With the release of Horizon 5 looming large, we look at the main characteristics of those who play racing games in Britain.
Using data from YouGov Profiles data, we identify the distinct qualities of British racing game players (defined as those who play racing games on a console or computer) compared to gamers across all other genres (those who play any genre of games on a console or computer).
The love for racing games carries over into sports consumption as well
Brits who play racing games are far likelier than the average gamer to say they follow motorsports like Formula1 and MotoGP. Over a quarter of them (27%) say they watch or read about motorsports on a regular basis compared to only about 15% of all gamers.
Motorsport is the second most popular sport among racing game players behind football, which also enjoys heightened popularity. Half of them say they follow football regularly (vs 40% of all gamers).
Over a half of all racing game players in Britain learn about new games from online shops
Marketers of video games have a particularly high chance of pitching new products to racing game players through online shops. More than five in ten racer gamers (55%) say they find out about new games from online shops compared to only 38% of all gamers who indicate so.
Just under half of racing game players (46%) also use gaming websites to learn about new games (vs 31%). They are also likelier than the average British gamer to learn about new games by browsing in a game shop (33% vs 23.2%) and from friends (35% vs 27%).
Effective forms of advertising
Racing gamers are likelier than British gamers of all genres to say that advertisements on TV and in the online space grab their attention. Half of them (51%) say TV adverts grab their attention, making them 14 percentage points likelier than average gamers to say so. A similar share of them (53%) say that, if they were marketers, they would use online mediums to advertise to themselves (vs 43% nationally).
Another way to reach them effectively could be through in-store promotions. A quarter of them say that this form of advertising grabs their attention compared to just 16% of all gamers.
Social media usage
Racing gamers don’t differ too much from the overall gamers’ group in their usage of social network. Facebook is the most popular platform among them, with two-thirds (66%) using the platform and a similar share of gamers across genres use it too (63%).
Twitter and Reddit, however, stand out as two platforms that appeal to racing game players to a somewhat higher degree.
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Methodology: YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data and rolling surveys, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Profiles data is nationally representative and weighted by age, gender, education, region, and race. Learn more about Profiles.
