The best-selling video game of 2007, "Halo 3," took in more revenue ($170 million) on its first day of sales than the opening weekend receipts of "Spider Man 3," ($151 million), the highest-grossing movie opening ever.
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The Entertainment Software Association - Industry Facts - 0 views
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computer and video games to meet the demands and tastes of audiences as diverse as our nation's population.
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Today's gamers include millions of Americans of all ages and backgrounds. In fact, more than two-thirds of all American households play games. This vast audience is fueling the growth of this multi-billion dollar industry and bringing jobs to communities across the nation.
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Forty percent of all game players are women. In fact, women over the age of 18 represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (33 percent) than boys age 17 or younger (20 percent).
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In 2010, 26 percent of Americans over the age of 50 play video games, an increase from nine percent in 1999.
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Forty-two percent of heads of households play games on a wireless device, such as a cell phone or PDA, up from 20 percent in 2002.
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Eighty-two percent of all games sold in 2009 were rated "E" for Everyone, "T" for Teen, or "E10+" for Everyone 10+.
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Parents who have children under 18 with a gaming console in the home are present when games are purchased or rented 93 percent of the time.
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'FarmVille' power user: 'I'm not obsessed' - Technology & science - Games - msnbc.com - 0 views
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Cathy Hinz is really into “FarmVille.” But she swears she’s not obsessed. “I can, you know, walk away and say, ‘I’m not going to worry about it.’ I don’t worry about it, but I will plan my farm around my life,” she says.
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she has time to be online, fiddling with the farm simulation game as much as she wants. And she’s far from the only one.
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She’s online a lot — spending two to three hours a day on “FarmVille,“ but usually not all at one time. Most of her family plays the game, including her eldest daughter (hooked), her three grandkids (hooked) and her husband, a hard-core gamer who reluctantly allowed his wife to rope him into virtual horticulture. Now, she says, he’s really concerned about his crops.
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Hinz loves tweaking her virtual plot of land, and her schedule affords her plenty of time to do that.
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Some of the “FarmVille” updates are free, and some you have to pay for, but Hinz says the cost is negligible. “I would spend more than $10 to see a movie, and I’d get to sit there for two hours and that would be it. Whereas 10 bucks on this, I can get enjoyment out of it every day.”
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She likes leveling up, and the competitive nature of the game. But Hinz also really likes the interaction on “FarmVille.”
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“When I started my Facebook account, I had two friends — my daughters. At one point, while playing “FarmVille,” I had over 200 friends on Facebook,” she says.
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At first, Hinz was indignant. “I’m 50 years old, and I’m not going to do something where you ‘ice’ people, or you rob banks or stuff like that, where that’s the objective.” But then she got to thinking. The Hot Rod Tractor can plow nine plots simultaneously. It’s got flames on it. “I figured, what the hell, I’ll just get to level 10 and do it. And now I’m a level 40 in ‘Mafia Wars’ as well,” she laughs. “It’s a lot funner than I thought it would be. It’s something I can do while I’m waiting for things to harvest.”
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Still, Hinz says she’s got the games under control, and that they’re not controlling her. “If I started putting things off in order to do ‘FarmVille,’ if it becomes a priority over work, or spending time with my family, that would be an addiction.” Is she there yet? “No. I do it because I can.”