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May 4, 2005
The Evolution of Gaming
Video and online games are not necessarily just for children anymore, according to a recent AOL poll. Almost two-in-five (39%) adults, age 18-55, play games either on their computer, video console or cell phone.
One reason for this may have to do with the fact that online and video games are becoming a family affair. Four-in-five (80%) and more than two-in-five (44%) adults, age 18-55, say they have played video and online games respectively, with their families.
A little more than a quarter of Americans, age 12-55, report playing online (27%), and video (27%), games.
(Base: Total Online/Video Game Players 12-55 Years of Age) |
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| By Yourself | ||
| With Friends | ||
| With Strangers | ||
| With Family | ||
Online Game Playing
Why is online game playing increasing in popularity? Some mainly play because it helps to pass the time (39%), while others play simply because it is fun (32%). Still others would say they play online games because it is competitive (22%) in nature. Gender seems to play a role in motivation for playing online:
- Males (age 12-55) are more likely than females (age 12-55) to play online games for the competition (32%-13%).
- Females, on the other hand, are more likely to play to pass the time (47%-31%).
The profile of a typical online game player is younger (60% age 12-17 compared to 21%, 18-55) and gender neutral. Equal amounts of males and females (age 12-55) play online games (27% male-27% female).
Card or Crossword Puzzles?
Online card games (66%) are by far the most popular internet games followed by online board games (34%) and online word games (33%).
| Card Games | |||||
| Board Games | |||||
| Word Games | |||||
| Puzzles | |||||
| Arcade Games | |||||
| Trivia | |||||
| Sports Games | |||||
Among those who play online (age 12-55), there is some growing interest beyond casual gaming:
- About one-in-seven (14%) of online game players have competed in an online tournament. Only a small number, (4% of online players) have played for prizes. A little more than one-in-five (22%) who have not competed in online tournaments express interest.
- A small portion (6%) of online game players, have "paid to play" online games.
- More though, about one-third (34%) have purchased a computer game in the last six months.
- About one-third (31%) have heard of MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role playing games). Almost one-in-five (18%) of online gamers have played an MMORPG such as The Matrix Online or Everquest.
- Male online gamers (age 12-55) are more likely than females to play MMORPGs (31% male-6% female).
Video vs. Online Games
While online players are split in their motivation to play, video gamers, mainly play because it is fun (42%) as opposed to competitive (29%) and to pass the time (24%). Males (age 12-55) are much more likely to play video games than females (41% male - 13% female) as are young people (58% teen - 22% adult).
Although similar numbers of people play online and video games, video games are still preferred. Teenagers and adults prefer to play video games (77% teenagers, 63% adults) over casual internet games (10% teens, 17% adults) and more intense internet gaming such as MMORPG (13% teens, 15% adults).
Gaming on a Cell or PDA
Gaming on cell phones and PDAs has not reached the same level of usage as video and online games. About one-in-eight age 12-55 (13%) play games on their cell phone or PDA. The incidence is higher among teenagers than adults 18-55 (30% teen - 10% adult). Cell phone gaming is almost exclusively seen as a way to pass the time (82%).
Among cell or PDA game players age 12-55:
- About one-third (33%), have purchased a game for their cell phone or PDA
- A little less than one-in-five (18%) have played a multi-player game on their mobile phone or PDA.
Where and When Do You Play?
The kinds of games played dictate where and when most play:
- Online gamers (12-55) play mostly at home (87%) although about one-in-four (24%) teenagers report playing internet games at school.
- Not surprisingly, video games are almost exclusively played at home (96%).
- Although most (12-55) say cell/PDA games are played at home (76%), about one-third (32%) of teenagers report also playing them at school. About one-in-five adults (20%) play games on their cell phone or PDA at work.
Since most online/video games are played at home, it's not surprising that about two-thirds (66% online, 63% video), play mostly in the evening. Those who play games on their cell phone or PDA tend to play during the day either in the morning (21%) or during the afternoon (40%).
Are Online and Video Games Addictive?
Although most (age 12-55) consider their gaming "casual recreation" (83%), about one-in-ten (10%) of those who play games on their computer, console or cell phone, say they have become addicted. About one-in-twenty (4%) of online and video game players even find themselves hiding their game use from family and colleagues.
