Why are Microsoft and Nintendo taking on Sony in the video-game wars? Because the market is now even bigger than Hollywood's. Tim Ayers is getting a PlayStation2 for Christmas. It will be his first game console, and he can't wait. Over the past few months, Ayers has been wowed by the sophistication of graphics in games such as Tony Hawk Pro Skater and Grand Theft Auto III. Ayers, as it happens, is 56 years old -- and he plans to share his toy with his wife, Christine. "You can't avoid video games now," he says. "They're the hottest kind of entertainment." No longer the exclusive realm of pimply teenage boys, video games have gone mainstream. According to the Interactive Digital Software Assn. (IDSA), an industry trade group based in Washington, D.C., about 60% of Americans -- or 145 million people -- now play computer or video games. The average player's age is 28, and 43% are women.
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