By AARON M. MILLER
The State News

It’s no secret that Americans are obsessed with playing games.

The frenzy caused by gaming consoles such as the Sony PlayStation 2, the widespread use of online games and even the enduring popularity of classic board games such as Monopoly are all evidence of blind gaming passion.

And the numbers back it up:

In 2000, about 60 percent of Americans - 145 million people - played interactive games, accounting for more than $6 billion worth of sales.

In contrast, only about 70 million people attended Major League Baseball games in 1999.

Video games for consoles such as Nintendo 64 or Sony Playstation are bigger sellers than computer games, for several reasons.

“It’s easier to hook a game machine up to a television than it is to own a PC,” said Russ Howard, vice president of Babbage’s, a game retailer. “Video games traditionally appeal to a more casual and broader audience than computer games. There’s never an issue in installing a video game.”

But why all the game fever?

According to an Interactive Digital Software Association survey, 78 percent of gamers play for the challenge, 55 percent because they relieve stress, 50 percent because they provide a lot of entertainment for the money and 37 percent play games because they can enjoy playing with friends.

For college students, it comes as no surprise that games can reduce stress - they often cite nerve-relief as a valid reason for cutting study time short in favor of popping in the latest action game.

“Video games are like a getaway, so you can let loose while you’re studying and stuff,” pre-law and business administration freshman Sandesh Viswanath said. “It’s a good study break, even though many people say exercise is much better, this is also really good, too.”

Viswanath practices what he preaches, too, playing games an average of two hours a day, seven days a week.

He said his love affair with video games began in 1992 with the release of the first Mortal Kombat, the blood-and-guts action game that caused many parents to cringe and teen-age players to tingle with delight.

But more recently, a simple computer game has sucked away much of Viswanath’s time.

“A couple months ago I downloaded ‘Snood’ and I’ve been obsessed with that ever since,” he said. “A game might last anywhere between 20 seconds and like 3 minutes - I get about 20 games a day.”

Video game consoles, such as the new Sony PlayStation 2 or the Nintendo 64, and computers provide the main source of entertainment for Viswanath, though he said occasionally he’ll play other games, if the mood is right.

“I play board games when I go out with girls and stuff,” he said, citing Trivial Pursuit as a recently played game. “You gotta get into something they like to do and act like you like to do it too, because it’s like you have more in common then.”

The latest figures, however, suggest that girls are as passionate about gaming as guys - a 2000 survey by Peter D. Hart Research Associates found that 43 percent of video and computer game players are women.

But that’s not to say that men and women prefer the same games.

Another study found that with online games, females prefer quiz, trivia and contest games, while males prefer action games.

At Babbage’s Software in the Lansing Mall, 5330 W. Saginaw Highway in Lansing, employee Tony Kwiecinski said the store’s consumer base “probably leans a little bit more towards men, but it’s pretty balanced.”

He said women tend to buy more electronic board games while men buy more action-oriented games.

Amy Pierce, an anthropology junior, said she plays old-fashioned board games, as well as computer games.

“I play board games when I can get someone to play with me - I like Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit and Twister the best,” she said. “I like computer games because of the graphics - it’s heavy in graphics and I don’t need someone to play with me.”

Pierce said she spends a couple hours a week enjoying computer games such as Age of Empires, a strategy game from Microsoft, and everyone’s old favorite - Solitaire.

“I think that everybody should play video games,” Pierce said. “Everybody needs to relax and do something fun sometimes.”