Over 50 Million Adults Play Family-Friendly Video Games with Their
Children, Grandchildren; 92% View The Games as Bonding Source, ALL Agree
Casual Games Offer Benefits for Kids Beyond Entertainment
SEATTLE, Aug. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- PopCap Games, the leading developer
and publisher of casual games, today unveiled the results of the largest
survey of players of "casual" computer/video games ever conducted. Among
the nearly 7,500 adult respondents who took part in the survey, nearly a
third (31%) indicated they had children or grandchildren under 18 who
played these family-friendly puzzle, word and simple action games in their
home. And of these 2,298 "family gamers," 80% said they played casual games
with their children or grandchildren. Conservative estimates peg the casual
games market as being more than 200 million people in size, meaning more
than 50 million casual game players are "family gamers" who enjoy
experiencing the games in the company of younger family members.
Leading survey firm Information Solutions Group contacted 7,487
consumers and identified 2,298 as "family gamers." Of those identified as
family gamers, 79% were female and 95% were age 30 or older, figures that
closely reflect the overall casual gamer audience. As many as 44% of survey
respondents identified themselves as mothers of children who play casual
games, and 36% indicated they were grandmothers. On the male side of the
equation, 16% and 6% of respondents identified themselves as fathers and
grandfathers, respectively.
Time Well Spent -- Bonding, Education and More: Among adult "family
gamers," 92% overall (and 95% of grandparents in particular) said that they
felt the games provided an opportunity to "bond with, or better relate to"
their children or grandchildren. And fully 70% of respondents said they see
casual games as providing valuable educational benefits. On a related note,
only 28% of adult family gamers indicated they allowed their children or
grandchildren to play "hardcore" video games -- with fathers and
grandfathers being significantly more inclined to allow the playing of such
games than mothers and grandmothers (37% vs. 25%).
"Casual games span generations and genders in ways that traditional
'hardcore' video games never have," noted Dr. Carl Arinoldo, a Stony Brook,
New York-based psychologist of 25 years, expert on parent-child
relationships and author of the new book Essentials of Smart Parenting.
"This universal appeal, and the 'G-rated' content of the games, makes them
a great activity in which the whole family can participate, with each
generation enjoying the games in different ways while also enjoying the
interaction with other family members."
The average age of the children referenced by parents or grandparents
who took the survey was 10.2 years old, with 65% being age 9 or older and
94% age 5 or older. Among the children with whom adults said they play the
games, more than half (53%) were boys -- suggesting that games with
aggressive, violent and/or explicit content are not the only ones that
appeal to young males, despite long-standing perceptions to the contrary.
Additional survey data pertaining to specific casual game play among
children under 18 will be presented in a separate press release soon.
Cooperative Versus Competitive Play: Among adult purchasers of casual
games who have one or more children or grandchildren who play the games in
their home, 94% said that at least part of their game-play interaction with
their children or grandchildren was cooperative in nature -- working
together to solve puzzles, complete levels and so forth. In addition, 52%
said the game-play with their kids or grandkids was typically a combination
of competitive and cooperative play. Almost half (48%) of respondents
indicated they had multiple children or grandchildren who played the games
in their home. Of those respondents, 88% described the game-play
interaction between the children as at least partly cooperative, while 12%
characterized that interaction as strictly competitive. "The casual games
seem to promote more of a cooperative 'let's work on this together' type of
atmosphere, as opposed to an aggressive, interpersonal competitive
environment," observed Dr. Arinoldo.
Benefits of Play: Many of the adults surveyed attributed a wide
spectrum of mental benefits to children playing casual games. Nearly half
(47%) of respondents observed an increase in their child's level of
interest and/or understanding in spelling, reading, vocabulary, and/or
history as a result of casual game play. Mothers and grandmothers (49%
each) observed these benefits more often than fathers (41%) and
grandfathers (38%). Further, these benefits were observed far more
frequently in children between the ages of 5 and 12 (about 51.5% of the
time) than in children age 13 to 17 (39% of the time). In keeping with
these observations, 66% of parents and grandparents of children who play
casual games said they would welcome the use of such games in their
children's or grandchildren's schools.
Great-grandmother Cheryl Yetter of Paskenta, California plays PopCap's
word puzzle game Bookworm(TM) with her 12-year old granddaughter and finds
that both bonding and educational opportunities are plentiful. "She loves
the game, and when she spends the night, it's great fun to play together,"
says Yetter, 64. "Considering she doesn't really like to read, Bookworm has
been a valuable tool, as she's learned a lot of new words and enjoys
looking up some of the odd ones in the dictionary."
Interestingly, while parents and grandparents alike saw benefits such
as such as hand-eye coordination, learning and mental workouts for their
children or grandchildren, parents were considerably more likely to
perceive a reduction in stress levels among their children than
grandparents were. 23% of parents vs. just 6% of grandparents noticed a
correlation between children playing the games and becoming more relaxed.
More than one in ten (11%) survey respondents also said that they purchase
casual games for, and/or play casual games with, a child with a physical or
cognitive disability. The most common benefits cited for children with
disabilities were: skill-building, hand-eye coordination improvement,
positive reinforcement, stronger concentration and increased confidence.
Frequency of Play: Nearly one quarter (24%) of those surveyed said
their children or grandchildren play casual games daily, with 71%
indicating child/grandchild game-play at least once a week. Nearly all
(96%) of respondents said they limited children's' game-playing sessions to
two hours or less. (Likewise, only 18% indicated that their children or
grandchildren played the games more than 9 hours per week.) Weekends (55%)
and "after school on weekdays" (43%) were cited as the most popular times
for kids to play casual games, with 32% also enjoying the games at night
before going to bed.
Survey Methodology
This international research was conducted by Information Solutions
Group (ISG; http://www.infosolutionsgroup.com) exclusively for PopCap
Games. The results are based on online surveys completed by 2,298
respondents randomly selected between June 15 and June 29, 2007. The
audience consisted of 1,645 United States and 653 international PopCap.com
Website visitors; 483 were men and 1,815 were women. In theory, in 19 cases
out of 20, the results will differ by no more than 2.0 percentage points
from what would have been obtained by seeking out and polling all
PopCap.com users age 18 and over. Smaller subgroups reflect larger margins
of sampling error. Other sources of error, such as variations in the order
of questions or the wording within the questionnaire, may also contribute
to different results.
About PopCap
PopCap Games (http://www.popcap.com) is the leading multi-platform
provider of "casual games" -- fun, easy-to-learn, captivating computer
games that appeal to everyone from age 6 to 106. Based in Seattle,
Washington, PopCap was founded in 2000 and has a worldwide staff of over
120 people in Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Vancouver, B.C. and Dublin.
Its games have been downloaded more than 350 million times by consumers
worldwide, and its flagship title, Bejeweled(R), has sold more than 10
million units across all platforms. Constantly acclaimed by consumers and
critics, PopCap's games are played on the Web, desktop computers, myriad
mobile devices (cell phones, smartphones, PDAs, Pocket PCs, iPod and more),
popular game consoles (such as Xbox), and in-flight entertainment systems.
PopCap is the only casual games developer with leading market share across
all major sales channels, including Web portals, retail stores, mobile
operators and developers, and game device manufacturers.
The PopCap logo and all other trademarks used herein that are listed at
http://www.popcap.com/trademarks are owned by PopCap Games, Inc. or its
licensors and may be registered in some countries. Other company and
product names used herein may be trademarks of their respective owners and
are used for the benefit of those owners.
SOURCE PopCap Games
back to top
