More than 30 percent of people from a sample group of 300 North American adults said that recent news stories about video games will make them reconsider the types of video games they purchase for themselves or others, according to a survey by marketing services firm Phoenix Marketing International. The recent news stories referred to are about the controversy regarding violence and sexual content in video games.

Meanwhile about two-thirds of the survey's respondents agreed with the statement "video games are not just for kids, adults have the right to play sometimes offensive games." The number of people who answered in this manner was higher in gamers than for non-gamers.

According to senior research manager David Pluchino, "More than three-quarters of households with a video game console agree that the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is doing a good job and that it is ultimately the parents responsibility to control what their children play."

The survey also found that 54 percent feel that video games have no use as a tool for training indicating that video games "should be taken for what they are; entertainment, not so-called 'training tools'".