Game Informer Magazine Sums Up 2003; Top Trends Show Gamers Growing Older, Influencing Hollywood.

MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Game Informer, the nation's leading computer and video games magazine, covers the hottest trends in gaming and entertainment in its January issue. Due in stores this week, Game Informer's latest issue recaps everything from the Top 50 Games of the Year to Steven Spielberg's involvement in a film version of horror game Fatal Frame.

"Video games have expanded well beyond the simple toys they were 20 years ago, and our Year in Review shows the effect this evolution is having on the world at large," said Game Informer Editor-in-Chief Andy McNamara. "Bashing myths that games are for kids, the average American gamer is now 29 years old, and a lot of those gamers are women. Whether it's investors recognizing this expanding demographic or Hollywood working with the game industry to entertain audiences in new ways, video games are shaping our cultural landscape."

 
  Game Informer's Top 10 Gaming Trends for 2003: 
 
   1.  Gamer Guys Getting Older ... and They Have Company 
       When Nielsen's November TV ratings report showed a dramatic drop of 
       male viewers in the 18-34 demographic, many analysts pointed to the 
       video game industry, and with good reason. This August, The 
       Entertainment Software Association released a study showing that the 
       average age of U.S. gamers is now 29. The study also reported that 
       men over 18 still held down the fort, making up 39 percent of the 
       nation's gaming public. Women gamers surprised everyone by coming in 
       second at 26 percent, ahead of boys aged 7-15. 
 
   2.  Hollywood Is Hot for Games 
       With exclusive footage filmed specifically for the game, the 
       Wachowski brothers' simultaneous release of film The Matrix Reloaded 
       and video game counterpart Enter the Matrix set a new standard for 
       cooperation between the motion picture and game industries. Steven 
       Spielberg's DreamWorks SKG made waves with the announcement of its 
       film version of the horror title Fatal Frame. Several other motion 
       picture studios announced plans to make Hollywood magic of games, 
       with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson slated to star in the film version of 
       Spy Hunter, Christian Slater signed on for Alone in the Dark, and 
       many other games licensed for movie production. 
 
   3.  Making Profit and Cutting Losses 
       Prices for Xbox, PlayStation 2 and GameCube all dropped, but not as 
       much as expected. Publisher Capcom dropped 18 games in development, 
       but charmed critics with its latest hero, Viewtiful Joe. While 
       Nintendo posted its first losses since going public in 1962 and 
       Microsoft's Xbox division reported a $348 million loss for the last 
       quarter of 2002, Xbox sales continued to increase and Nintendo's The 
       Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker broke records, pre-selling more than 
       560,000 copies in the United States alone. 
 
   4.  Legislation from Michigan to Thailand 
       Governments around the world introduced game-related legislation: 
       Michigan legislators passed (and later overturned) a bill outlawing 
       the sale of M-rated games to people under 17; the European Union 
       instituted a 17 percent value added tax on subscriptions for online 
       games; and Thailand placed a curfew on online gaming, blocking 
       access to foreign ...