New game industry facts, straight from the ESA

Today's "State of the Industry" E3 keynote by ESA CEO Mike Gallagher also marked the release of the organization's new annual set of "Essential Facts" about the game industry. Among the interesting findings from the ESA-commissioned survey of the American public:

• 65 percent of American households play computer and video games;

• 38 percent of American homes have a video game console;

• The average game player is 35 years old;

• One out of four gamers are over age 50;

• Women age 18 or older represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (33 percent) than boys age 17 or younger (18 percent);
  

• 41 percent of Americans expect to purchase one or more games this year;

• 94 percent of parents are present when games are purchased or rented;

• 88 percent of parents report always or sometimes monitoring the games their children play;
  

• 63 percent of parents believe games are a positive part of their children's lives.