• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, May 17, 2005

Not long ago, few could have guessed that video game consoles would come to replace cable boxes as the center of gravity in U.S. living rooms. The industry's startling dollar value was no secret, but it was assumed that Mom and Dad's aversion to gaming would relegate the consoles to the bedrooms and basements of America. Not so, according to the results of an AOL Games poll released Monday, which found that nearly four out of five self-described "gamers" ages 12 to 55 said they've played video games with their families, and almost 40 percent of adults ages 18 to 55 said they have played video games on their computer, console, or cell phone.

"During our research, excited fathers told me about playing video games with their younger kids at home together with the older kid who was at college, over the Internet," said Carter Lipscomb, senior manager of industry relations for AOL Games. "Families have really latched on to the community aspect of gaming; this is what America is doing together now."

The study--a nationwide telephone survey conducted between April 21 and May 1 among a random sample of 1,005 people (801 adults ages 18-55 and 204 teenagers ages 12-17 throughout America)--found that almost half (46 percent) of all U.S. consumers ages 12-55 have played an online, video, or cell phone game.

Of the nearly 40 percent of adults who said they have played games, about one in ten admit they've become addicted, and more than a quarter--or 27 percent--said they have played games all night. The survey also found that 34 percent of 12- to-55-year-olds who play online games have purchased a computer game in the last six months, and that 18 percent of all gamers said they have purchased an online or video game mainly because it features a movie character such as Spider-Man or James Bond.

Online card games continue to trump all other popular games, as they are preferred by 66 percent of all online game players. But, notably, the survey found that many online gamers have in fact moved beyond casual games--as almost one in five, or 18 percent, of online gamers have played a "massive multiplayer online role playing game" such as The Matrix Online, while 31 percent have heard of such games. Additionally, the survey found that while consumers are engaging in video games more than ever, attitudes critical of games' content potentially threaten their popularity. Forty-seven percent of respondents ages 12-55 said there is too much violence in online gaming, while 40 percent said there is too much sexual content. Sixty-six percent said they'd go as far as saying that the government should ban the selling of violent or sexually explicit video games to those under the age of 18.

Also, thanks to substantial advances in mobile gaming, 13 percent of those surveyed ages 12 to 55 said they play games on their cell phone or PDA. Among cell or PDA game players ages 12 to 55, 33 percent said they've purchased a game for their cell phone or PDA.