14 DAY TRIAL // We discussed yesterday about a new Pew study which talks about how teens approach videogames and how they are affected by the experiences they get from them. The study says that both social skills and interest in the community and ethics can be boosted by playing games, both alone and with other people.
According to the Pew survey, the most played games were Guitar Hero, Halo 3, Madden NFL, Solitaire and Dance Dance Revolution with other titles like the Grand Theft Auto series and, surprisingly, Tetris, coming close behind the leading pack.
As far as genres go, racing is classed as the most popular, with 74% of those interviewed saying they are interested in it, with puzzle and sports games at number two and number three, with 72% and 68% popularity. Even though action games are widely perceived as dominating the market, it seems that they enjoy a 67% popularity, being closely followed by adventure titles.
It's very interesting to see that first-person shooters are played by about 47% of those that responded to the Pew questionnaire. More people reported that they enjoyed rhythm, strategy, fighting and simulation titles with role playing games, survival horror titles, virtual worlds and MMOs being played by less people.
By looking at the gaming press sites and at the fan sites, you would think that first person shooters and MMOs dominate the industry and the interests of the people that play games. But the reality of the Pew study is very different, with rhythm games being on top of the public's preferences. This suggests that the industry itself, in its search for money and success, might be distorting the way we all see the gaming world, pushing the so called AAA titles while limiting coverage of other games.