AOL, Associated Press poll reveals gamer habits

According to a recent poll conducted by AOL Games and Associated Press, about 81% of all children (aged 4-17) play videogames regularly, while the statistic for adults is 38%. And lest male gamers take all the credit, out of the total number of adult gamers, a full 45% are female.

The poll broke down into other fun categories, including “Gaming as a family activity”, “Holiday Season gaming”, “Adult Gamers”, and “Hardcore vs. Light Gamers”. It’s all fun with numbers, but nothing is terribly surprising. Overall, the Holiday season brings in tons of console and game purchases; about half of adult gamers are under 40 (makes perfect sense, given that the industry only really took off 25 years ago); and 41% of gamers call themselves hardcore.

Click through for a more comprehensive list of the results.

Gaming as a Family Activity:

When parents were asked how many hours a week they spend playing video games with their kids, 43% stated that they never play with their kids, while 30% stated less than an hour. Younger parents were found to be more likely to play games with their kids than older parents.

Holiday Season:

18% of those surveyed said they were very or somewhat likely to purchase a video game console like an XBox, Nintendo, or Playstation during the upcoming holiday season, while 35% stated they were very or somewhat likely to purchase video games. When it comes to selecting a video console, a majority (51%) of those planning to purchase a console during the holiday season stated that price was the most important factor followed by recommendations from friends and family (34%).

Adult Gamers:

The poll finds that more than half of all adult gamers are under 40 years old, while 27% are under the age of 30. Only a third of all adult gamers are married and have children. The typical adult gamer spends 2 hours each week playing video games. This number increases to 4 hours per week for fans of shooter games, and 5 hours for fans of adventure and role playing games. 93% stated they usually play online games at home, while 5% admitted to playing at work or school.

Hardcore vs Light Gamers:

41% of all gamers are classified as “hardcore gamers,” those who spend at least 3 hours per week playing video games, while light gamers (31%) play less than an hour per week on average. Hardcore gamers are younger than other gamers with 59% under the age of 40 and 32% under 30. 58% of hardcore gamers are male, while 42% are female. Light gamers are more likely to be female, in their 40’s and employed full-time. A majority (68%) of light gamers are married versus 50% of hardcore gamers.

Read [Business Wire]