Study shows Half of Americans play Video Games

Study shows Half of Americans play Video Games

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The popularity of online social games may be slowing, but overall interest in video games is on the rise.

A majority (54%) of Americans play video games each week, up from 50% last year, according to new research from the Magid Media Futures 2012 study posted by USA Today. Nearly six out of 10 (58%) men, aged 8-64, play weekly, up from 53% last year. Among women, weekly gamers rose to 51% from 48% last year.

"Gaming behaviors continue an upward trend with engagement levels up year-to-year," says Andrew Hare, senior analyst, research and strategy for Frank N. Magid Associates. "This is a testament to the profound way the industry has evolved. We are seeing more consumers play on mobile, tablet and social platforms, while gamers with Internet connected consoles now have more options for entertainment at their fingertips in addition to strong triple A titles."

Here's some other fun facts from the 2,500 people surveyed;

One-third of console gamers bought downloadable content in the past year, spending about $50. That is expected to grow in the coming year to about 45% of gamers buying DLC.
More than two-thirds of Xbox and PlayStation gamers in the U.S. go online multiple times a week using their console.
Non-gaming activities now account for about a third of all time spent online on a connected console among those gamers.
Online console player penetration is likely to grow by 10% or more next year as more console players are connecting for the first time.
More than half of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 owners want access to their game networks via their mobile phones.

These stats obviously show a growing trend in the direction of mobile gaming which means our precious lan parties will gradually fade into the night... Or will they?