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Out: Study shows 10% of gamers are LGBT, spend more money on gaming than straights, prefer console gaming, etc.

Hours Left

Hours Left

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Oct 26, 2017
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Out.com has posted an article about a recent study done by Nielsen that shows that 10% of participants identify as LGBT, that queer gamers spend more money on gaming than their straight counterparts, and that console gaming is the avenue of choice, among other things.

Some highlights:
This year's Nielsen Games 360 Survey shows that 10% of all gamers over the age of 18 identify as LGBTQ+. Of the 2,000 LGBTQ+ people over the age of 13 surveyed, 40% identify as gay or lesbian, 50% identify as bisexual, and 10% identify as transgender or non-binary.
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Neilsen's self-reported survey found that LGBTQ+ gamers spend 8% more a month on games than their straight counterparts, at an average of $16.01 versus $14.78.
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Their findings also found that LGBTQ+ folks are more likely to be console owners (77%) than gaming PC owners (29%), they prefer to play on consoles (51%) verses mobile games (13%), and that 38% of LGBTQ+ gamers prefer Playstation, 22% prefer XBOX, and 19% prefer Nintendo consoles.
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"The survey really shows us that there is a thriving sub-community within the extensive world of gaming that has a voice and impact on the industry at-large," a Nielsen representative tells Out. "LGBTQ+ gamers are active gamers - though this shouldn't be surprising, as LGBTQ+ consumers are very active consumers of media and tend to be on the cutting edge of most media trends."
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LGBT gamers, according to the survey, also gravitate towards fighting, horror, RPGs, and simulation games.

I'd also just like to point out the obvious, that the number is assuredly higher than 10%, and if not for the stigma and threats to the safety of the LGBT community, the survey would of reflected that. (Even in anonymous surveys, many LGBT individuals are afraid of revealing themselves for fear of negative repercussions.)

So this is yet another reason why gaming corporations and media need to stop ignoring queer players, and our vital place and contributions to the gaming medium. More queer content! More queer people in development positions! More queer consideration in all aspects of gaming! No more excuses, no more being told to "wait our turn", or that we're "too niche" to be be appealed to. If you're a straight ally, then make sure you do your part to listen to, and advocate for, your LGBT friends and family!
 
ClickyCal'

ClickyCal'

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Oct 25, 2017
59,692
Hopefully more representation in games and more inclusion on dev teams can make that a higher percent.
 
Dylan

Dylan

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Oct 28, 2017
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So is that about double the general population? I'd be curious to know if you control for the average age of a "gamer" does it start to look more like the base-rate in the population.
 
MayorSquirtle

MayorSquirtle

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May 17, 2018
7,989
Feels weird that Nintendo is the lowest of the three among queer gamers. Seems like every gay gamer on the internet loves Nintendo lol.
 
OP
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Hours Left

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JaredG said:
Feels weird that Nintendo is the lowest of the three among queer gamers. Seems like every gay gamer on the internet loves Nintendo lol.
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It is weird, but I read that part as they exclusively prefer/play Nintendo, considering the three percentages don't add up to 100%. I think most people who play Nintendo consoles also have other consoles, while there are more people that only do PS or Xbox.
 
Hassansan

Hassansan

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Oct 27, 2017
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Now imagine if we had close to 10% lgbt+ characters in gaming, it's nowhere near that sadly.
 
Steak

Steak

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Oct 27, 2017
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Kinda shitty of the survey to position straight as the opposite of LGBTQ+ when (for example) straight trans people exist.
 
Wowfunhappy

Wowfunhappy

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Oct 27, 2017
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I was under the impression ~10% of the population was LGBT? Are they just saying the percentage of lgbt gamers match the population?
 
That1GoodHunter

That1GoodHunter

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Oct 17, 2019
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Aight, Naughty Dog took the dive for first lesbian protagonist on a big AAA game

Which devs will be the first mad lads to give us our first AAA gay guy protagonist?

(Watch it be Naughty Dog as well)
 

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ScoobsJoestar said:
Huh, interesting? Wonder why we spend more money on games.
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Housamo.

