A new study conducted by the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia (IEAA) revealed that the average Australian gamers' age is 30 and that 10% of games on Australian PCs are pirated.
The key findings of the study include:
• The average age of an Australian gamer is 30 years.
• The average adult gamer has been playing for 11 years.
• Half of all gamers play daily or every other day, a quarter play once a week.
• The average game play session is one hour.
• Computer and video games compete with other media leisure time, not with outdoor activities.
• 70% of parents in game households play computer and video games, 80% of these parents play them with their children.
• 78% of parents say an adult is present when games are purchased for their children.
• 92% of parents say they are aware of the games played in their homes.
• 63% of adults do not know that Australia has no R18+ for computer and video games.
• 91% of adults (including gamers and non-gamers) say Australia should have an R18+ classification for games.
• 17% of adults in game households admit to having pirated games in their collections with nearly 10% of all games in Australian homes being illegal copies.
• Half of pirated games come from copies made by family or friends.
• 75% of gamers say interactivity in games makes them more educational than other media, 89% of non-gamers say interactivity makes games more violent than other media.
• Family, Action, and Racing games were the top-selling genres in 2007-2008.
The study is based on a national random sample of 1614 households in which as many adults responded to more than 75 questions providing over 300 data points in a 20-minute online survey. The survey was fielded by Nielsen Research in July 2008.
