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Q: Video Game Market Statistics ( Answered,   2 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Video Game Market Statistics
Category: Computers > Games
Asked by: blitz_2005-ga
List Price: $75.00
Posted: 29 Jun 2005 01:08 PDT
Expires: 29 Jul 2005 01:08 PDT
Question ID: 538229
I would like to know the following about the video game market (please
provide links or quote sources). I am only interested in PC games,
PlayStation 2, XBox, GameCube, and portable game devices such as the
PSP and Gameboy. I am not interested in web games or cell phone games,
so if possible please exclude these from the data.

1. No of gamers in the US.
2. Average number of games that gamers own.
3. Average number of game purchases per month.
4. Median price for video games.
5. US gamer demographic profile - Age, gender, location, income level, education
6. Size of US gaming market.
7. Average rate of growth for US gaming market.
Answer  
Subject: Re: Video Game Market Statistics
Answered By: bobbie7-ga on 01 Jul 2005 14:57 PDT
 
Hello Blitz_2005, 

The Entertainment Software Association provides a wealth of data,
statistics and information regarding the Video Game Market.


?The U.S. computer and video game software sales grew four percent in
2004 to $7.3 billion -- a more than doubling of industry software
sales since 1996.?

?Seventy-five percent of American heads of households play computer
and video games.?
 
?In 2004, more than 248 million computer and video games were sold,
almost two games for every household in America?
 
?The average game player is 30 years old and has been playing games for 9.5 years?
 
?The average game buyer is 37 years old.  In 2005, 95 percent of
computer game buyers and 84 percent of console game buyers were over
the age of 18.?

?  Eighty-three percent of all games sold in 2004 were rated "E" for
Everyone or "T" for Teen.?

? Eighty-seven percent of game players under the age of 18 report that
they get their parents? permission when renting or buying games, and
92 percent say their parents are present when they buy games.?
 
?  Forty-three percent of all game players are women. In fact, women
over the age of 18 represent a greater portion of the game-playing
population (28 percent) than boys from ages 6 to 17 (21 percent).?

? In 2004, 19 percent of Americans over the age of 50 played video
games, an increase from nine percent in 1999.?

? Forty-two percent of game players say they play games online one or
more hours per week. In addition, 34 percent of heads of households
play games on a wireless device, such as a cell phone or PDA, up from
20 percent in 2002.?

Source: Entertainment Software Association
http://www.theesa.com/facts/top_10_facts.php


----------------
Game Player Data
----------------

How Many People Play Computer and Video Games? 
Who Purchases Computer and Video Games? 
How Long Have Gamers Been Playing?
Will Gamers Keep Playing? 
Who Plays Computer and Video Games?
For Computer Gamers... 
For Console Gamers...
What about Women Gamers? 
How Much Time Is Spent Playing Games?
How many Gamers Play Games Online?
Who Plays Games Online?
What Other Activities are Gamers Involved In? 

Read the answers and view pie charts for the above questions here:
http://www.theesa.com/facts/gamer_data.php

------------------
Sales & Genre Data
------------------

What Were the Top-Selling Game Genres in 2004?
What Kinds of Games are Played Online Most Often?
Historical Sales Figures
2004 Industry Sales Information
2004 Sales by ESRB Rating:

Graphs and Pie Charts available here:
http://www.theesa.com/facts/sales_genre_data.php


---------------------------------------
2005 SALES, DEMOGRAPHICS AND USAGE DATA
---------------------------------------

Title: ESSENTIAL FACTS ABOUT THE COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY

?The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) released its 2005
Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry at E3 on
May 18, 2005. The annual research was conducted by Ipsos-Insight for
the ESA. The study is the most in-depth and targeted survey of its
kind, gathering data from almost 1,500 nationally representative
households that have been identified as owning either or both a video
game console or a personal computer used to run entertainment software.?


