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Guess what?  Kids like playing video games…what a shock.  A new poll shows that 97 per cent of teenagers pass their free time playing on video games.  For me that makes me wonder what the other 3 per cent are doing.  They probably won’t be re-sitting any exams.  The poll even tells us that 81 per cent of American’s aged between 18 and 29 enjoy playing on video games when they get a chance.  Again, not much of a shock.  Video games, whether on the DS, Wii, Playstation 3, or whatever console, are great fun, but for those of us under the 30 years mark…right?  Wrong…

The report shows that loads of people between the ages of 30 and 49 are quite happy to sit around playing the latest video games – in fact a substantial 60 per cent of ‘grown-ups’ are playing video games in their spare time.  Now that news is slightly unexpected.  You expect most people between 30 and 49 to be reading, drinking wine and watching Brideshead Revisited, but no…they’re defying the stereotype and getting the fun where they can.  Good on them!  Why shouldn’t they play video games?

The report said that, “Independent of all other factors, younger adults are considerably more likely than older adults to play games, and the likelihood that an adult is a video gamer decreases significantly with age,”

Do you think that news is just a little unexpected?  Get a load of this…the Pew Internet & American Life Project says, “among older adults 65+ who play video games, nearly a third play games everyday, a significantly larger percentage than all younger players, of whom about 20% play everyday.”

Does your granddad have a Nintendo DS?  Does he play it everyday?  Well don’t think anything of it anymore and let him enjoy his entertainment in peace because he is one of a third of all 65 and over’s that do enjoy the handheld sport everyday and to be honest, it’s better than sitting there watching the television or listening to the radio.  A bit of Brain Training doesn’t go amiss in any situation apparently.

And just when you were so eagerly focused on the Wii, 360, Playstation3 debate, look again.  The report indicates that the most played upon console is not any of these.  The good old PC is heading the list in this case, as, “Out of all the gaming devices, computers are the most popular among the total adult gaming population, with 73% of adult gamers using computers to play games, compared with 53% console users, 35% who using cell phones, and 25% using portable gaming devices.”

Let’s be honest…the games we’re playing now on our consoles are great.  But imagine how good they will be when we’re over 65.  I know I’ll quite happily be picking up the Nintendo DS 7, or whatever it’s called in the future, and I will sit in a comfy chair, with a cup of tea, slap on some Prodigy on the stereo and crack open Tomb Raider 23.  Something to look forward to…

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 9th, 2008 at 11:54 am and is filed under Industry News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.