarely found and they had a size that could fill entire rooms. The undeveloped technologies cause video games not popular in the beginning. When years passed, technologies became natural in today’s environment while every generation could easily access. These reasons influence the difference ways in generation’s decisions.

Firstly, there are around 31.6 million players in the UK, approximately 50% of the total population. The record shows that the biggest group of players are average 25-44 years old. Meanwhile, the group age of 45-74 and 16-24 years old are ranked in the second and third group (Newzoo, June 2014). It illustrated that the Millennials whose are 16-47 years old are the most interest in playing video games. Still, the number of players who are Boomers and Generation X also as half of the gamers popularity in the UK. Due to “Gen Y” were born into a technological, electronic, and wireless society with transparency global boundaries (Williams and Page, 2011), so games are common in their today’s life than previous generations which in they rarely used technologies in their time.

the rise of esports

Secondly, every generation recently use games for social communication but they generally use in different purpose. Boomers usually play the game with their families while they give their high priority to family and after-work time (Williams and Page, 2011). Grandparents or parents usually connect to their children by using video games or they use games to entertain themselves after retirement or break time. The reports of Parents and games in 2012 (ISFE, 2012) found the main reasons why parents play games with their children presented the top reason is they want to spend time with their children. Then parents usually control what their kids play by classifying game’s content.

In contrast, even the Millennials spend most of their time online video games but they care less about game’s content, play them seriously, and instead enjoy watching each other with an increasing desire to create, share and be part of the experience. The growth of eSports, Twitch, Youtube, and the sharing of video game content displays the point (www.mahesh-vs.com). Since the trend has changed, the video games are more competitive than something that Gen Y spends their time to relax. The reason why eSports is popular with millennials in the UK, with the 21-35 age group representing 63% of the market (www.ukie.org.uk).

The Impact of Technologies

Finally, the coming of smartphone’s revolution deeply impacted the whole world, for instance changing lifestyles, created the new habits, and affect the way entertainments behave. Video games basically depended on the devices that operate them such as the personal computer, laptop, and consoles. The mobility of playing games is still restricted even if they are some portable consoles devices like Play station vita (PSvita), Nintendo 3ds, or the latest Nintendo Switch.

Nonetheless, they are the specific functional device for playing games, it is not like smartphone and tablets which are commonly used. The report said that 71% or approximate 40 million of the UK adults own a smartphone and 59% or approximate 15.9 million people own a tablet. In additional, 47% of the UK smartphone owners have their top usage app to play games (Deloitte, 2016). Even if “Baby boomers” normally owns the smartphone, they prefer doing others activities than playing video games. They usually use communication methods such as social and recognition events, professional advisors especially for health information, and online job sites (Williams and Page, 2012). Although, playing games becomes one of the most popular activities using smartphone apps for the Millennials as well as a report found 60% of them play a game on the smartphone (Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2010).

Let's study

As the result, the different in consumption behaviour between previous generations, including Baby boomer and generation X, and the Millennial could be described by the decision-making process model by Mothersbaugh and Hawkins (2016). The diaphragm shows the division of 3 difference sections while the core process was Self-Concept and lifestyle. They are affected by 2 major factors such as external and internal influences. The external influences are surrounding environment of consumers, for example, culture, demographic, family and all activities occur. They have hardly changed during the time. For another one, Internal Influences include perception, learning, memory, motives and personality were the occurrences that unique in each person. The mixture of both external and internal influences affect individually self-concept and lifestyle. Therefore, it causes personally needs and desires in products. Nonetheless, it is not exact an individual. External influences are mass effect in the period of times, so it is the reason why the idea of generation exists. In the case of video games, the decision making through different generations mostly depend on external influences such as culture and technologies. To make this clarify, the generation Y was born in the world of the online network, meanwhile, Xers were the witnesses of technologies developments and Boomers were born before the revolution happened. Their thoughts of video games are completely dissimilar. While Baby boomers who usually interest more health, family, and retirement, do not pay much attentions in video games, the Millennials would consider them more seriously.

References :

• Egenfeldt-Nielsen, S., Smith, J.H., and Tosca, S.P. (2016) Understanding video games the essential introduction. 3rd edn. Routledge: Taylor and Francis Group.

• Kent, S.L. (2001) The Ultimate history of video games. Roseville California: Prima Publishing.

• Miller, R.K and Washington, K. (2013) Consumer behavior 2013, Loganville GA: Richard K. Miller & Associates, pp.233-236, 250-255.

• Williams, K. C. and Page, R.C. (2011) ‘Marketing to the Generations’, Journal of Behavioral Studies in Business, 3 (3), pp.1-17.

• Vellanki, M. (2016), ‘This Is The Current State Of The Video Game Industry’,21 January. Available at: http://www.mahesh-vc.com/blog/this-is-the-current-state-of-the-video-game-industry (Accessed: 20 March 2017)

• Ukie (2016) ‘The games industry in numbers’. Available at: http://ukie.org.uk

Credits:

Created with images by blakespot - "a tangled web of gaming goodness" • Informedmag - "Gaming Console TV - Credit to informedmag.com" • blakespot - "the unique NeGcon controller" • Soledadsnp - "children toys bicycle" • veroyama - "PS3 Silver" • AnaBanana413 - "pokemongo pokemon cell phone" • natureaddict - "pokemon pokemon go phone" • esharkj - "iPhone Twenty12 | 55" • cuncon - "ipad girl tablet" • -- Slavin - "'mobile game mosh'" • dawnydawny - "keyboard gamer computer" • blakespot - "The sights I've seen in this game"

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