The Mainstreaming Video Game Culture

The Ubercool blog cites a number of statistics illustrating the growth and pervasiveness of video gaming:

• An estimated 76.2 million Americans (representing 58% of households) play video games, up from 67.5 million in 2004. Much of this growth may be attributable to the Sony PSP, released this past spring.


• Sales of video game software set a record in 2004 ($7.3 billion).


• In one survey, 43% of game players said they played games online, up by more than 10% over 2002. Players included both hardcore and casual gamers.

Not all numbers were so positive. Sales of video game consoles in 2005, for instance, were off their 2003 high. Also, the overwhelming majority (70%) of gamers are men, as has been the case in years past.