Electronic Games, Rates of Use of

The Production and Reception of Electronic Games

The wide proliferation of electronic games is underlined by figures from the industry. In the United States, game producers reported a steady increase in sales during recent years, from $5.5 billion in 1998 to $7.3 billion in 2004. The picture in the United Kingdom is similar; sales of entertainment software increased from £85 billion in 2000 to £1.34 billion in 2004. The game industry is growing faster than the movie industry and thus has become a serious competitor. The gross market of electronic games grosses more than cinema box office receipts. The movie industry as a total still outperforms gaming, mainly as a result of ancillary revenues such as those from DVDs and sales to TV networks and cable companies.

The audience for electronic games has grown to a massive size since the early 1980s. Many early adopters have continued gaming to the present day. In the meantime, the game market diversified with an increasing number of titles for mature audiences. As a result, the mean age of gamers now approaches 30, a fact emphasized by the industry to underline the wide demographic of gamers and to contradict the common notion that games are designed for children. However, academic research shows that children and (young) adolescents between 8 and 18 years still are the largest audience. Gaming is an attractive pastime for them because it satisfies a variety of needs. The tasks at hand offer challenges at the appropriate level, often in a competitive context. The necessary efforts result in feelings of arousal, both when gamers succeed and when they are frustrated. When the task is completed or the battle is won, the gamer is rewarded [Page 281]by a satisfying sense of control. In addition, electronic games offer ample opportunities to escape from ordinarily life by fantasizing about one's role in the virtual world. Finally, social needs are satisfied by playing together in real life or on the Internet.

Children and adolescents are genuine multitaskers who often combine games with online chatting and listening to music. It is therefore increasingly difficult to give exact figures about the time they devote to playing electronic games. A combination of industry statistics with data from academic research results in an average of 11 hours per week (about 1.5 per day). Boys are overrepresented among the gamers, and they generally spend far more time on their hobby than girls do.

Recent research reveals that game use is often genre specific. Mark Griffiths and his team found that players of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) are well into their twenties. Other researchers found that first-person shooters (Doom), beat 'em ups (Mortal Kombat), and racing games (Need for Speed) are particularly preferred by young male adolescents. The Sims attained its status as the best-selling game ever because of its appeal to both genders and across a range of age groups.

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