Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
Beyond the Console: The rise of the Gamer Experience and how gaming will impact UX Research across industries
Summary
In just fifty years, video gaming has transformed from a childhood hobby into a global $200 billion industry that is set to eclipse film and TV in both revenue and cultural impact. This meteoric rise has led The Economist to predict that “[w]hoever dominates gaming is going to wield clout in every form of communication.” Gaming franchises have expanded beyond just being popular products to become influential media brands that have cultural impact beyond the console. Legacy media firms and tech companies are responding by building gaming divisions or acquiring independent gaming studios in order to capture a piece of this new attention economy. With gaming set to change how people consume media and engage with products and brands, what will this mean for the broader business landscape—and for UX researchers in particular? How should we think about understanding game players, their preferences, and habits? Join Dane DeSutter and experts from leading gaming companies for an interactive discussion on how mixed-methods research and big data are shaping popular gaming products and company strategies and how we all might start to think about the gamer experience in our own industries. Panelists: Natalie Gedeon, Deborah Hendersen, Cheryl Platz; Moderated by: Dane DeSutter
Key Insights
-
•
Gaming UX research uniquely requires balancing desirable challenge with usability, unlike traditional software.
-
•
Mixed methods research—telemetry data combined with qualitative insights—is essential for understanding player experience.
-
•
Emotional impact measurement is fundamental in gaming UX and differs from standard software metrics.
-
•
Gaming’s player base now exceeds 3.2 billion globally, spanning all ages, genders, and cultures.
-
•
Representation and localization, such as regional character design and Arabic language support, drive higher player engagement.
-
•
Gaming has transitioned from a niche pastime to a dominant media powerhouse, predicted to eclipse paid TV spending by 2026.
-
•
Playtesting is integral and universally valued by game developers, but large-scale research infrastructure is often a luxury.
-
•
Accessibility efforts have made many games fully playable by blind and deaf players, incorporating auditory and control remapping innovations.
-
•
Transmedia adaptations like Arcane and Pokémon help legitimize gaming culture and expand audiences beyond traditional gamers.
-
•
The distinction between game design and UX design centers on optimizing good friction vs. minimizing bad friction.
Notable Quotes
"Games have really grown up from this childhood pastime into a media powerhouse set to dominate every aspect of media."
"Gaming UX is not just about polished UI; introduction of the right kind of frustration and challenge is part of the experience."
"Feelings are emergence; you need to measure emotion at scale, not just one-on-one usability."
"Good friction is what makes a game engaging; removing all friction means it’s no longer a game."
"The framework we tend to use is just, do you play games? Cool, you’re in—stop asking questions."
"Many games are fully playable by the blind, despite being highly visual, through clever auditory cues and remapped controls."
"The rise of Arcane legitimized something very important to players, showing how storytelling impacts emotional connection."
"At Riot, a whole discipline called player dynamics studies how groups of players behave unpredictably in shared spaces."
"Gaming’s emotional impact and cognitive shaping differentiate quality experiences beyond simple accessibility or success metrics."
"People who were gamers growing up are now the ones making the IP adaptations, ensuring authenticity."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Take your cross-functional partners out to lunch. Build relationships because people don’t resist change; they resist what they don’t know."
Greg PetroffSoftware as Material—A Redux
June 6, 2023
"We don’t have to restrict ourselves to playing the canary in the coal mine. We can design the harm out of our products before they’ve even taken flight."
Brendan JarvisFraming Tomorrow by Questioning Today
June 8, 2022
"Instead of aiming for 80% consistency, I believe 30-40% consistency with 60-70% freedom works better."
Prerna MakanawalaAchieving Balanced Design Consistency
June 9, 2021
"The user identity is a digital construct that commodifies humans for their data."
Tricia WangFrom Users to Shapers of AI: The Future of Research
March 25, 2024
"Mastery is a core human motivator; people want to understand and feel competent in what they do."
Cheryl PlatzEmbrace Your Fun Factor: Game Development Best Practices for Product Design
January 9, 2026
"I’m regularly pleasantly surprised by not having to explain a lot of the foundational concepts of design when working with others inside government."
Ariel KennanTheme Two Intro
November 17, 2022
"Values conversation is less threatening when framed as wanting to understand why we're doing this project or why we're here."
Tricia WangThe most popular design thinking strategy is BS
January 27, 2022
"Before, we never really looked holistically at decades of UX data—now we use it to be proactive and avoid duplicative studies."
Kristin WisnewskiMeasuring What Matters
October 23, 2019
"It’s not move fast and break things; it’s slow and steady."
Scott Jensen Sarah Delaney Carmen LiuShort Take #2: UX/Product Lessons from Your Industry Peers
December 6, 2022
