Ipsos Reid Survey Reveals Some Canadians Are Taking Their Gaming To The Next Level

Toronto, ON - It appears that there are few limits as to how online Canadians like to enjoy their computer games. A new poll conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of Microsoft has found that one in five Canadian men (17%) has played a computer game in the nude. A smaller percentage of women (9%) have done the same.

Aside from some online Canadians playing their computer games in the nude, they are playing games in a wide-range of places, presumably while clothed. These include playing computer games while at work (30%), in the bedroom (27%), in public (19%), and even in the bathroom (7%). Half of Canadians (50%), however, have not played in any of these locations.>/p>

• Men (23%) are more likely than women (15%) to have played a computer game in public.
• An alarming one in four Canadians aged 18 to 34 (23%) have played a computer game in the nude, while those aged 35 to 54 (12%) or over 54 (5%) are less likely to have done so.

Nine in ten online Canadians (86%) have played minesweeper or solitaire on their computer, making them among the most widely played games available. Half (53%) have bought a video game at some point in their lives - men (59%) more than women (49%). Other activities include playing an online game like Diner Dash (28%), playing a game on Facebook like Scrabulous (25%), and playing a "massively multi-player game" like World of Warcraft (12%). Only one in ten online Canadians (9%) have not done any of these activities.

• While men (19%) are more likely than women (5%) to have played a massively multi-player game, women appear more inclined than men to play smaller online games (32% and 25%, respectively) and Facebook games (29% and 21%).
• Canadians living in Ontario (63%) are most likely to have bought a video game, followed by residents of Alberta (57%), Atlantic Canada (53%), British Columbia (52%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (45%), and Quebec (40%).

The average age at which online Canadians first played a computer game is 29 years old. The average for those aged 18 to 34 is 11.5 years old, while the average is considerably higher for those aged 35 to 54 (29 years old) and those over the age of 54 (45.6 years old).

Thinking about their earliest memory of using a computer, three in ten (29%) say it was playing a free Windows game, such as Solitaire, Free Cell, Mah Jong, or Minesweeper; two in ten (19%) say their first experience was word processing, either to write an essay or a letter. Other first experiences include playing educational games at school (15%), e-mail (15%), and playing Wolfenstein or King's Quest (5%). Two in ten (17%) say none of these properly describe their earliest memory of using a computer.

• Women (23%) are more likely than men (15%) to say their first memory of using a computer involved word processing.
• Canadians living in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (24%) are most likely to say that their first memory was playing an educational game in school, followed by residents of Alberta (22%), Ontario (16%), British Columbia (15%), Atlantic Canada (12%), and Quebec (10%).

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted from 06/10 to 06/13, 2008. This online survey of 1,026 Canadian adults was conducted via the Ipsos I-Say Online Panel, Ipsos Reid's national online panel. The results are based on a sample where quota sampling and weighting are employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data. Quota samples with weighting from the Ipsos online panel provide results that are intended to approximate a probability sample. An unweighted probability sample of this size, with a 100% response rate, would have an estimated margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
Sean Simpson
Research Manager
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
(416) 572-4474
[email protected]

About Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

About Ipsos
Ipsos is a leading global survey-based market research company, owned and managed by research professionals. Ipsos helps interpret, simulate, and anticipate the needs and responses of consumers, customers, and citizens around the world.

Member companies assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media. They measure public opinion around the globe.

Ipsos member companies offer expertise in advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, and public affairs research, as well as forecasting, modeling, and consulting. Ipsos has a full line of custom, syndicated, omnibus, panel, and online research products and services, guided by industry experts and bolstered by advanced analytics and methodologies. The company was founded in 1975 and has been publicly traded since 1999.

In 2007, Ipsos generated global revenues of e927.2 million ($1.27 billion U.S.).

Visit www.ipsos.com to learn more about Ipsos offerings and capabilities.

Ipsos, listed on the Eurolist of Euronext - Comp B, is part of SBF 120 and the Mid-100 Index, adheres to the Next Prime segment and is eligible to the Deferred Settlement System. Isin FR0000073298, Reuters ISOS.PA, Bloomberg IPS:FP