Playing computer games was once reserved for the geek of the class who would shut himself away until the early hours of the morning with no company apart from a joystick. This has changed significantly as the standard of graphics and game play has improved and the use of computers is even more widely accepted. The advance of the Internet has also made sure that online gaming has become increasingly popular allowing people from all around the world to play against one another or in huge online tournaments. The appeal has spread significantly to what it once was.
The first generation of gamers are growing older now and this is coinciding with the introduction of next generation console games that look and sound much better than was ever dreamt possible ten or twenty years ago. AS such, many of these early gamers continue to play console games and computer games meaning what was predominantly a childrens market is shifting upwards in age. It is by no means uncommon for people in their twenties and thirties to be buying the latest games.
As well as being younger, the game market used to consist of almost solely males. Again, this has changed. AS technology has become...