Americans spent a record $36 billion on video games last year, and demographics show that number is expected to go up in 2018

This week, the video game industry shows off its massive presence at the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).

E3 is the world's largest computer and video game event hosted by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) in Los Angeles. It's where professionals, insiders, and enthusiasts go to see what's new in the world of gaming - an industry that supports 200,000 jobs according to the ESA, and has grown significantly in the last five years, as shown by this chart from Statista.

Consumers spent at least $10 billion more on content in 2017 than they did in 2012 (a 54% increase) and spent $7 billion on hardware and accessories in 2017 alone. Those consumers aren't just kids reliant on their parents, either: The average male gamer in the US is 32 years old, the average female gamer is 36, and more than half of the parents in the US "say they enjoy playing video games as much as their children."

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Get ready for the industry to get even bigger in 2018 and beyond.

Shayanne Gal/Business Insider