D&D General Some Interesting Stats About D&D Players!

The full cover spread for Phandelver and Below, by Antonio José Manzanedo​

GeekWire has reported on the recent D&D press event (which I've covered elsewhere). Along with all the upcoming product information we've all been devouring over the last day or two, there were some interesting tidbits regarding D&D player demographics.

• 60% of D&D players are male, 39% are female, and 1% identify otherwise
• 60% are “hybrid” players, who switch between playing the game physically or online
• 58% play D&D on a weekly basis
• 48% identify as millennials, 19% from Generation X and 33% from Generation Z
• The majority of current D&D players started with 5th Edition

 

[Oofta]

Why? Figures below 1% probably just aren't worth breaking down for a quick conversation with a reporter. A broad overview is fine; that level of detail simply wasn't needed for the situation.

I was just noting that in the past they've lumped everyone 40+ as a single group. I get that I don't matter from a marketing perspective I just suspect that they're lumping everyone over a certain age together.

Not an issue when you just break it down by age range, just seemed odd because they're breaking it down by generation.

 

[Parmandur]

That adds to 100%. My father does not even count being a Boomer at age 75. I know that Wizards are not looking at him for their product stream, move to online play, or cultural sensitivity. Likely not even looking at us Gen-x people anymore.

Probably read "Gen X as "Gen X or older."

They also are not counting Gen Alpha players, like my kids.

 

[MGibster]

I feel ya. As a Gen-Xer who has one Boomer in his gaming group, I feel barely relevant. But I guess one of the nice thing about getting older is that I don't really care about that stuff much anymore. If I can sit down with friends, tell a good story, roll some dice, and have some laughs then it's a good day.

As I've grown older, I've become more and more accustomed to marketers not really caring about me and it doesn't really bother me much. I've said it in other threads and I'll say it here again, I don't mind that WotC is more interested in what younger people want out of D&D than they are in what I want. I'm not their future, and despite thinking 5th is the best edition fo the game, I don't really buy a lot of their products, and I almost certainly won't be going down the digital rabbit hole. If WotC wants D&D to remain relevant then they need to make sure it appeals to a generation that grew up with things I didn't have like World of Warcraft & Harry Potter, take advantage of technological changes, and of course account for cultural shifts in attitudes.

 

[Parmandur]

Sudden statistical insignificance is a noteworthy thing though -

Looking back, all the prior surveys had a 40+ category, which would be both Gen X and Boomers. I wonder if someone's misreporting the survey.

40 years old in 2019 is Gen X, and a younger Gen X at that, not a Boomer. Boomers were already off the scale 4 years ago.

 

[payn]

As I've grown older, I've become more and more accustomed to marketers not really caring about me and it doesn't really bother me much. I've said it in other threads and I'll say it here again, I don't mind that WotC is more interested in what younger people want out of D&D than they are in what I want. I'm not their future, and despite thinking 5th is the best edition fo the game, I don't really buy a lot of their products, and I almost certainly won't be going down the digital rabbit hole. If WotC wants D&D to remain relevant then they need to make sure it appeals to a generation that grew up with things I didn't have like World of Warcraft & Harry Potter, take advantage of technological changes, and of course account for cultural shifts in attitudes.

Same, mostly, for me. I have no problem about joining the digital revolution though.

 

[Umbran]

Then there should be a 1% entry.

In terms of statistical reporting, maybe not. If the fraction of folks in the category are well under the margin of error, they should not have confidence in the number, and not reporting it would be considered okay.

We are getting this second/third-hand, also, so we should not conflate what is reported here for exactly what they said. Maybe they did say something about it in the summit (perhaps in passing), but GeekWire didn't report it.

 

[EternalDungeonMaster]

Same, mostly, for me. I have no problem about joining the digital revolution though.

Totally. For example, I think D&D Beyond is an amazing way to manage a character and to manage encounters. You won't find me at a gaming table with a paper character sheet.

I'm even getting to the point where I'm wondering at my decision to purchase a physical copy and a D&D Beyond copy of D&D books. More and more, I end up never touching the physical copy. I have D&D 5e books on my shelf that are multiple years old and if you open them they have that new book crackling sound because I use my D&D Beyond copy. If I were in a situation where my discretionary gaming funds were more limited and I could only pick one, I'd probably choose D&D Beyond over physical.

 

[MGibster]

I'm pleasantly surprised by the 60/39/1 male/female/nonbinary split.

Back in the 80s and early 90s, seeing a girl or a woman at the game store was a fairly rare sight in my area. I can't remember exactly when, sometime after 2000, but girls and women became a more and more common sight. Boys and young men still out number girls and woman at my local game store, but they're a common enough sight.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Same, mostly, for me. I have no problem about joining the digital revolution though.

PDFs only though.

I'm not going to pay forever, waiting for WotC to decide to go Warner and delete all the things I thought I had paid for.

 

[payn]

PDFs only though.

I'm not going to pay forever, waiting for WotC to decide to go Warner and delete all the things I thought I had paid for.

I can definitely see the reservations there. I use stuff like Archives of Nethys and Foundry that isnt going anywhere. D&D doesnt and likely wont have anything like that. SRD about as close as you can get.