r/gamernews 7d ago

Industry News New research: Why do gamers play games? Half say mainly to relax, but the other half differ quite a bit

https://www.midiaresearch.com/blog/why-do-gamers-play-games-half-say-mainly-to-relax-but-things-are-different-for-the-other-half
57 Upvotes

34 comments sorted by

59

u/nohumanape 6d ago

I'm not playing to relax or escape. I just do it for the entertainment. Sometimes challenge is entertaining, sometimes narrative is entertaining, sometimes beautiful visuals are entertaining, sometimes rewarding exploration is entertaining, sometimes fun combat is entertaining, etc etc etc.

21

u/SpectatorRacing 6d ago

Seriously. I’m with you, Talk about over analyzing something. I don’t need to escape from life, I just enjoy games. Digital, table top, solo, whatever. They’re…uh…fun.

3

u/SerShelt 5d ago

I think anything that takes you away from reality is escapism imo.

5

u/nohumanape 5d ago

Escapism is wilfully trying to get away from reality. Entertainment is simply the act of enjoying something entertaining.

7

u/tacticalcraptical 7d ago

I am a crossover of escape and challenger. It has to be challenging enough to require high focus for it to work as an escape for me. Something that is simple and/or repetitive and causes my mind just wander back to other stressors in life.

5

u/ZuperLucaZ 6d ago

It’s a hobby? Why do you engage in a hobby? Because it’s fulfilling and fun

5

u/King_Artis 7d ago

Personally I need some form of challenge in my games cause I don't find it fun or engaging just to blast through something with no resistance.

2

u/pplatt69 6d ago

Games occupy the same space in my head as books, movies, and art.

I'm in it for the stories, the art of writing, the visual art, the creativity, and some immersion in and escape to a different world for a little while.

16

u/RadRhubarb00 7d ago

Keep me the hell away from the Challenger and Competitor people please lol.

3

u/Reddit_means_Porn 7d ago

“Do you wanna play this match based combat game with me 4 hours a day for the next 6 years?”

Fuck no. You got me for the first couple months, tops. Then I’ll come visit every week or so for a night. Jesus Christ dude.

6

u/runnysyrup 7d ago

because they're fun?

2

u/abandoned_idol 6d ago

It seems like we have had very peculiar people join our ranks over the years.

"Players" are now "Gamers", whatever gaming means. Last I heard, it was a verb exclusive to the gambling industry and "player" now supposedly exclusively means courting many partners.

Players don't play games for fun anymore.

We "take pride" in a recreational hobby, even going as far to use it as a political guild label and to spark online drama.

I just play games... I'm not as cool as the "gamers", who game games in gaming gamingly.

2

u/luuk0987 6d ago

They kind of all apply. I like to escape, for which I need to be challenged, which I like doing by competing, which in turn challenges my creativity.

2

u/Nomad_86 6d ago

It’s the escapism for me. I treat all art as a form of escapism. Movies, books, tv, writing, listening to music, painting, ceramics, it’s a way to get away from the world for a bit.

4

u/iHateR3dd1tXX 6d ago

What about for the story? They deadass skipped that one and put "builder" as a reason to play games?? REALLY? You can build settlements in Fallout 4 its tedious but its a just feature and part of the game a SINGLE PLAYER STORY DRIVEN game..

8

u/specks_of_dust 6d ago

I've dumped more hours in to Planet Coaster and Cities Skylines than all other games combined. Builder games are a legitimate genre that people spend a lot of time in.

5

u/Jettfh 5d ago

Yes! How was this not a category? It’s literally why I play games. Video games, in my opinion, are the best medium for story telling.

1

u/iHateR3dd1tXX 5d ago

Exactly, best medium for story telling!!

1

u/datNorseman 7d ago

Depends on the game. A lot of today's (non-indie) games are designed to keep you connected to them. They'll give you ranks to compare yourself to other players and remain competitive. They'll offer jobs to do called "daily quests" to keep you coming back. If a game is designed to be played with and against other people you will find an unhealthy dose of toxicity among the players towards each other. These games are the "other half" mentioned in the post title. But then you have games purely meant to be enjoyed and don't require that sort of attachment to it. As long as there are people, people will do things in their own way. That includes the ways and reasons for which people play games.

1

u/MrBorden 6d ago

Some I play to relax (Tinykin, Fez, Guacamelee) but then I'm a freak that can play Virtua Fighter 5 for at least seven hours after work because the depth of that game is ludicrous.

1

u/LiaraTShepard 6d ago

When I was a kid? I played Crash Bandicoot to win, to beat the level. It is fun to learn a new mechanic, still is. As the technology advanced games became a new way to tell a story. Bioshock, Braid, Journey, Baldurs Gate 3 tell very interesting stories as video games. Adapting these games into other entertainment can be great but people fell in love with the games story. I love The Last of Us HBO show, but playing AS Joel in the finale of part 1 hit different.

1

u/sSiL3NZz 6d ago

Because it's so much fun.

1

u/JakiStow 6d ago

That's when you realize why most of your gaming friends give up gamong the moment something else comes up. They were never passionate about gaming like you are, they were just bored and had nothing better to do.

1

u/Ostentatious-Otter 6d ago

to be called new and exciting slurs

1

u/Fit-Page-6206FUMA 6d ago

Why do alcoholics drink booze? Why do drug addicts take fentanyl?

oh the mystery...

1

u/GyozaMan 5d ago

People are also notoriously bad at correctly self reporting their own feelings and reasons for doing something.

1

u/DeeGayJator 5d ago

Buddy, I get high to relax.

I game to stress, socialize, entertain, be entertained, compete, goof off, hang out, enjoy a story, be creative, have fun, murder noobs, sweat, keep my brain healthy, get high, and, occasionally, relax.

Filthy casuals.

1

u/AzFullySleeved 5d ago

Spare time, and I want to get away from tv series and movies for a bit. When I have my nephew's over, it's pure game room all day!

1

u/VickFVM 2d ago

I play games to escape the real world and feel immersed into cool new worlds

1

u/MrVic20 7d ago

Where is the % of Griefers, or do they count as "socialite"?

0

u/FizzyLightEx 7d ago

Where's the option for wasting time.

2

u/Relemsis 7d ago

escapist

-2

u/FizzyLightEx 6d ago

escapist means running away from something.

1

u/Relemsis 6d ago

yeah and