With the advent of Cloud Gaming high-performance games can now be played from low-end client systems and even TVs. The Internet allowed gamers from all over the world – not just within one country or state – to play games together with ease. MUDs offered multiplayer competition and cooperation but on a scope more geographically limited than on the Internet. Online gaming grew out of games on bulletin board systems and on college mainframes from the 1970s and 1980s. Online gaming has drastically increased the scope and size of video game culture. Thus, such online communities satisfy a genuine need for affiliation with like-minded others. Shapiro states that "the net (Online Gaming Communities) allows individuals to extend their social network in a novel way, to communicate and share life experiences with people regardless of where they live and form online relationships". Shapiro also stresses the possibility of "Using technology to enhance one's social life", as friendships no longer have to be structured by physical proximity (e.g. This raises the notion of McLuhan's " Global Village", as people can transcend their physical limitations and communicate with people, possessing a similar interest, from all around the world. Terry Flew in his book Games: Technology, Industry, Culture also emphasizes the Online Gaming Communities – "where players aren't physically located in the same space, but still socializing together". The Everquest Fan Faires for instance, provide weekends of socializing and playing, at a large gathering (an event of several thousand) of dedicated game fans. LAN parties are often held in large-scale events conducted in public spaces and have a great number of participants who might not usually socialize. A popular method of accomplishing this is a LAN (Local Area Network) party, which is hosted at a home involves family and friends, creating a social event for people-friendly with each other. Video games are played in a variety of social ways, which often involve domestic gatherings or even in public places. According to a 2008 telephone survey with a sample size of 1,102 respondents, 97% of children living in the United States and between the ages of 12 and 17 play video games. Currently, the largest entertainment industry for children is gaming. It could also be because people who played video games when they were young are now growing older and still have that interest in video games. Both require more activity from the user and provide more reasons to play including family competition or exercise. For example, the Wii console has widened its audience with games such as Wii Sports and Wii Fit. One possible reason for the increase in players could be attributed to the growing number of genres that require less of a specific audience. The average age of players across the globe is mid to late 20s, and is increasing as older players grow in numbers. played video games, with 55% of gamers playing on their phones or mobile devices. As of 2011 ESA reported that 71% of people age six to forty-nine in the U.S. The gender distribution of gamers is reaching equilibrium, according to a 2016 study showing that 59% of gamers are male and 41% female however, research has also shown that women are less likely to self-identify as gamers out of fear of stigmatization. Demographics Īs of 2016, the average age for a video game player is 31, a number slowly increasing as people who were children playing the first arcade, console and home computer games continue playing now on current systems. The concept that video games had its own subculture was first suggested in 1996, but became more predominate as an area of academic study since the 2010s. Because of the interactive nature of video games, the video game culture differs from other subculture as there is interest not only in who play video games (the demographics), but the types of video games they play, and how they play them. This not only include gamers, players that frequently dedicate time and effort to playing video games, but also those players that participate less frequently and often through more casual games. Video game culture is broadly considered a description of the subculture of those who play video games. 8 Interactive engagement between players and digital games.7 Video game and traditional media forms.4.4 Debate over social culture versus antisocial culture.