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A quarter of women, for example, like to use computer games to prepare for difficult tasks. By contrast, 17 percent of the men surveyed prefer to seek one-on-one competition with other players, something that interests only 7 percent of female gamers.
Differences exist not only between the sexes, however, but also among Germany’s different regions. Fourteen percent of respondents from Bavaria would be as pleased about officially permitted gaming at work as they would be about an additional day of holiday. At 0.7 percent, enthusiasm for such an offer in Saxony
A study by the University of Hamburg showed that briefly playing on a computer during working hours improves performance.** This seems to have got around among 19- to 40-year-olds, because eight percent of them like to play a short game at work. Overall, however, Germans prove conscientious: only three percent of respondents say they play during working hours.
Games have long secured a permanent place in leisure activities in Germany, whereas only a few years ago older computer users in particular were still apprehensive about games. Among 19- to 40-year-olds, 49 percent already relax at the computer; among the 55-plus generation, around 19 percent relieve everyday stress with computer games. In a direct comparison among states, Berliners in particular like to relax with computer games (40 percent), whereas in Baden-Württemberg the figure is only 20 percent.
“The study shows the trend towards short, uncomplicated computer games,” explains Matthias Schmidt-Pfitzner, Managing Director at King.com. “Whether for relaxation or direct one-on-one competition, everyone can find a suitable game on the internet. Short games that are quick to learn are played mainly by women, as we can see from our usage data,” says Schmidt-Pfitzner.
The survey also shows this: the majority of respondents (62 percent) believe that computer gaming has long ceased to be a male domain and is increasingly also a matter for women. In the west, however, this opinion is considerably more pronounced than in the east.
- Representative telephone survey by IPSOS GmbH commissioned by King.com in November/December 2007. A total of 788 internet users aged 14 and over were surveyed across Germany.
** Work first, pleasure later? On the effect of computer games on cognitive performance. Leonard Reinecke and Sabine Trepte, Hamburg 2006.
