The Entertainment Software Association released its annual report this week, with a variety of tidbits about the gaming industry in general that some of you may find interesting (I did, at least!).

• Gaming's not just for kids. Contrary to what some senators or representatives would have you believe, video games aren't chiefly made for or played by kids. In fact, 63% of console game players and 73% of PC gamers are adults. More, it's not just guys either. 28% of console gamers and 40% of PC gamers are female.
  
  
• When kids are the ones playing games, their parents aren't as ignorant of their habits as you might think. 91% of parents with gamer kids buy the games or are present when they're bought, and 90% keep an eye on what sort of games they play (kids may borrow games from friends, after all). A majority (55%) say that games are a positive thing for their kids.
  
  
• Games are serious business. The games industry makes jobs for more than 80,000 people and contributed $3,800,000,000 to the 2006 GDP. Games Industry growth has outpaced GDP growth by 300% or more for the past several years.
  
  
• State legislators just won't learn. Eighteen states have tried making laws regulating video games in one way or another recently, and the ESA is fighting them. Most of them that do pass go straight to court and end up overturned, but more states try the same things anyway.