Flicking through the BBC’s Gamers in the UK research, I was struck by how little the sustainable school travel sector are using games as a way of encouraging walking and cycling to school.
STAT ATTACK!!!!*:
- 97% of teens (11-15 year olds) are regular gamers – with 56% of those gamers playing every day, and 98% playing at least once a week.
- 45% agreed they get greater enjoyment out of gaming than any other entertainment form!
- While they tend to opt for consoles first (PS2 – see *), PCs are still a second place with mobile gaming third.
- 63% of the group enjoyed puzzle/board games/quizzes – the biggest group of any gaming genre.
The whole document is well worth a read.
* The only downside to this research is that it was commissioned in 2005. Since then we have had the rise of myspace/bebo/facebook et al, and also the third generation (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii) of computer games. These will have had an effect, the question is what. I think it is still fair to say that electronic media (and gaming) is still important to them!