Video Games and Gamers in 2023: IIDEA Report Analysis
by Simon LaroccaJune 28, 2024
Il mercato dei videogiochi has represented for many years now a truly abundant portion of what is the global economic system: big names in the industry, from Bill Gates who flung open the doors of the challenge to the Japanese giants with his first Xbox to Netflix which forcefully entered the mobile market, the video game carries interests, investments, and trends like few other media have managed to do over time.
Even in Italy, where the sector struggled in the early 2000s to establish itself due to a whole series of setbacks that went beyond the strictly video game context, we have witnessed a significant forward push in the post-Covid period, and the data relating to the year 2023 have only confirmed this indicative trend overall.
Come IIDEA (the Italian association of interactive digital entertainment that collects statistics and data related to the video game sector) points out in one of its latest reports, we are faced with a very significant key figure: more than 2.3 billion euros in turnover, with one side being the Hardware sector, at over 665 million, corresponding to 29% of the total, clearly up compared to the previous year, while the mainstay remains firmly the world of Software, which alone accounts for the remaining 71% and stands at an astonishing figure, even if slightly down compared to 2022: a whopping 1,642 million.
![[Video game market in Italy IIDEA 2023 report]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.thegamesmarket.com%2Fapi%2Fv1%2Ffile%2Fproxy%3Fkey%3Dstaging%252Fmagazine%252Fcontent%252Fvideogiochi-e-videogiocatori-2023-analisi-report-iidea-img-0.png&w=3840&q=75)
Numbers that are truly interesting, bearing a fact never so striking, namely that, after Covid and especially with the resumption of sales of next-generation consoles following the famous materials crisis that had frozen production for almost two years, the average Italian user has started playing again on a steady basis and does not seem inclined to stop doing so.
Non that our video game players have ever really hung up their joypads, to be clear: the data regarding Italians’ preferences as far as the devices on which they invest their time, as well as their money, are concerned, are very clear in this sense.
The 71% prefer mobile phones, with their puzzle games and games that stimulate logic and puzzle solving rather than focusing on fast-paced shooters, while PC and consoles split the remaining market shares, with 35% and 43% respectively.
What does this mean, in plain English?
Che despite the world of home entertainment on consoles and personal computers continues to hold out with increasingly cutting-edge, photorealistic titles with a powerful visual impact, the majority of gamers are mostly casual players who have found in mobile the ideal combination of time management and gaming quality, in terms of spending hours and energy.
Certo, the average gaming time of users in 2023 (6.53 hours per week) is much lower than the peak reached in 2020, at a historical and cultural moment when the Covid pandemic had upended the habits of all Italians, with its 8.02 hours per week of gaming; to better understand these numbers, it is necessary to take a step back and analyze a graph that compares the age groups of the sampled users and their tendency to spend time with video games, regardless of their preferred genre.
Nelle fasce più basse, quelle che comprendono i bambini e i pre-adolescenti, le percentuali di riferimento sono elevate, rispettivamente 47% e 65%, dati che non dovrebbero sorprendere se consideriamo che oggigiorno è praticamente impossibile non vedere bambini alle prese con tablet e cellulari, impegnati a giocare e smanettare come dei pro-gamer: i nativi digitali esistono e questi dati statistici ne costituiscono un'ulteriore prova.
![[Video gamers in Italy by age group in 2023 source IIDEA report 2023]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.thegamesmarket.com%2Fapi%2Fv1%2Ffile%2Fproxy%3Fkey%3Dstaging%252Fmagazine%252Fcontent%252Fvideogiochi-e-videogiocatori-2023-analisi-report-iidea-img-1.png&w=3840&q=75)
As they get older, 55% are in the highly sensitive age group between 15 and 24 years old, those who make the greatest use of online titles, such as team shooters, real-time strategy games and football simulations, which are now projected toward online play and on the verge of abandoning physical media.
But the most surprising element, in my view, is the one relating to the 35-44 age group, where adults stand at 26%, a figure that is not so trivial if we consider the numerous obstacles that get in the way of the time to devote to gaming, such as full-time work, family, household expenses, etc.
Paragonato al 2022, there is a 6% increase, a tangible sign that video games are by no means the exclusive domain of the very young; moreover, with the real and true Renaissance being experienced by the return to the past and to the games of our childhood, consoles and historic titles, universally referred to as retrogames, a significant share of the market is being reclaimed, a share that is as important as it is profitable.
To confirm the reliability of these data, there is the Top Ten of the best-selling video games in 2023: at the top, the undisputed sports game par excellence EA SPORTS FC 24 (at least until online really takes off with its toughest rival, namely EFootball), with Hogwarts Legacy loved by hardcore gamers craving a certain level of open world.
![[Most played video games in Italy in 2023 source IIDEA report 2023]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.thegamesmarket.com%2Fapi%2Fv1%2Ffile%2Fproxy%3Fkey%3Dstaging%252Fmagazine%252Fcontent%252Fvideogiochi-e-videogiocatori-2023-analisi-report-iidea-img-2.png&w=3840&q=75)
Yet on the lower floor, hot on their heels, there are two heavyweight adult titles: the politically incorrect GTA V and the quintessential war game, COD Modern Warfare III.
The hard core of video gamers, beyond the onslaught of casual mobile games, always remains loyal to consoles, whether it comes to games downloaded digitally with their DLC and paid subscription services, or boxed titles for those who love the physical and tangible nature of a package.
Per conclude, it is evident that video games in Italy, as long as investment continues in the development of titles, the creativity of programmers, and the commercial realities that are part of it, can look to the future with confidence.
Simon Larocca
Mi chiamo Simon Larocca, e sono un videogiocatore, collezionista e amante della cultura pop in tutte le sue forme. Vado al cinema ogni volta che posso, leggo da quando porto gli occhiali, quindi da sempre, e ho la passione per lo storytelling in tutte le sue forme, così dirompente da farla diventare una professione. Ma come direbbe Doc di Ritorno al Futuro, non ci sarebbe presente se non si guardasse al passato con rispetto e ammirazione, ed è il Simon bambino di più di trent’anni fa, anno più anno meno.
Simon Larocca
Mi chiamo Simon Larocca, e sono un videogiocatore, collezionista e amante della cultura pop in tutte le sue forme. Vado al cinema ogni volta che posso, leggo da quando porto gli occhiali, quindi da sempre, e ho la passione per lo storytelling in tutte le sue forme, così dirompente da farla diventare una professione. Ma come direbbe Doc di Ritorno al Futuro, non ci sarebbe presente se non si guardasse al passato con rispetto e ammirazione, ed è il Simon bambino di più di trent’anni fa, anno più anno meno.