Although many don't consider themselves addicts, some people who have played any online, video and cellular games (age 12-55):
- Admit to having missed a favorite TV show (33%), skipping a meal (19%) and even playing games all night until the sun came up (25%).
- A little less than one-in-five (17% online, 16% video game) players, say they play "more" than the average person their age.
Therefore, would most online and video game players consider their games their most prized possession? If stuck on a desert island for a week about one-quarter of teens would want to have their iPod (26%). However, about one- third combined would prefer either their internet (17%) or video (17%) games. Interestingly, those 45-55 years of age say they would most prefer online games (30%) if stuck on a desert island.
Benefit to Online Gaming
Although a leisure activity, online gaming may have some lesser-known benefits. According to internet game players (12-55), online games have contributed to creating a new hobby to pass the time (77%), sharpening mental skills (65%), becoming a better card player (36%) and even making new friends (29%).
Violence and Virtual Gaming
About half (47%) of Americans (age 12-55) say there is too much violence in online gaming; slightly less (40%) say there is too much sexual content. Although about half (47%) think there is a similar amount of violent content in video games as broadcast TV about a third (36%), think there is more.
Two-in-five (40%), have avoided buying specific video games due to indecent content. More than half (57%), think that violence in video games contributes to an increased amount of violence in our country. About two-thirds (66%) would go as far as saying that the government should ban the selling of violent or sexually explicit video games to those under the age of 18.
Age and gender play a role in tolerance for explicit content in online and video games:
- Females (12-55) are much more likely than males to think there is too much violence (56% - 37%) and sexual content (49% - 30%) in online games. Females are also more likely than males (74%-57%) to think the government should ban the selling of explicit video games to minors.
- Similarly, adults 18 and older are more likely than teenagers to think there is too much violence (49%-28%) and sexual content (41%-29%) in online games.
Poker
Turning to "offline" games, poker has increased in popularity in the last year. Almost half (47%) of Americans, age 12-55, play poker in some form. Among poker players almost one-in-five (17%) say they have played poker "more than ever before," and about a quarter (26%), have taken up the game just in the past year.
Who Plays Poker and Where?
- Teenagers are slightly more likely than adults (50%-46%) to have played poker in some form.
- Males (age 12-55) are more likely than females (56%-37%) to have played poker in some form.
- About two-in-five, age 12-55 (42%) have played poker in-person and not at a casino.
- About one-in-ten, age 12-55 (11%) have played poker online.
- About one-third, age 12-55 (37%) watch poker on television.
Among those who play poker both online (on a computer) and offline (with friends or at a casino), about two-thirds (65%) prefer to play poker offline than on the internet. In fact most online poker players mainly play online to learn (25%) or to practice before playing offline (22%).
(Base: Play Poker Online) |
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| By Yourself | |||
| With Friends | |||
| With Strangers | |||
Leisure Time
In a week, teens spend an average of 3 hours playing online games and 4 hours playing video games. Although, they spend more hours watching TV (10 hours a week) and exercising/playing sports (8 hours), they spend the same amount of time playing online/video games (7 hours) as studying (7 hours). Exercise and playing sports rank first as their favorite leisure activity.
Adults report spending most of their leisure time watching TV (13 hours a week); reading (6 hours a week) and exercising (5 hours a week). Online game and video game playing combined makes up about three hours a week on average although this increases to 5 hours among younger adults age 18-34.
| Exercise or play sports | |||||
| Read a book/magazine | |||||
| Watching TV | |||||
| Shopping | |||||
| Rent/go to movies | |||||
| Playing video games | |||||
| Playing online games | |||||
| Playing table games | |||||
| Playing games on cell/PDA | |||||
| Doing school work | |||||
Methodology
This AOL Poll was conducted by telephone April 21-May1, 2005 among a random sample of 1,005 (801 adults age 18-55 and 204 teenagers age 12-17) throughout America.
The margin of error for the entire sample is approximately +/-3 percentage points. The margin of error is higher for subgroups. Surveys are subject to other error sources as well, including sampling coverage error, recording error, and respondent error.
Schulman, Ronca, & Bucuvalas (SRBI) Public Affairs designed the survey and conducted all interviewing. The full questionnaire and trend data may be found in the related links below.
Related Links