Who Plays What? 
Who Plays Computer and Video Games? 
Who Buys Computer and Video Games? 
How Long Have Gamers Been Playing? 
How Long Do Gamers Expect to Continue Playing?
2004 Computer and Video Game Sales by Rating 
What Were the Top-Selling Game Genres in 2004? 
What Were the Top-Selling Games of 2004? 
What Else Are Gamers Doing? 
Parents and Games
Who Plays What? Online and Wireless Games 
How Many Gamers Play Games Online?
Who Plays Games Online? 
What Kind of Games are Played Online Most Often? 
How Many Americans Play Games on Wireless Devices? 
What?s the Bottom Line? Sales Data 
Recent Sales Information (2003 and 2004)
How Many Games Sold 500,000 or More Units in 2004?
Historical Sales Information (1996 ? 2004)
How Many Americans Expect to Buy Games in 2005?

Download complete report here: (16 pages)
http://www.theesa.com/files/2005EssentialFacts.pdf


Parents & Games
http://www.theesa.com/facts/parents_games.php



=====================================================


?According to leading marketing information provider, The NPD Group,
Annual 2004 U.S. retail sales of video games, which includes portable
and console hardware, software and accessories, saw sales of over $9.9
billion - a decline of less than one percent when compared to $10
billion in Annual 2003. However, while dollar sales were down
slightly, total industry unit sales were up 4 percent over the same
period last year.

Sales remained strong, thanks in large part to the console software,
portable game software and portable game hardware categories, which
saw dollar sales percentage increases of 7 percent, 11 percent and 10
percent, respectively. For the first time ever, sales of portable
software titles broke the $1 billion mark. Total software sales also
continued to set new records, with sales exceeding $6.2 billion, an
increase of 8 percent in overall sales when compared to $5.8 billion
in 2003. For 2004, console software, portable game software and
portable game hardware also experienced healthy unit sales increases
of 8 percent, 13 percent and 9 percent, respectively.?


NPD Funworld: January 18, 2005
http://www.npdfunworld.com/funServlet?nextpage=pr_body.html&content_id=2076


-------------------
Video game consoles
-------------------


The dominant consoles in 2004 were:

Microsoft Xbox 
Nintendo GameCube 
Sony PlayStation 2 

----------------------
Handheld game consoles
----------------------

The dominant handheld consoles in 2004 were:

N-Gage - In early 2005 the N-Gage falls off the console charts 
Nintendo DS - Released first in the United States on November 21 
Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP 
PlayStation Portable - Released in Japan on December 12

Answers.com
http://www.answers.com/topic/2004-in-video-gaming


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

See the top 10 video game titles ranked by total U.S. units April 2005  here:
http://www.npdfunworld.com/funServlet?nextpage=trend_body.html&content_id=2148


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Increased spending planned for software and hardware purchases

?The video game industry appears to have strong momentum going into
the second half of 2004. Half of all respondents stated that their
purchases for software?increased a lot? or ?increased somewhat? in the
last 12 monthsand a ¼ of all respondents stated their purchases for
hardware, have ?increased a lot? or ?increased somewhat? over the last
12 months.?

E-Poll
http://www.epoll.com/reports/E-Poll-Gigex-Study.pdf


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


Accoding to a Gamedaily and E-Poll study on purchasing and lifestyle
habits of mainstream, casual and hardcore video gamers, the majority
respondents plan to increase spending on video games.

 ?Gamers not only increased their video game purchases in the past
year, but more importantly, over half plan to increase software
spending and over one third plan to increase hardware spending over
the next six months, into the 2004 holidays season.?

76%  of gamers state that price is very/somewhat important in deciding
what game to buy.

Game Daily: June 22, 2004 
http://www.gamedaily.com/press/release.asp?rd=%2020040622


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


?Otonafami reports that the average PSP owner in Japan owns one to
three games for the handheld; 27 percent said they owned one game, 25
percent said they owned two games, and 23 percent said they owned
three games. The statistics for the DS were a bit different, with 23
percent of its owners saying that they owned more than six games for
the handheld. Curiously, two percent of the users for both the PSP and
DS said they had no games, which makes one wonder what they play.?

