JumpstartMyPC.com has decided to bring FollowFriday to our blog. Read on and, if you are so inclined, add these “interesting people” to your own list.

FollowFriday – Round 9

Console and PC gaming have grown into a multi-billion dollar business, with total sales of hardware and software (not counting PC’s) reaching $19.66 billion in 2009.  And while you might think that gaming is just for teenage boys, recent research has shown that the majority of male gamers now fall into the 25-40 age group.  According to the ESRB, almost 41% of PC gamers are women and the average American gamer has been playing for 12 years.

Before you make a decision on gaming or gamers, take a moment to reflect on your daily activities.  You might not consider yourself a traditional gamer, but how many hours of Facebook games have you played?  With titles like FarmVille, Mafia Wars, Bejeweled Blitz and Uno attracting millions of users each day, it is hard to find someone who doesn’t play any games at all.  I can tell you from experience that many of my customers and family members have only learned about computers through work or games.  I have a 90 year old grandmother who uses her Nintendo DS regularly and another who has played more hours of Scrabble and Boggle than you could even imagine.

The following sites are dedicated to gaming and gaming news. Add these sites to your inbox, Twitter follow list or Facebook “likes” and let the information come to you.

IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation, is probably the largest player in the video game news industry.  According to their own web site they are a “leading online media and services company obsessed with gaming, entertainment and everything guys enjoy.”

From the IGN web site, visitors can access up-to-date information on games for the XBOX 360, PS3, Wii, PC, DS, PSP and more.  Read reviews on games before you purchase and even rate them yourself.  In recent news, IGN has begun reviews of iPad games (found in the “Wireless” section) and added the new Facebook Like feature to it’s web site.  Find a game you like, leave a review and share it with your friends in just a few clicks.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/igncom
Web Site: http://www.ign.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ign

IGN Entertainment Covers it All

G4

The only thing that confuses me about G4 is the link between gaming, which dominates their web site, and their television station, which is ruled by programs completely unrelated to gaming.  I am not saying that these shows aren’t great, I just don’t get the connection.  In this day and age, I would think that a station could broadcast, gaming news, reviews, demos, etc. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Maybe that is the long-term goal.

Web Site: http://g4tv.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/g4tv
Facebook: http://facebook.com/g4tv

G4tv is All About Games... At least on the web site

Inside Social Games is for all of you “social gamers” out there.  Inside Social Games is a service of Inside Network, the first company dedicated to providing news and market research to the Facebook platform and social gaming ecosystem.  Although this site is really meant for developers, marketers and analysts, it has some great game reviews and news that you can benefit from.  Wanna know what the fastest growing game on Facebook is this week?  Looking for a review on a new game before you dedicate hours and hours to it?  This is the place.

While Inside Social Games is not the perfect option for consumers (Facebook users) it is currently the only dedicated option.  I have a strong feeling that this will change very soon, as these social games have become big business.  A recent article on GIGAOM stated that Zynga, the company behind social games like Farmville and Mafia Wars, would “likely be worth as much as $5 billion, if it were publicly traded instead of privately held.”  That is just one of the companies currently producing FREE games for social networking users.

Web Site: http://www.insidesocialgames.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/InsideNetwork
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/InsideSocialGamescom

Inside Social Games for You "Non-Gamers"

Try out one or all three of the sites we recommended today and check back next Friday for more great #FollowFriday recommendations. Don’t forget, if you want to share this article with friends or family, all you have to do is click on the ShareThis button below.