Video Games Go Mainstream

LOS ANGELES--Video games will be the dominant form of personal entertainment in the 21st century, say the folks who sell them.

Still, an industry that hits $6.35 billion annually must be drawing some customers who aren't geeky teenage boys. In fact, people of both genders and all ages are moving "beyond passive entertainment" such as television, music, and movies, says Doug Lowenstein, president of the Interactive Digital Software Association. He spoke here Wednesday at a preliminary session of the Electronic Entertainment Expo.

"Video games have become a leading form of mass market entertainment as the core user has aged from the teens into adulthood and [as] millions more casual gamers join hardcore gamers to drive market growth and expansion," Lowenstein said.

Grown-Up Gamers

According to a study commissioned by the IDSA, 56 percent of today's video game console and computer game players have been at it for more than six years. And six out of ten of today's players say they expect still to be playing games in ten years, regardless of their age, he said.

"It's clear that the industry's surging growth is no passing fancy," Lowenstein said. People aged 6 to 36 have grown up playing games, and as they age they see no reason to stop. Interactive entertainment is "as natural and basic as watching TV or listening to the radio was for previous generations," he said.

The study also shows that 96 percent of PC game buyers are 18 years or older. More than 86 percent of console video game buyers are 18 or older.

The IDSA study, released Wednesday, gathered data from more than 1500 households in the United States that own a video game console or a PC used to run entertainment software.

Women Join the Fun

Though males continue to play video games in the largest numbers, females account for most of the newcomers to digital entertainment, according to the study. Males make up 62 percent of computer game players, but more than 62 percent of the people who have been playing computer and video games for less than a year are women. Also, more than 46 percent of console buyers and 55 percent of computer game buyers are women.

Game consoles are more often used by younger players, though PC game players are aging, the study confirms. Of PC game-playing males, it finds, 40 percent are older than 36, 26 percent are 18 to 35 years old, and 34 percent are under 18 years old. More than 72 percent of console players are male. Of them, 45 percent are under 18, 36 percent are 18 to 35, and 19 percent are over 36 years old.

Contrary to charges that youngsters in malls are buying video games intended for mature audiences that they're not supposed to have access to, Lowenstein said the study also shows that 86 percent of people under the age of 18 said they get a parent's permission before buying a game. About 91 percent of those young people said their parents were present when they bought games.