The average age of digital game players was estimated at 16 years in 2013, but the latest survey conducted in the previous year that ended in March, by the Research Department of Iran Computer and Video Games Foundation, shows the figure to be 21 years.
In general, some 30% of Iranian people play digital games, Seyyed Mohammadali Seyyed Husseini, director of the department, told ISNA.
The results are based on the survey of over 15,000 people in large and small cities, and villages. In the previous survey around 4,500 people were covered.
The latest survey which was three times bigger also indicated that the number of players of digital games had increased to 23 million, about 5 million more than in 2013.
Of the 23 million gamers, nearly 8.5 million are female. It also turns out that, unlike the general presumption, children are not the largest population of digital gamers; but rather the youth and young adults comprise the bigger portion of the gamers.
"We can no longer consider digital games as dominated by only children," Seyyed Husseini said.
The foray of digital games into the daily lives of Iranians started about six years ago as the new generations of gamers got access to tablets and smart phones for entertainment. The gamers are not confined anymore to their seats behind desktop computers.
Earlier, online forums in coffee houses were the chat rooms for discussions about digital games. "Smartphones and tablets have integrated digital games with personal and family lives."
Digital games are the third entertainment priority of Iranians after TV and music.
Iran is the world’s 41st and the Middle East’s third largest video game market and earned $124 million in 2014. It also has one of the largest Internet-active populations in the Middle East, endowing the industry with healthy growth prospects.
The government has supported the video game industry since 2007, when it approved the establishment of the Iran Computer and Video Games Foundation, an independent society of game developers that provides intellectual and financial support.
