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<strong>Veritas</strong> <strong>et</strong> <strong>Visus</strong> <strong>Display</strong> <strong>Standard</strong> February 2009<br />
L<strong>et</strong>’s talk about your latest research. What was the motivation behind this study? Each year, we survey the<br />
trends of video game play in Canada. We survey Canadians to find out the average age of a gamer, age<br />
breakdowns, what types of games are most popular, <strong>et</strong>c. Given we know that most games rated for sale by the<br />
ESRB in Canada are rated for play by children and teens, we were curious to know wh<strong>et</strong>her Canadians were<br />
findings ample choices for their families. Were they playing games tog<strong>et</strong>her as a family?<br />
Who put the study tog<strong>et</strong>her and how was it carried out? Ipsos Reid conducts the survey on our behalf. Further<br />
d<strong>et</strong>ails can be found on their website: http://www.ipsos.ca.<br />
Just so I don’t feel so old, what is the age of the average gamer? Has this changed a lot over the years? Why<br />
do you think that is? In our most recent survey of Canadians, the average age of a gamer is 40.3 years. And, yes,<br />
we’ve seen a steady rise in that average age over the years. This has occurred for many reasons, including parents<br />
who are playing more with their children, likely because, as we’ve discovered, parents are finding a greater<br />
selection of games for the entire family. Formerly young gamers are aging and having children, and including<br />
games as part of their family time.<br />
What ESRB game rating is deemed family friendly? Can you name some popular PC titles that fit this<br />
category? E (everyone) E10+ (everyone 10 and older) and T (teen) would be ratings for family games, depending<br />
of course, on the age of the children. While I don’t want to name specific games, as everyone will have their<br />
favorites, I would like to point out that the ESRB has an excellent tool on its website to search games by platform,<br />
by rating, and by type of game. For example, when I select rating - E (everyone), platform – Windows PC, and type<br />
– any, listed are over 4500 titles. I’d suggest going to the Intern<strong>et</strong> for reviews of games, and<br />
http://www.gamingwithchildren.com is one good resource for reviews of family friendly games. Also, I’d suggest<br />
talking to the r<strong>et</strong>ailer. A sales associate will have a pr<strong>et</strong>ty good idea of what’s fun and appropriate for the family.<br />
Video games g<strong>et</strong> a lot of criticism for being violent and not appropriate for family viewing – you’ve heard it<br />
all, I’m sure! Are these statements true for the majority of games? How big is the family viewing mark<strong>et</strong> in<br />
video games? Big sales titles like Halo and Grand Theft Auto g<strong>et</strong> a lot of buzz in the press. But, truthfully, M rated<br />
games make up a fraction of games rated for sale in North America. The ESRB says that 59% of games rated for<br />
sale in 2007 were rated E for everyone, and another 15% were rated E10+. Mature games were a scant 6% - this,<br />
out of over 1500 games the ESRB reviewed last year.<br />
Growing up, I remember video games as being alien to parents, and reserved for the enjoyment of teenagers<br />
and solitaries. How knowledgeable are parents about video games now? Certainly, Canadian parents<br />
demonstrate a great deal of responsibility regarding the selection of their child’s game(s). Our research over the<br />
years has consistently demonstrated this. Nevermind that many parents play the game prior<br />
to making a purchasing decision. And according to our most recent research, 57% of<br />
parents play video games with their children. It’s just another way that parents are<br />
spending time with their children. With increased family offerings from publishers, parents<br />
are finding an ample selection of games that they can play with their children, and enjoy an<br />
activity that is fun for all ages.<br />
This family angle, was it encouraged by the game developers, or did it occur naturally? I can’t say for sure,<br />
though, it would make financial sense, I imagine, to broaden the appeal of video and computer games to what may<br />
have been considered non-traditional gamers. I recently attended the E3 Media and Business Summit in Los<br />
Angeles. And after attending many press conferences and briefings there, I’ve noted that many publishers were<br />
keen on showcasing family friendly games as part of their offerings for 2008 and 2009.<br />
If parents had a choice of having their kids watch television or play video games, which would they pick?<br />
Why do you think that is? According to our research, 41% of parents would prefer their children to play video<br />
games over watching television. Video games require skill, thought, communication, strategy... these are all good<br />
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