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VIDEO GAME PLAY INCREASES AS BREADTH OF GAME CONTENT GROWS

Report Finds More Women, Adults Play Games

PRESS RELEASE

June 7, 2011 – Washington, DC – 72 percent of American households play video games and 82 percent of gamers are adults according to new research released today by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). In a report released at E3, the world’s leading video game event, the data presented a consumer base that is increasingly diverse and receiving interactive game content on myriad platforms.

The report, 2011 Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry, also found 42 percent of gamers are women and that women age 18 or older represent more than one third of the game-playing population. In addition, purchases of digital full games, digital add-on content, mobile apps, subscriptions and social network gaming accounted for 24 percent of game sales in 2010, generating $5.9 billion in revenue.

“Our industry’s innovative titles are reaching new consumers in broader, deeper and more-engaging ways,” said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the ESA. “Technological advancements and terrific entertainment experiences in our industry make it possible for people of all ages to enjoy games at home or on the go, and the creativity of our developers and publishers leads to an ever-expanding variety of video games to choose from in both digital and physical formats.”

The survey also found that parents remain highly involved in their children’s game play and see several benefits of entertainment software. Forty-five percent of parents report playing computer and video games with their children at least weekly and nine out of ten parents pay attention to the content of the games their children play. In addition, 68 percent of parents believe that game play provides mental stimulation or education, 57 percent believe games encourage their family to spend time together, and 54 percent believe that game play helps their children connect with their friends.

Other findings of the survey include:
• The average game player is 37 years old, while the average game purchaser is 41 years old;
• Sixty-five percent of gamers play games with other gamers in person;
• More than half (55 percent) of gamers play games on their phones or handheld devices;
• Eighty-six percent of parents are aware of the Entertainment Software Rating Board rating system, and 98 percent of these parents are confident in the accuracy of the ratings;
• Parents are present when games are purchased or rented 91 percent of the time; and
• Consumers spent $25.1 billion on game content, hardware and accessories in 2010.

The research for the 2011 Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry was conducted by Ipsos MediaCT and is the most in-depth and targeted survey of its kind, gathering data from almost 1,200 nationally representative households that have been identified as owning either or both a video game console or a personal computer used to run entertainment software.

The Entertainment Software Association is the U.S. association dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of companies publishing interactive games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers, and the Internet. The ESA offers services to interactive entertainment software publishers including a global anti-piracy program, hosting the E3 Expo, conducting business and consumer research, representing the video game industry in federal and state government relations, First Amendment and intellectual property protection efforts. For more information, please visit www.theESA.com.

id leaves ESA too!

After Activision, Vivendi and LucasArts, we now have confirmation that id has quit the Entertainment Software Association. This comes up as news with id getting ready to rear its epic head once again when it comes out with Rage and Doom 4 in the coming years, along with their id Tech 5 Engine. Hit the jump now!
Continue reading “id leaves ESA too!”

URGENT: E3 No More!

Next-Gen.biz reports: The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) shindig has been a staple of game industry life since the mid-1990s. However, we understand the larger exhibitors have jointly decided that the costs of the event do not justify the returns, generally measured in media exposure.

Publishers believe the multi-million dollar budgets would be better spent on more company-focused events that bring attention to their own product lines rather than the industry as a whole.

ESA president Doug Lowenstein will likely announce the news some time within the next 48 hours, possibly on Monday. It’s likely that the ESA will seek to limit the damage by organizing some form of lesser event in May, possibly even with the E3 brand, but this will be no more than a fig-leaf. The days of an industry event attended by all the major publishers, spending big money, are gone.

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Gamespot.com Reports:

GameSpot has learned that tomorrow the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) will announce changes to the format and scale of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the game industry event that typically draws in excess of 60,000 attendees and includes over 400 exhibitors.

On July 28, the Web site of UK trade magazine MCV reported discussions had taken place between the ESA and E3 exhibitors which addressed the future of the annual trade show.

Sources said that rather than fill the 540,000 square feet of the cavernous LACC, the show will take place at a location that would support exhibitors in meeting room space only, with companies showing their wares to a select group of attendees numbering in the hundreds rather than thousands.

One reason behind the downsizing of the show can be attributed to the dollar cost of the event to exhibitors, including the demands on companies to assign large numbers of staff to focus on the show, expenses associated with travel to the show, and the added expense to polish game builds and demos to be shown to attendees.

One source added that the new format of the show may actually result in a more productive environment to demo games to the media, although they stopped short of full disclosure: “My lips are sealed until after the weekend,” the source said.

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Pretty major stuff here. I don’t know what to think of it. To some extent I understand why this decision is being made. I mean E3 is really meant for the press and it has gotten out of control in recent years as companies are spending more money on their booths then on their games yet it’s harder and harder to play the demos. Even so this is a major loss… This was the trade show convention to attend and now it seems just like any other convention.

I wonder what impact this will have on GDC since that is already aimed at the core business.