Almost half of all adults play video games, according to results from an AOL Games/The Associated Press poll.

Playing with Family. 43% of parents said they never play with their kids. Younger parents were found to be more likely to play games with their kids than older parents.
Holiday Season: 18% said they were very or somewhat likely to purchase a video game console during the upcoming holiday season. 35% said they were very or somewhat likely to purchase video games. 51% of those planning to buy a console said that price was the most important factor followed by recommendations from friends and family (34%).

Demographics: More than half of all adult gamers are under 40 years old, while 27% are under the age of 30. Only a third of all adult gamers are married and have children.

Time Spent Playing VGs. The typical adult gamer spends 2 hours each week playing video games. This number increases to 4 hours per week for fans of shooter games, and 5 hours for fans of adventure and role playing games.

Where They Play. 93% stated they usually play online games at home, while 5% admitted to playing at work or school.

Hardcore Gamers. 41% of all gamers are “hardcore gamers,” spending at least 3 hours per week playing video games. Hardcore gamers are younger than other gamers with 59% under the age of 40 and 32% under 30. 58% of hardcore gamers are male, while 42% are female.

Light Gamers. Light gamers (31%) play less than an hour per week on average. Light gamers are more likely to be female, in their 40’s and employed full-time. A majority (68%) of light gamers are married versus 50% of hardcore gamers.
Other tidbits:

• 80% of children (4 to 17)  regularly play computer games.
• 81% of all children play at least occasionally
• 38% of all adults admit to playing video games.
• 45% are actually female.

[From PC World.]

Popularity: 12% [?]

Nielsen//NetRatings announced that 36.5% of U.S. adults online own a game console. I own more than two, and I suspect that many others own more than one. The company also says that 15.9% own a portable gaming console. (Does Nintendo’s GameBoy count? If so, count me in.)

This news comes just after Nielsen reported that the number of video game consoles in the U.S. grew by 18.5% since the fourth quarter of 2004. In the fourth quarter 2006 there were 45.7 million homes with video game consoles, representing 41.1% of all TV households, compared to 39.1% (43 million) in 2005, and 35.2% (38.6 million) the previous year.

Bonus factoids: The majority of console owners, 71 percent, are married, and 66 percent have at least one child in the household.

[From Lost Remote]

Popularity: 19% [?]

Damon Grow is a San Francisco-based video game developer who is trying to develop the next big massively multiplayer online (MMO) game. He’s calling it Kaos War, and he hopes to contend with giants like World of Warcraft, Everquest and others.

Games.net has created an online reality show about Damon’s quest to build an MMO and it’s extremely fascinating. In the first season, Damon’s still working part-time as a doorman in a San Francisco hotel, before he realizes he needs to dedicate more time to his passion.

The show is split up into 4 minute video segments, which makes viewing a pleasure. I watched four episodes in a row, and was hungry for more. So far, they are ten episodes including an extra “season” finale.

Damon is still in the early stages of forming the company, getting programmers, and funding. So it’s great TV. Er, I mean, great episodic online video. (Compare this with Sissy Biggers.) Even John Romero, creator of Doom and Quake, makes regular appearances.

I can’t wait to see what happens. Will Kaos get made? Will it be a hit? Or will Damon’s company fold? Apparently, there’s a 1 in 100,00,00 chance to succeed at making a hit MMO so the odds are tough.

The season 2 trailer just went up last month so get ready to see what’s happened.

Popularity: 9% [?]

RealNetworks is making a serious move into casual gaming. On February 6, RealNetworks announced that it acquired Atrativa, a casual gaming company based in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Last year, Real also purchased The Netherlands-based Zylom game company.

The company’s commitment is so big that in a press release, it even calls itself “one of the world’s largest developers, publishers and distributors of casual games.”

Once upon a time, RealNetworks called itself a leader in streaming media. My how times have changed.

During the Casual Connect Europe conference in Amsterdam, Real won “Casual Game of the Year” in the First Annual Zeebys Awards.

Not only is Real involved in producing and distributing games, but it is also making an early move to in-game video advertising.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Today at CES in Las Vegas, Microsoft announced that the Xbox 360 would get Microsoft’s IPTV Edition software. This will allow users to receive TV over broadband on their 360s.

This is great for Microsoft, which now has its 360 platform to use as a set-top box.

The digital media server or media hub is something that companies are touting as the next wave of digital entertainment devices.

Yesterday HP announced a brand new media server for home streaming of audio and video.

But turning a gaming platform into a digital set-top box (with remote and DVD player) sounds interesting, one can’t help but wonder how many users would take advantage of IPTV. Only hard-core gamers buy the 360. Can it attract people that are interested in more than just games?

Popularity: 13% [?]