I'm pretty interested in seeing demographic data as I find them good targeting tools. But other than the ESA reports (free) and NPD numbers (paid) does anyone know any other sources for such data?
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\$\begingroup\$ You might try ask.metafilter.com for this type of question. I'm not sure this is exactly the right place for this question, but I also can't think of another Stack Exchange site to refer you to. \$\endgroup\$– RicketCommented Aug 3, 2010 at 13:57
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1\$\begingroup\$ Also quite interested in this. It's definitely game-dev relevant, as it feeds directly into design and product development decisions. Also it's very hard to get good information. IndieVision (indievision.org) has done a lot of good work on trying to pull together numbers, but it's pretty tricky. \$\endgroup\$– MrCrankyCommented Aug 6, 2010 at 13:00
3 Answers
Here is a website that has very interesting demographics regarding MMORPG's in the US. http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/gateway_intro.html
This is from the same site but it has a bit more general data. Just keep clicking the small "Next Page" link at the bottom for more statistics including Good vs Evil, Choosing a Race, and etc. http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/archives/001558.php
Here is a slide show on demographics for teen and adult gameplay in 2009 http://www.pewinternet.org/Presentations/2009/11--Cheats-for-Video-Game-Marketers.aspx
This is another site that has demographic data on game developers which is useful for those developing an SDK or engine. You can also submit a survey to help improve these statistics. http://archives.igda.org/diversity/report.php
If you are looking for specific demographics you could also try picking up the phone book and calling major players in the game development realm. For example, I am sure Microsoft will have no problem giving you demographics on its specific users. Hope this helps.
These look pretty nice, though I'm not sure:
Free Demographics
US Census Bureau
EDIT: Also, free.