The big picture: The US video game industry brought in a record-breaking $43.4 billion in revenue in 2018 as consumers are spending more on gaming now than ever before. Content was responsible for the lion's share of revenue at $35.8 billion with hardware, accessories and VR accounting for the remainder

Roughly 65 percent of American adults - or more than 164 million people - play video games according to the latest research from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the trade association for the video game industry in the US.

In its 2019 Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry survey, the ESA found that three in four Americans have at least one gamer in their household. The most common device used for gaming, unsurprisingly, is the smartphone as 60 percent of adult gamers play on mobile devices. Nearly half of adult gamers - 52 percent - play on personal computers with dedicated consoles played by 49 percent of American adult gamers.

In terms of households, 21 percent of gamers are under the age of 18. Reassuringly, the survey revealed that 90 percent of parents pay attention to the games their child plays, 87 percent are aware of the ESRB and 77 percent regularly use ESRB ratings when buying games for their kids.

ESA acting President and CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis said we are in the midst of the golden age of video games. "They are the leading form of entertainment in American culture. They enhance our interconnected experiences and relationships with one another and redefine the intersection between humans and technology," he added.

Lead image courtesy Olena Yakobchuk via Shutterstock. Second image courtesy Ivanko80 via Shutterstock.