The average Wii gamer is a hardcore gamer, Nintendo of America’s Cammie Dunaway told the Electronic Gaming Summit today.

Seventy-nine percent of Wii gamers are male, most older than 18 with an income of $50,000 or more and more than half game for five or more hours a week, Dunaway said.

While the people who buy Wii tend to be pretty typical for gaming, the other household members who play Wii aren’t, she said.

About 45 percent of the other household members who play Wii are female, with 38 percent 25 or older. Sixty-five of these gamers play at least two hours a week, while only 32 percent play five or more a week.

“The real break-through, the real magic of the Wii console is that it brought new consumers into the game,” she said. “We in the industry have a choice to make, do we want to appeal to the few or to the masses? Do we want to sell to more people or sell more and more and more to less people? Do we want to be inclusive or do we want to be expansive? At Nintendo we definitely believe in the power of the expanded audience.

“We hope everyone will join us in showing everyone just how much fun video games can be.”

I am pretty sure if you are checking this site, you are a hardcore gamer. The question is the kid down the street who has never owned a Nintendo system before a hardcore gamer?

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