Metaboli parental control report

New report commissioned by Metaboli reveals:

• 7.7 million parents are unaware of their children’s video games content – nearly half of parents admit to not always knowing the content of their children’s computer games.

• Growing concerns over the time their children spend playing video games – 5 million parents are concerned about the amount of time their children dedicate to playing games on the computer

• Playing computer games are a source of family tension – over 90% of families admit that their children fight over getting ‘their turn’

• Parents want more control over the computer games their children play – one-fifth of parents would like more control and this desire increases as children get older with a third of parents with children aged over 13 wanting greater control

• Despite concerns, families believe that computer games are useful for their children’s education – three-quarters of parents believe that playing computer games helps teach their children new skills

Metaboli, Europe’s leader in digital distribution of PC games, today announces the launch of a first-of-its-kind tool to give parents control across all of their children’s PC gaming. The parental control function will launch across all of Metaboli’s platforms. The tool allows parents to set up each child with their own account on Metaboli and pre-select the games their children can play by the age certification, genre or on a case-by-case basis. Parents can also use the weekly calendar to specify when and for how long their children will be able to play to help allocate a fair playing time for each child thereby minimising arguments.

Metaboli has launched this feature on the back of a nationwide study it developed in association with Mumsnet, surveying Mumsnet members across the UK. The research reveals that despite parent’s concerns over their children playing video games, 45% admit that they aren’t always aware of the content of the games. Parents with older children are less likely to know what their children are doing with 66% of parents with children aged over 11 admitting to not being aware of the content of their children’s games. A further 17% of parents across the UK acknowledge that they can find it difficult to monitor what types of games their children are playing and 29% are concerned about how much time is spent playing them.

For families with more than one child, 94% admit that children demanding ‘their turn’ on the family computer or games consoles cause arguments at home with an estimated 1 million parents owning up to constant fights over this issue.

However, parents are keen to allow their children to play video games with 72% believing that it helps to teach them new skills, and a further 27% thinking that it teaches them about the world.

Carrie Longton, co-founder of Mumsnet, said: “We welcome the introduction by Metaboli of an easy-to-use parental control feature which will help parents have greater power over their children’s gaming. Although many parents are already actively monitoring and supervising their children as they play PC games, this pack will make mums lives much easier.”

Paul Howes, Regional Director for Metaboli, continues: “At Metaboli, we aim to offer our customers the best gaming experience. The study with Mumsnet has shown a keen desire amongst parents for more control over their children’s computer games and we’ve developed this feature with today’s busy families in mind. It’s the first-of-its kind to offer parents active control of all aspects of their children’s computer gaming, and we hope that it will help them better organise and manage this experience.

With increasing pressure on budgets, families are looking to cut unnecessary spending. With 14% of families admitting that they spend too much money on buying new computer games for their children, Metaboli’s subscription-based service offers an easy way for families to cut costs without cutting back on the latest games. The Essential pack costs just £6.95 per month and offers families access to over 200 family games with a new game added every week.

For more information on the parental control feature including the available games and calendar functionality, visit www.metaboli.co.uk.

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Notes to Editors

The research was conducted by Mumsnet.com and surveyed 906 adults with children who play computer games in the UK between 29/04/09 and 18/05/09. According to The Office of National Statistics, there were 17.1 million families in the UK in 2006/7.

About Metaboli

Created in 2001, Metaboli is the European leader in digital distribution of PC games. In September 2008 Metaboli acquired www.gametap.com, the US leader in videogame subscriptions, allowing it to develop its presence on the other side of the Atlantic.

Thanks to its partnerships with publishers including Atari, Codemaster, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Microsoft, Rockstar, Sega, THQ, Take 2 and Ubisoft, Metaboli has the most in-depth video games catalogue available for download in Europe. There are more than 600 PC games available to users through unlimited subscription on www.metaboli.com, or download to own at www.gamesplanet.com.

Metaboli also developed the business-to-business platform Digital Tycoon, which allows publishers and distributors of video games to design, deploy and run their online digital distribution strategy on a global scale.

For more information, please visit www.metaboli.co.uk

For more information, please contact:

Press:

Laura Macdonald or Dave Turnbull

Skywrite Communications for Metaboli UK

+44 207 608 4650

metaboli@skywritecomms.com

Business:

Paul Howes

Regional Business Director, Metaboli

+44 208 401 1898

paul.howes@metaboli.com