The cultural value and variety of playing video games

Abstract

This chapter compares different profiles of video game players and studies how these groups differ in their cultural consumptions patterns. By using a unique dataset on cultural participation in Denmark, we address the problem of over-aggregation and differentiate between several profiles of video gamers based on the genre they play. We find that video gamers are far from being unresponsive to other forms of cultural consumption. In fact, they rather exhibit, on average, better cultural habits than non-players. In particular, they have higher frequencies of reading, museum and performing arts attendance, and are more likely to be involved in active music participation. The exception exists for the category of reflex game players; this could be driven by age effects, since reflex games are the most popular among (males) under 40.