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New Media & Society
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Gaming at a LAN event: the social context of playing video games

Jeroen Jansz

Amsterdam School of Communications Research (ASCoR), University of Amsterdam, j.jansz{at}uva.nl

Lonneke Martens

Amsterdam School of Communications Research (ASCoR), University of Amsterdam

An exploratory survey was undertaken about the appeal of playing video games at a Local Area Network (LAN) event where personal computers are linked in order to play both face-to-face and online. First, we wanted to know who the visitors of a LAN event were, because there is hardly any research available about this class of gamers. Second, we wanted to know why they participated in a LAN event. The survey showed that LAN gamers were almost exclusively male, with a mean age of 19.5 years. They devoted about 2.6 hours each day to gaming. They were motivated by social contact and a need to know more about games. The competition motive was third in the total sample. A subgroup of heavy gamers obtained a higher score on competition. This article emphasizes the importance of the social context of gaming and interprets its results as a nuance of the stereotype of the solitary, adolescent gamer.

Key Words: gender differences • interactive media • LAN event • motives • video games

New Media & Society, Vol. 7, No. 3, 333-355 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/1461444805052280
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