Video Games and Intelligence

It would be interesting to see if there is a correlation between intelligence and preferences for certain video game genres, as well as between intelligence and preference for console vs. computer gaming.

It would make sense that on average, computer gamers are more intelligent than console gamers. Being a PC gamer requires knowledge of video cards, RAM, hard disks, and computer maintenence, plus an intermediate or higher level of experience with computers. Console gamers just need to plug an audio/video cable into their TV, a power cable into an outlet, and press the power button. If something fails, they don't have to figure out which component of their computer is malfunctioning, they just call the Microsoft/Nintendo/Sony tech support number.

As for genres and intelligence, my guess is that first-person shooters, sports games, and racing games would tend to attract people with lower IQs. Strategy games and role-playing games seem to attract smarter players. You don't find very many blacks or low-class whites playing World of Warcraft, for example, but instead it is played by hordes of intelligent whites and Asians.

I've been looking for detailed statistics regarding video game player demographics, but most of the studies I've found do not say much about race, just age and gender (usually with the intent of promoting the female gamer myth, something I will address in a future post), and I haven't been able to find anything on the demographics of players by genre.