I'm only being partially serious.

Real talk, the fact LGBTQ+ gamers are more likely to spend money than Straight Gamers is really interesting to me. It also makes the further discussion how we "shouldn't" have reputation in games because we're a "minority" that much more hilarious (and infuriating) to me.
 
OP
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Justumhm said:
I think this speculation from the article might be into something
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I actually disagree with that part of the article, which is just the author positing. I don't think queer gamers like simulation games because we want to be someone else, I think it's because they give us the opportunity to explore more true sides ourselves without fear of repercussions.
 
Island

Island

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Oct 25, 2017
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Um maybe I am reading this study wrong?



EDIT: I was obviously reading the report wrong! My bad!
 
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Lari

Lari

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Oct 25, 2017
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Brazil
"LGBT gamers, according to the survey, also gravitate towards fighting, horror, RPGs, and simulation games."

My first game was mortal kombat, I love all things horror, love rpgs (just this year I played through all the main final fantasy games) and lost more hours than i'm willing to admit to the sims.

I'm a stereotype.
 
OP
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Island said:
Um maybe I am reading this study wrong?



This reads as 10% of LGBTQ+ gamers identify as Trans. The Title and OP make it sound as if 10% of all gamers are LGBT. There is a distinction there.

Probably just some bad wording/schemantics, but it is good to be accurate.
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The article says 10% "Of the 2,000 LGBTQ+ people over the age of 13" identify as trans, not 10% of gamers as a whole.
 
Izzard

Izzard

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Sep 21, 2018
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I turned 50 last month. Wonder how old I'll be when i get to play a AAA game with a gay male protaganist.
 
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Island said:
Your title says 10% of gamers are LGBT. Those are two different numbers.
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That's what the study found.

The 10% trans gamers are within the 10% of gamers than identify as LGBT.

So gamers = 90% straight/10% LGBT

Take that 10%, within that group, 10% identify as trans.

(Though I'm not sure why they say over 13 in one instance, and over 18 in another. Possibly a typo.)
 
kirbyfan407

kirbyfan407

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Oct 25, 2017
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Island said:
Um maybe I am reading this study wrong?



This reads as 10% of LGBTQ+ gamers identify as Trans. The Title and OP make it sound as if 10% of all gamers are LGBT. There is a distinction there.

Probably just some bad wording/schemantics, but it is good to be accurate.
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The sentence before that one is what says 10% of surveyed gamers identified as LGBTQ+.

This year's Nielsen Games 360 Survey shows that 10% of all gamers over the age of 18 identify as LGBTQ+. Of the 2,000 LGBTQ+ people over the age of 13 surveyed, 40% identify as gay or lesbian, 50% identify as bisexual, and 10% identify as transgender or non-binary.
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Since there's a statistic for gamers over the age of 18 and another for LGBTQ+ gamers over the age of 13, it's not clear to me how the study ended up with two different age demographics for its results. My guess, besides an age typo (or perhaps not a typo, since 18+ can be the same as 13+ if no one is ages 13-17) is that it wasn't just one survey group and that the LGBTQ+ gamers surveyed perhaps weren't the same ones as those who made up the 10% of all gamers.
 
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Zelda

Zelda

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Oct 25, 2017
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Island said:
Um maybe I am reading this study wrong?



This reads as 10% of LGBTQ+ gamers identify as Trans. The Title and OP make it sound as if 10% of all gamers are LGBT. There is a distinction there.

Probably just some bad wording/schemantics, but it is good to be accurate.
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Pretty much first sentence of the article says "This year's Nielsen Games 360 Survey shows that 10% of all gamers over the age of 18 identify as LGBTQ+." So yeah 10% of all gamers are LGBTQ+.
 

HockeyBird

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Oct 27, 2017
12,602
Island said:
Um maybe I am reading this study wrong?



This reads as 10% of LGBTQ+ gamers identify as Trans. The Title and OP make it sound as if 10% of all gamers are LGBT. There is a distinction there.

Probably just some bad wording/schemantics, but it is good to be accurate.
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The sentence before that says 10% of ALL gamers identify as LGBTQ.
 
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