59% of Americans play video games

Owen S. Good of Polygon on the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) 2014 Survey:

Other questions asked of the survey is whether parents view video games to be a positive part of their child’s life; a majority — 56 percent — said yes, though some could view the figure as low given the nature of the question.

I’d say the 56% is positive and more than likely an upward trend seeing that the average gamer age is now 31. Most of today’s parents of 0~10 year-olds grew up with games. I believe they would likely state that games were a positive influence on their lives.

Erin Hoffman, Lead Game Designer at GlassLab Games on how commercial games can engage players in social causes:

Computers and video games have a history of teaching technology skills just by being the way they are, so to be able to get them into classrooms is a very powerful thing. I think you can make the argument that the new SimCity is the most sophisticated toy that’s ever been developed, and it’s just mesmerizing to look at and it’s very real and empowering.

I’d like to think this sentiment is shared by adults who grew up with video games.