Playing video games socially is something that we’re all more than likely familiar with: invite friends over, have a few beers, play some Rock Band. Many of us might also grab a drink when playing Madden or when grinding in Dragon Age. What may not be known, though, is if alcohol consumption really is as common an occurrence among gaming sessions as we’d like to think it is.
About a month ago, we asked our friends and readers about their opinions on drinking and gaming. Do we gamers often consume alcohol when playing? What do we drink, and is there a specific drink per game type? The results were not all that surprising.
I need to preface this article by saying that this was administered purely for entertainment purposes. No, it’s not a completely representative survey of gamers, but it does cut a nice cross-section, at least of our readers and friends. While this won’t be published in the NYT it can, at least, let me choose what beverage to bring to the next SideQuest meet-up.
First, the hard numbers that set up the survey:
Demographic Information
Of those surveyed, over 78% were from the US and 92% were male. Only 8% of those polled were under 18. While 21 is the legal drinking age in the US, we know that people of all ages consume alcoholic beverages and so we didn’t place a 21 and up cut-off range. This is a poll, and so it does not need an age-gate for entry.
Gaming Habits
The majority of the gamers (68.6%) owned an XBox 360 and played it frequently, with the PS3 garnering 51% and the PC 45.1%. Also owned and played frequently were the DS/DSi series (43.1%), with the Wii and mobile platforms (Android, iPhone, etc) at 39.2% each. The PS2, PSP, Linux, Mac, and Game Boy Advance were also all mentioned, but all were below 20%.
The typical amount of game play time maxed out at 39.2% for 7-10 hours per week. Over a quarter of those polled (27.5%) play more than 11 hours weekly. The most frequently-played genres were FPS (82.4%), RPG and Action/Adventure (64.7% each).
So to summarize the demographics, the majority of those polled were males who played core games for a little over an hour per day. Not all that surprising.
Alcoholic Consumption
When it came to asking about alcohol, I was surprised by just how many people consume it when gaming. The number, 65.3%, indicates that drinking a cold one while gaming isn’t an uncommon experience, although it definitely isn’t regular.
We then asked what kind of gaming was taking place, solo or multiplayer, when the beverages were consumed. The replies were right on track with what you’d expect: solo games had less drinking, while group outings had more.
“Beer more often with multiplayer games (whether local or global).”
“Usually alcoholic beverages when playing music games with friends”
“I’m more likely to drink in general or have a fancier, mixed drink when playing local multiplayer with friends. Otherwise, something simple and bottled is more likely when playing online or by myself. I’m more likely to drink alcohol when playing any multiplayer compared to single player.”
Many have even increased their alcohol consumption due to gaming. A survey done to members of an alcohol treatment at Abbeycare showed how some mulitplayer games are preferred by those struggling with alcoholism. The comments that mentioned social drinking far outnumbered the solo players. When asked if they drink more when playing socially or solo, 75% did so within a social situation. The common answer revolved around music or party games at get-togethers, with very few mentioning core games/co-op. Of the remaining drinkers, 15% did so during solo core gaming, with about 10% drinking and playing over online or LAN.
Who Drinks What?
The most popular beverage? Beer.
“Rockband – Beer”
“I drink beer when I play with friends: Either WoW or TF2″
“Beer goes well with online multiplayer games, while I prefer hard liquor for single player experiences. Rhythm and music games also become more enjoyable with beer or hard liquor.”
There was something interesting to note about what kinds of drinks went with specific games. When playing music rhythm games, such as Rock Band or Guitar Hero, beer was overwhelmingly the drink of choice. For Wii party and sports games, wine was usually mentioned. Mixed drinks/hard liquor and gaming didn’t really make an appearance in the survey, save for a few mentions when playing music rhythm games locally.
Of the percentage who did not drink alcohol while gaming, the drink choices were far more surprising. When playing FPS games, several surveyors mentioned cola drinks such as Pepsi Raw or Coke. Cola drinks, which tend to have a slight amount of caffeine, are easy/quick to consume without much thought. Perhaps the association is well-placed; FPS gaming tends to be the most focused core gaming experience, so any distractions or slight inebriation greatly affects the clan-centric matches. It can be difficult to place a much-needed headshot if we’re seeing double.
“Left 4 Dead or any system link FPS = Pepsi RAW”
“I tend to avoid booze when playing shooters or music games online.”
Online gaming in MMOs, where long stints of play time are commonplace, trended towards high-caffeine sodas. Mountain Dew and Red Bull were practically interchangeable when World of Warcraft‘s name came up.
Finally, the data suggested that gamers don’t drink alcohol all the time when playing. The percentage that selected “Sometimes” when asked about how often alcohol was consumed was 44.9%, with 30.6% selecting “Often” and 16.3% drinking “Every time” they played. This implies that 46.9% will drink when a controller is picked up, and 44.9% drink under the right conditions.
In Conclusion
While these aren’t hard statistics with actual numbers, they do confirm the generally-accepted idea that social gaming tends to include more drinking than solo gaming does. The results seem to mirror how we watch movies at home, where social gatherings around home media events tend to include more people, which in turn includes more acceptance of alcohol consumption.
5 Comments