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Games As The New Pub

Posted by Zonk on from the hard-to-get-drunk-in-2L dept.

The Guardian Gamesblog has a column up talking about a panel held at the Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment Festival last week. A discussion was held with several folks from the online world development business, where they discussed games as new social playgrounds or pubs. From the article: "In Korea, the gamers play online games together. It's a social replacement. It's a way for non-social people to socialise. They've even started developing games for bored girlfriends of the guys who're playing Starcraft with their mates."

1 of 51 comments (clear)

  1. Maybe in Korea by theclam159 · · Score: 2, Informative

    That may be true in Korea, but I don't think that it's true in the US.

    * Gamers devote more than triple the amount of time spent playing games each week to exercising or playing sports, volunteering in the community, religious activities, creative endeavors, cultural activities, and reading.
    * In total, gamers spend 23.4 hours per week on these activities, compared to 6.8 hours per week playing games.
    * Seventy-nine percent of game players of all ages report exercising or playing sports an average of 20 hours a month.
    * Forty-five percent of gamers volunteer an average 5.4 hours per month.
    * Ninety-three percent of game players also report reading books or daily newspapers on a regular basis, while sixty-two percent consistently attend cultural events, such as concerts, museums, or the theater.
    * Fifty percent of gamers are regularly involved in creative activities, such as painting, writing, or playing an instrument. In addition, adult gamers exhibit a high level of interest in current events, with 94 percent following news and current events, and 78 percent reporting that they vote in most of the elections for which they are eligible.

    http://www.theesa.com/facts/gamer_data.php