An interesting study recently came out of the Consumer Electronics Association that found that older gamers may actually be playing more than teens.  The CEA’s 2006 Gaming Technology Study was formulated as market research for the consumer electronic industry.

It found that adult gamers are spending more time per week playing console or PC games than teens.  Roughly one-third of the adults surveyed said they play 10 or more hours a week, compared to the 11 percent of teens who reported playing 10 or more hours.  According to the study, adult gamers play more than the teens who are often seen as [I]the[/I] market for video games.

The study also looked at platform ownership and behavior for adults and teens.  The PC was found to dominate adult gaming, while teens spend more time using consoles.  Teens also spend more time playing handheld games; with only 25 percent of adults who own handheld devices saying they have used them in the last six months, while 77 percent of teens say they have.

More differences were found in online play.  The majority (64 percent) of adult gamers prefer to play alone, with only a little over half of those surveyed saying they play online.  Teens are much more likely to play online; 78 percent of teen males, and 58 percent of teen females.

These finding back other studies from groups like the Entertainment Software Association that show the gaming population to be older than it appears.

[I]The adult portion of the study was administered through a web form to a sample of 1,767 US video game households.  The teen study was administered over the telephone to a random national sample of 500 teens, ages 12 to 17.  A truly representative sample in any study is difficult to achieve.  Take these findings with that in mind.[/I]