Video Games: Friend, not Foe

1. America’s Summit on National ParksAmerica’s National Parks and 21st Century Trends, Priorities, and Values: Gaining Broad Support Video Games: Friend, not Foe Erik Huey Senior Vice President, Government Affairs Entertainment Software Association

2. #1 – A Vital Part of a 21st Century Economy • Including hardware sales, the industry generated $25.1billionin 2010 • Entertainment software is one of the fastest growing industries in the U.S. economy. From 2005 to 2010, the industry’s revenue more than doubled. • Music for 2010: $15B and Movie Box Office for 2010: $10.5B

3. # 2 – Changing Demographics 72% of American Households play Computer or Video Games Forty-two percent of all game players are women. In 2011, 29 percent of Americans over the age of 50 play video games, an increase in 1999. Over ninety-five percent of children under 18 play video games. 55 percent of gamers now play games on their phones or handheld devices. 40 percent of adults play online games. In August, Electronic Arts launched The Sims Social on Facebook, debuting with nearly 5 million active users, and dislodging Farmville as the #2 game played on the platform.

4. #3 - Exergaming Kids playing exergames like Wii Boxing, Cyber Trazer, Light Space, Sport Wall and Xavic burn 4 to 6.7 calories per minute. President Obama purchased Just Dance 3 for his daughter’s Christmas gift, this year at Best Buy. First Lady, Michelle Obama, plays Dance Dance Revolution with her daughters over the holidays and said “I just DDR’ed last weekend” during the Partnership for a Healthier America. 3 of top 10 bestselling video games in 2010 were dance games.

5. Games and Fitness American families continue to be captivated by the rapidly expanding world of video game technology. Now more than ever before, playing video games—with friends, families, and people across the world—is an integral, interactive part of the fabric of American life. This unprecedented level of participation and consumer demand enables video games to provide a powerful platform for encouraging American youth and their families to become more physically active.

6. Games and Fitness • The dancing genre — like the exercise craze that drove videocassette sales in the 1980s — branched out of the popularity of fitness games beginning in 2008 with Nintendo Co.’s “Wii Fit,” which reintroduced the aerobic step platform in high-tech fashion to millions of living rooms around the world. • The fitness game boom has since given way to dancing games, starting in November 2009 with “Dance Central,” a title developed by Harmonix and published by MTV Network.

7. #4 – Gamification Constance Squire, White House Senior Policy Advisor White House convening of all departments and agencies involved in gamification Over 20 agencies, nearly 80 participants

8. #5 – The Art of Video Games The Smithsonian American Art Museum appreciates games as art with its upcoming exhibit entitled ‘The Art of Video Games’ Explore 40 years of video games with a focus on the evolution as an artistic medium, featuring 80 games across genres.

9. Playing Online & On the Go in National Parks Industry innovations transform the way gamers play, interact and consume other media • Every product with a screen plays games, stimulating consumer demand and boosting overall industry sales • Of the top 10 paid apps available through Apple’s App Store, seven are games • Market research firm Interpret recently reported 8 million iPad owners in the U.S. use their device for game play • 12 million unique users pay for virtual goods offered through online games each month • There are over 500,000 apps in iTunes

10. Est. Consumers Worldwide 2000: 200 Million 2011: 1.5 Billion

11. NASA Imagery Boosts SSX Inspired by real-world NASA topographical data, EA Sports will re-launch SSX franchise (1/12) with gamer choice of iconic mountains Source: EA Sports; www.nasa.gov/open