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European gamers spend nearly as muchtime gaming as they do watching TV or socializing with family andfriends, according to the findings of a new Nielsen report intoEuropean videogame trends.
Inconducting its Video Gamers In Europe 2008 report Nielsen surveyed 6000active gamers aged 16-49 across 15 markets - the UK, France, Germany,Italy, Spain, Benelux, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Norway,Finland, Czech Republic, Poland and Latvia. 70 percent of therespondents were male.
The report revealed that many Europeans opt for gaming as a fun way to spend time while staying mentally fit.
According to the report, 40 percent of respondents play games forbetween 6-14 hours per week, alongside time spent watching TV, surfingthe Internet or visiting friends and family.
72 percent ofthose surveyed said that they played videogames for fun, 57 percentsaid they used games as a way of stimulating the imagination and 45percent said gaming made them think. The social aspect of gaming onlinewith others was a strong secondary motivator for game players
The report also found that 81 percent of parents who game do so withtheir children, while more than half of gaming parents always monitorwhat their children are buying and playing.
Non-gamers alsoappeared to show little to no negative sentiment towards videogames. 48percent of those that didn't play cited a lack of time as the mainreason for not playing videogames.
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"Our research findingscement what those who work in the industry understand as a given,namely that videogames hold a recognized place in today's entertainmentculture," said Jens Uwe Intat, chairman of the ISFE board.
"Thepeople that are videogaming today are of all ages, of both genders andof all nationalities. As an industry, we offer a huge variety ofentertainment choices for all tastes and skill levels, and adult taxpayers, grandparents and kids alike are playing in the way that suitsthem best."