"What we're seeing is that consumers are choosing video and computer games as their choice of entertainment for the 21st century"
Douglas Lowenstein, president of the ESA

Computer and video games are capturing increasing amounts of Americans' leisure time at the expense of television and movies, according to new research released today by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). The data from the ESA's annual consumer survey shows about half of American gamers say they are choosing to watch less television and fewer movies as a result of playing games more.

Specifically, 52 percent of gamers who are spending more time playing games report watching less television as a result, 47 percent go to movies less, and 41 percent watch movies at home less often.

"What we're seeing is that consumers are choosing video and computer games as their choice of entertainment for the 21st century," said Douglas Lowenstein, president of the ESA, the industry trade group representing video and computer game publishers. "Computer and video games have made tremendous advances over the past decade, both creatively and technologically, drawing more people into immersive and complex virtual worlds," said Lowenstein. "The next ten years will be even brighter for the industry as the technology and artistry of games continues to establish new levels of excellence and sophistication, and the audience grows even broader and more diverse."

The data was released today at the opening of E3Expo 2004, the 10th anniversary of the world's premiere interactive entertainment trade event. To mark the occasion, the ESA also asked gamers what they consider to be the three biggest advancements made by the game industry in the past ten years. Ninety-one percent said the increased quality of game graphics represents the biggest advancement. Other responses included: the increase in the variety of content (37 percent); the introduction of multiplayer game playing (27 percent); and the introduction of better story lines and more character development into games (28 percent).

With over half (53 percent) of all game players reporting they will be playing games as much or more ten years ago as they do today, ESA also asked respondents to pick the three most important goals for the industry in the coming decade. Not surprisingly, the number one goal (87 percent) was to reduce the price of games. Other goals included: offering additional levels, characters and other content in games (53 percent); creating more games for women (42 percent); relying less on licensed content and more on original stories (36 percent); offering more games for purchase via download (21 percent); and making more games playable online (17 percent).

Additional survey highlights include:

-- Console Player Demographics: Seventy-five percent of console game players are male and 25 percent are female. Forty-six percent are under 18 years old, 35 percent are 18 to 35, 11 percent are 36-45 years old, and 8 percent are over 46.

-- Computer Player Demographics: Sixty-one percent of computer game players are male, while 39 percent are female. Thirty-six percent are under 18 years old, 26 percent are 18 to 35, 14 percent are 36-45 years old, and 25 percent are over 46.

-- Buyer Demographics: The average age of a game buyer is 36.

-- Growth in Online Games: Forty-three percent of game players say they play games online one or more hours per week, up from thirty-seven percent last year and thirty-one percent in 2002. Forty percent of online game players are women.

-- Types of Online Games Played Most Often: Game players say that they most often play: puzzle/board/trivia/card games (54.7 percent); action/sports games (21.1 percent); shockwave/flash games (13.1 percent); and persistent multi-player universe (7.8 percent).

-- Parents' Opinions of Games: Sixty-one percent of parents believe games are a positive part of their children's lives.

-- Parental Involvement: Parents are present 87 percent of the time that games are purchased or rented, and 92 percent of parents say they monitor the content of the games their children are playing. (Parents with children under 18 who also own a game console or computer used to play games.)