Yes, it's true. Europeans enjoy videogames and they're playing more of them than ever. What's more, some gamers aren't even children anymore. These are the astonishing findings of the Interactive Software Federation of Europe, which has just published the results of a survey into the European games scene. It seems we now live in the second largest videogaming territory in the world, just behind Asia and in front of the US. From the press release:
The average age of an gamer in the UK is now 33 - the highest out of the territories surveyed. In Finland they are, on average 30 while in Spain they are 26. British parents are also regularly grabbing controllers to play games. Some 42 per cent of games players have children compared to 31 per cent in Finland and 23 per cent in Spain. Across Europe 81 per cent of parents say they enjoy playing games with their children. More than half of Europe's gaming parents monitor what their children are playing and 59 per cent keep a close eye on what games their children are playing.
Video games lead the way when it comes to other forms of entertainment. Of those polled a staggering 72 per cent see gaming as "a fun way to spend time", compared to cinema's and tv's 68 per cent. Some 57 per cent revealed that gaming "stimulates your imagination" (compared with 48 per cent for movies and 35 per cent for watching television) and 42 per cent of respondents stated that gaming keeps you fit mentally, compared with 25 per cent for movies, and 26 per cent for watching TV.
Videogames: officially a fun way to spend time.
