Average player age and female gamer percentage on the rise

New game demos and announcements aren't the only things being revealed at E3 this year. Coinciding with the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the Entertainment Software Association released the results of its annual "2011 Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry" demographic study with some facts that may surprise you:

• The average gamer is 37 years old and has been playing for 12 years.
  
• 82 percent of gamers are 18 years of age or older.
• 42 percent of all players are women and women over 18 years of age are one of the industry's fastest growing demographics.
• Today, adult women represent a greater portion of the game-playing population (37 percent) than boys age 17 or younger (13 percent).
• 29 percent of game players are over the age of 50, an increase from nine percent in 1999. This figure is sure to rise in coming years with nursing homes and senior centers across the nation now incorporating video games into their activities.
• 65 percent of gamers play games with other gamers in person.
• 55 percent of gamers play games on their phones or handheld device.
• 91 percent of the time parents are present at the time games are purchased or rented.
  
• 98 percent of parents are confident in the accuracy of the Entertainment Software Rating Board ratings.
  
• 75 percent of parents believe that the parental controls available in all new video game consoles are useful.
• Parents also see several benefits of entertainment software.
  
• 68 percent of parents believe that game play provides mental stimulation or education.
  
• 57 percent believe games encourage their family to spend to time together.
  
• 54 percent believe that game play helps their children connect with their friends.

Who knows, maybe with the release of this new info, perhaps peoples' stereotype of gamers being nothing more than reclusive, uncleanly, zit-riddled teenagers can finally be dispelled. Which category do you fall into?

E3 2011

E3 2011 is in full swing with tons of announcements, trailers and demos from the industry's leading game developers, and Level Up is in the thick of it!

Microsoft looking to explore new possibilities of interactive hardcore gaming with Kinect and Xbox Live; Sony making a comeback from the recent PSN outage with a lineup of hit games and a new handheld system, the Playstation Vita; Nintendo look to satisfy both hardcore and casual gamers to push interactive gaming further with its console, the Wii U coming in 2012; not to mention lots of anticipated titles from third party developers, there's a lot to look forward to in the world of gaming.

Stay tuned for more info from our guys on the floor coming soon!

Nintendo says farewell to the DS Lite and drops the price to $99.99

Nintendo plans to drop the price of it's discontinued DS Lite – one of the Big N's most successful and popular handheld systems – drops down to $99.99 starting June 5.

The DS Lite's back lit dual screens, Wi-Fi multiplayer and downloads, Gameboy Advance compatibility, microphone and PictoChat to name a few, Nintendo's little powerhouse helped to revolutionize handheld gaming.

Now, with the DSi, DSi XL and the recently released 3DS, the Lite can now take the rest it deserves.

Tips and Advice from the Experts at Level Up: Set Up your media server!

Video Game consoles have been around for years. What's changed? Pretty much everything, but most notably is the fact that gaming consoles have evolved from merely playing games to providing a powerful media and communications device for your family.

If you own today's Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 you can link it your home computer to share all of your videos, music and pictures. You can access the internet, or use your game system to video chat and send messages. Services like Hulu Plus which provides the most popular pre-recorded television shows, Netflix which provides on-demand movies from all your favorite studios and other services like Crackle, Vudu, Last.fm and many more provide unlimited media content on demand. Built-in photo gallery, media players and browser applications as well as many upcoming new apps will unleash a whole new experience for your gaming console.

Some of the services mentioned above are provided on a monthly fee base such as Netflix and Hulu-Plus which start at only $7.99 but in my opinion are well worth it. In fact I am very close to cutting the cable service at home all together.
Services like media share and message and video chat however are free. Here is how to set up your media share service.
1)First you must have a PC with Windows XP or higher installed.
2)You also need to have Windows Media Player (this comes pre-installed on all windows pc's) or another media server program like PS3 media player installed. The process is about the same. For this example we will use Windows Media Player Version 12 and Windows 7 OS.
3)You must have your PS3 or Xbox 360 connected to your Home Network either by using an Ethernet Cable or a Wireless connection.
4)Open your Windows Media Player and activate sharing. With Windows Media Player 12 you would click on the STREAM button and select Automatically Allow Devices to play my media.
5)You will then see a a list of all Media compatible devices that are connected to your home network.  Your Xbox or PS3 will show on the listed devices found.  (Note: your game system needs to be turned on in-order for it to be discover.)
6)Next go to your game system and view Media Library on your Xbox 360 or go to Video, Music or Pictures drop down menus on PS3, you will see Windows Media Player logo if you click on it you can see all your pics, videos and music and play them right from your console.

Viola! You now can view and enjoy all the media you have stored on your home computer through your Game Console and Big Screen.
Remember that not all formats are supported by Windows media player or your game systems built-in media player. But you will find that the most common formats will work just fine. Some of the most common formats are WMV, MP3 and MP4, .AVI.
So if you haven't already explored your game systems potential, I strongly recommend you give these tools a try and see what your game system is really capable of.

Submitted by
Jerry Abreu

Trade-in your Apple portable products for Cash or Credit.

Did you know you could trade-in your Ipad, Iphone or Ipod products at Level Up Video Games. We offer top trade-in credit and cash for all Apple portable products. Level Up Video Games has been taking in Apple products for a year now. To celebrate our 1 year anniversary of selling and trading Apple gear.....

We are now offering for all May 2011 an extra 20% trade-in value to all customers who bring in their Apple products this month.

Come down to Level Up Video Games at 7401 N. La Cholla Blvd #162, Tucson, AZ, inside the Foothills Mall to trade in your products or games today!

Congratulations to the Winners and Runner-Ups of CTRLALTKILL Black Ops Tournament.

First off Level Up would like to thank Sami from CTRLALTKILL for putting together this amazing event. We also would like to give special thanks to Evil Controllers, Plantronics, Kontrol Freeks, and Monster Energy for sponsoring this event. Everyone had a great time and we hope to host more events in conjunction with CTRALTKILL...
The winners for the April 2nd 2011 Call of Duty Black Ops Tourney are:
Josh Nava, Maddux Faulkner, Taylor Grease and Ian Lybben

Hottest New Products: April 2011

The new Turtle Beach PX5 headsets are on sale now at Level Up these hot new 7.1 Bluetooth capable headsets are top of the line. This is the first headset to rock dual radios for immersive Dolby sound and clear voice chat and also packs Bluetooth capability for your PS3. This headset can be used on both Xbox 360 and PS3 as well as for personal audio use. Check out this insanely slick headset at Level Up today.

Monster Energy has just launched it's next new drink Monster: Rehab. Tea+Lemonade+Energy flavored Rehab is a low calorie edition to the Monster line-up. We think it taste amazing. It's light and crisp contrast to the usual Monster fare is a welcome edition and they have been selling great. This product is so new it's not even on their website yet. As usual Level Up get first dibs..beat the heat and pick up one today and try it for yourself..

Hot new toys from DC Direct: Batman Arkham City Action figures are out this month. With the next 2nd series launching soon. For all you Batman fans these are the coolest characters we've ever laid eyes in the Batman series. Check them out today at Level Up.

ATARI is back with these new LIDS from our friends at Bioworld. These caps are rightous, they have been flying off the shelves at Level Up with 3 new styles to choose from this retro name is all the rage in todays gamer fashion. Show off yours this summer!