According to a new Associated Press-AOL Games Poll, 40% of Americans play computer or video games.
Of the respondents who said they do play computer or video games, 45% said they play online.
More male respondents (45%) than female (35%) said they play computer or video games. There is also a difference in the social aspect of the way men and women play games online. Men are more likely to play with other people (32% vs. 23% of women), while more women say they prefer to play by themselves (69% vs. 59% of men).
In a somewhat counter-intuitive finding, however, the AP-AOL Games Poll showed that urban game players are more likely to play on the Internet than suburbanites. The poll found 52% of gamers in cities play games online, compared to 41% of gamers who live in the suburbs and 43% of gamers in rural areas.
The poll also found that more time spent gaming means less television viewing. Since 41% of all gamers play at least 3-4 hours a week, including 10% who play at least 10 hours a week, they simply have less time for TV.
Some 30% of gamers watch less that five hours of TV a week. Considering that the average American household has at least one TV set on for over seven hours a day, that is not much.
"The findings continue to affirm that gaming is a social experience that hits the full spectrum of consumers: males, females, young and old," said Ralph Rivera of AOL Games.
For information on this subject, read the recently-published eMarketer report Video Games: Where to Now?