:: netwoman's blog ::

Among all video gamers, 62% report playing games online, according to an NPD report which covered gamers’ perspectives on online gaming via PC, console and portable systems.

The top three genres played online are card, puzzle, arcade and word games (44%), family-oriented games (25%) and RPG/MMOGs (19%). Online gambling is also very popular with 17% of gamers preferring online gambling/casino games such as poker.


According to the report, which questioned over 11,000 U.S. gamers in January, a significant percentage of online gamers are female (42%). Overall, online gamers are most likely to be age 25-44, console owners, casual gamers (defined as players of card, puzzle, word and arcade games), and live in mid income households ($35K-<$75K). “With the intense interest on the success of MMORPG's recently, it might surprise some that the audience for online games is still largely the casual player,” said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group. “Understanding exactly who is playing what and where is crucial for the industry to realize the potential revenues that online revenues represent for future growth.” Among video game systems used for online gaming, Xbox 360 has the highest percentage of use (54%). Among the 29% who use a video game system to play games online, the majority (54%) uses Xbox 360, followed by PS2 (45%). Relative to other system user bases, Nintendo Wii users are most inclined (76%) to be online gamers. Xbox 360 and PS3 users are next in line, each with about 7 in 10 reporting that they game online. When it comes to hours per week spent playing games online, Xbox 360 tops the list with a mean of 7.1 hours per week. PS3 comes in second place with 6.1 hours, and PC/Mac users spend 5.8 hours a week on online gaming using a PC/Mac. All other systems are under four hours a week for online game play.

posted by Netwoman @ 12:05 AM