Massively recently mentioned that Sony Online Entertainment and academia are teaming up to plumb the depths of EverQuest II's server logs, with benefits for both the researchers and SOE. (For the record, private subscriber info hasn't been made available to the academic community, according to an SOE statement on the matter.) The data logs and opt-in survey results are already proving fruitful, according to a piece run today on MSNBC by Games editor Kristin Kalning. Her piece raises the point that EverQuest II's gamers, despite being a global community, spend far more time socializing with friends, family, and acquaintances than with the wider playerbase.
This isn't to say that EQII players are insular, but it does emphasize the fact that games aren't simply a hobby or an escape for those surveyed, and are very much a way to keep in touch with family and friends. In other words, they tend to take their offline relationships online, Kalning writes.
The study has also shown that a disparity in how each gender reports their time spent playing the game in a given week. (Men's estimates tend to be off by an hour, women typically state 26 hours per week of EQII time, where the reality is closer to 29 hours.) The research also points out links between health and MMO gaming, how TV is being replaced with games, and higher degrees of (reported) depression by EQ II players on roleplaying servers.
For more on what EverQuest II tells us about MMO gamers, have a look at Kristin Kalning's "Online gamers keep it local, says new study", which is part of her On the Level column.
