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AP-AOL Games Poll Reveals Surprising Profile Of Gamers

Urbanites Outplay Suburbanites Online, Men More Likely to Form Ongoing Friendships with Other Online Players, Solo-play Reigns Supreme among Women

Online Gamers Twice As Likely To Spend $500 or More per Year on Gaming than Non-Online Gamers

NEW YORK, NY, May 8 - Who needs the bright lights and attractions of the big city. According to the AP-AOL Games poll*, city dwellers who play video or computer games are more likely to play on the Internet than people who live in the suburbs. The poll found 52 percent of gamers in cities play games online, compared to 41 percent of gamers who live in the suburbs and 43 percent of gamers in rural areas.
It's no surprise that more men than women (45% vs. 35%) play computer or video games. However, a social aspect of their play is emerging. According to the AP-AOL Games poll, males are more likely to play computer or video games with other people (32% vs. 23%), while more women than men say they prefer to play computer or video game by themselves (69% vs. 59%). One-in-four men who play online have formed ongoing friendships or relationships from playing online games with strangers (24% vs. 13% of women).

Despite the sluggish economy and concerns over rising gas prices, the poll also revealed that online gamers are twice as likely to spend more than $500 or more per year on gaming than non-online gamers. Nearly one-in-five (17%) of online gamers spent more than $500 last year on items like game software, online charges, consoles and accessories, versus 7% of non-online gamers who spent that amount. A full 35% of online gamers spent at least $200 on gaming last year.

Additional findings:

-41% of all gamers play at least 3-4 hours a week, including 10% who play at least 10 hours a week.

-Those who play online are more likely to be the most hardcore of gamers - 16% of online gamers play at least 10 hours a week, compared to 6% of those who don't play online.

-14% of adults age 65 or older play at least 10 hours or more a week.

-Online gamers prefer casual games (30%), strategy games (20%) and adventure/role-playing (15%).

"The findings continue to affirm that gaming is a social experience that hits all spectrums of consumers - males, females, young and old," said Ralph Rivera, Vice President and General Manager, AOL Games. "At AOL, we are in the business to provide the best online experience for gamers of all types - whether they are interested in playing a casual game or wanting details about their favorite video game."

* Methodology

The Associated Press/AOL Games Poll was conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs by telephone April 18-20 and April 24-27, 2006. Ipsos interviewed a representative national sample of 3,024 adults, including 1,046 who said they play games on a computer or electronic gaming console. The margin of sampling error is +/- 2 percentage points for all adults, +/- 3 points for gamers; sampling error for subgroups may be higher.


About AOL(r) Games

Consistently ranked among the leading online gaming sites, AOL Games (http://aol.com/games) offers more than 150 online games, exclusive demos of the hottest video games, comprehensive video games information including cheats, tips and reviews, and exclusive original video games programming. More than 11 million game fans visit the AOL Network for games each month*. About the Associated Press

The Associated Press is the world's oldest and largest newsgathering organization, providing content to more than 15,000 news outlets with a daily reach of 1 billion people around the world. Its multimedia services are distributed by satellite and the Internet to more than 120 nations. For more information, visit www.ap.org.

Source: AOL

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