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Breaking the Myth of the Anti-Social Gamer

Ipsos released research findings from a study examining the growing diversity, consumption patterns and social activity of videogamers. The results of this study -- which included a quantitative overview as well as focus groups and in-home interviews -- were released in New York at an event for IGN advertising clients.

This study was conducted in two phases, a quantitative overview of gaming households among the U.S. online population, and a follow-up assessment among the key segments in the gaming market. The qualitative portion of the research included focus groups and in-home interviews.

While videogaming has in the past been stereotyped as a solitary activity, statistics from the research study point to the fact that videogamers are now more likely than non-gamers to play sports, or attend a concert.

In addition, the study's results point to videogame players evolving into a surprisingly diverse crowd, with the average age of gamers now topping 30 and more than half of gamers married with kids.

The study also identifies new segments of gamers -- highlighting groups such as Social Troopers, Family 3.0, Weekend Warriors and Traditional Core -- in order to more specifically define usage habits, purchasing patterns and other aspects of the lives of videogamer segments.

The gamer segmentation also delves into media consumption, identify decision makers within households and generally break down the lifestyle interests of each group in order to more accurately define their value as consumers.

Fifty-five percent of gamers polled were married, 48 percent have kids, and new gamers -- those who have started playing videogames in the past two years -- are 32 years old on average.

According to the research, more than 75 percent of videogamers play games with other people either online or in person. In addition, that data is reflected by attitudes about playing with both friends and family, with more than 47 percent of people living in gaming households saying that videogames were "a fun way to interact with other family members."

The study also indicates that gamers are actually more social and more active than non-gamers. According to the data, gamers were twice as likely to go out on dates as non-gamers in a given month.

In addition, gamers were 13 percent more likely to go out to a movie, 11 percent more likely to play sports and 9 percent more likely to go out with friends than non-gamers.

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