Study: Average NZ gamer now 33

New Zealanders have proven themselves more tech savvy and gaming aware than Aussies, according to a new report by Queensland's Bond University.

The first study of its kind in the country, the Interactive New Zealand 2010 (INZ10) report into the local video game sector found that the average age of NZ gamers is 33 years old.

Out of the 1,202 participating households, 88.5 percent said they own a device for playing video games. The study also revealed that 100 percent of households with children under the age of 18 own a device for playing games; by comparison, the IA9 report conducted in Australia by Bond University at the end of 2008 showed that out of the households surveyed, only 88 percent had a gaming device. The study also revealed the average age of Aussie gamers is 30.

Both the Australian and New Zealand reports were conducted by Dr Jeffrey Brand, head of the Centre for New Media Research at Bond University on behalf of the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (iGEA), which made a recent move to represent both the Australian and New Zealand gaming industries.

"This [recent] report indicates that video games are ubiquitous in 2010," Brand said. "In years gone by, video games have been thought of as an isolating medium. This research tells us that the opposite is true today, with parents playing games as a way to educate their children, spend time together, and just have a good time as a family."

Other findings from the INZ10 report are:

*78 percent of gamers are over the age of 18 and have been playing games for an average of 12 years.
*63 percent of parents said they play video games themselves and 59 percent said they play with their children.
*60 percent of gamers said they play up to an hour in one sitting, while only 4 percent said they play for five or more hours.
*44 percent of gamers are female.
*82 percent of gaming households have PCs installed; 69 percent have consoles.
*46 percent of gamers play online.

The report also revealed NZ game industry sales figures from GfK. The industry brought in revenues of A$170 million in the past year, a 12 percent growth from the year before. On the software front, family and action games accounted for nearly 40 percent of all game software sold in 2009.

The INZ10 study asked adults to respond to more than 75 questions in a 15-minute online survey fielded by Nielsen Research in May 2010.