Gamespot is reporting that a poll by the Pew Internet Project report revealed 99% of all teenaged boys from age 12 to 17 play video games, and 94% of teenage girls.
What sort of games did they prefer? Racing games topped the list at 74%, followed by puzzle games and sports games.
- Racing: 74%
- Puzzle: 72%
- Sports: 68%
- Action: 67%
- Adventure: 66%
- Music/rhythm: 61%
- Strategy: 60%
The favorite games named were Guitar Hero, Halo 3, Madden NFL, Solitaire (!), and Dance Dance Revolution.
Their least favorite genres?
- Virtual worlds: 10%
- MMORPGs: 21%
- Survival horror: 32%
Pew also surveyed parents of teens to gauge their attitudes toward gaming, and found that most parents were actually ambivalent on gaming’s impact on their kids. Some 62 percent of respondents said games didn’t affect their kids, with 19 percent believing them to be a positive influence, and 13 percent considering them a negative influence. Just 5 percent of parents said gaming could be either positive or negative, depending on the game in question.
Those 5% were also probably the sanest and most intelligent of the parental groups. One thing, though - if 97% of teens play video games, how come there aren’t hundreds of Columbine massacres every year? Oh, right - video games don’t create mentally ill children.
