Video Games - No Longer Just a Kid's Toy

By Lunarbunny December 8, 2008 6 Comments

Now what I'm about to say is probably obvious to those of you who frequent these boards. But there are still old fossils in government who believe that games are children's toys and that any violent games are created either for the express purpose of corrupting our youth, or have the "careless side effect" of doing so.

According to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, fully 53% of all adults play video games. Even considering that a large number of these people likely only play casual games, a good number of subjects of the survey likely play what are considered violent or morally questionable games

For example, at an estimated 6.2 million copies sold worldwide of Grand Theft Auto IV between its April release for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and July, and a total of approximately 34 million consoles, 18% of console gamers, or more than 2% of American adults, likely purchased GTA IV.

This does not account for games purchased for play by multiple people, nor does it account for used game sales. Even considering the number of these sold to or for use by children, this percentage is probably largely self-correcting for this oversight due to correlation between game and console sales for children or adults.

Do we have 6 million cop killers on the loose? It sounds ridiculous when it's put into context, but some people would like you to believe it.


Pew Research Center - Adults Are Players Too
NPD Group - Leading Market Research Firms Join Forces...
NexGenWars.com

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