SURVEY RESULTS 

Q: How many Games do you have? 

PSP: 
None: 2% 
One game: 27% 
Two games: 25% 
Three games: 14% 
Four games: 8% 
Five Games: 10% 
More than six games: 11% 

DS: 
None: 2% 
One game: 16% 
Two games: 20% 
Three games: 19% 
Four games: 12% 
Five games: 8% 
More than six games: 23% 

GameSpot:  June 2005
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/06/23/news_6128046.html


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


According to a Nielsen Entertainment survey, men spend more on
computer games than they do on music.

?It also found that games are starting to attract significant numbers
of players beyond the core target market of males aged eight to 34.?

?Almost a quarter of gamers, 24%, are over 40 years, said the report.? 

?It found that 40% of US homes own a PC, game console or handheld
gaming device. Almost a quarter of these, 23%, own all three types of
gaming gadget and the vast majority of gamers, 89%, do their playing
via a console.?

?The PlayStation 2 is the most popular console with 57% of gamers
owning one compared to 39% with an Xbox and 27% with a Gamecube. A
small, fanatical number, 8%, own all three consoles.?

BBC News: 8 April, 2005
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4423365.stm


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Game Purchase Frequency

5 or more a month               3.30%
3 or 4 a month                  3.60%
1 or 2 a month                  19.10%
One every two months            26.50%
Less than one every two months  40.00%
Never buy games                 7.50%

Source: Zelos Group


Zelos Group Survey: What Do Gamers Want? Everything
Electronic Gaming Business,  Nov 19, 2003
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0PJQ/is_16_1/ai_110317816


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


Game ownership


?Heavy players reported owning more games (23 on average) and spending
more on them ($500) than light players (17 games on average; $410).
Extensive collections of +50 games were owned by a large number of
heavy players (17 per cent) and a small proportion of light players (9
per cent).?

2005 Media Awareness Network
Video Game Culture: Leisure and Play Preferences of B.C. Teens 
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/research_documents/studies/video_games/vgc_summary_findings.cfm?RenderForPrint=1


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


The "Digital Gaming in America Survey"

?For those who consider themselves "core gamers," they talk about
video games approximately three hours a week, almost three times as
much as average video gamers, spend $96.9 a month on video games
alone, almost six times the average gamer, and plan to buy 3 games in
the next 60 days, five times the average gamer. And 86 percent say
they have purchased a game after renting it

?Core gamers" also have distinct shopping habits. 60 percent buy used
games and 42 percent trade in old games for store credit, while only 5
percent of video gamers have sold a game on Ebay.?

?28 percent of total video gamers purchased games at Wal-Mart, up from
26 percent in 2001, edging out Best Buy as the retail outlet of choice
with only 16 percent of gamers, down from 19 percent in 2001.?
 
Gaming Age: 2002
http://www.gaming-age.com/news/2002/8/12-31


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


According to a recent study conducted by IGN Entertainment video and
computer game enthusiasts are spending 700 dollars a year on games
software.

Other findings: 

?While 90 percent of the consumers studied still purchase titles at
brick and mortar stores, nearly one-third report they are now also
regularly purchasing products online.?

?Spend more than $700 a year: $341 on console titles, $233 on PC games
and another $140 for accessories.?


?Video game rentals are a popular way for gamers to decide if they
want to invest the money to own a title.

More than 50 percent of the respondents rent video games, on average
about 11 games per month.

More than 60 percent of those who rent games say they eventually
purchase the title they rented.?

TMC Net : March 28, 2005 
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2005/Mar/1128592.htm

-----------------------------------------------------------------------


Average price: 50 dollars

A new, in-demand video game release can cost upwards of $50.00.
http://www.familymatters.tv/level_3/moneysaver/gamefly.htm

The average price of a video game in 2003 was $30.70
http://techdirt.com/articles/20041221/1655243_F.shtml

Fifty dollars. The usual price of a game,
http://www.tokidokijournal.com/tokidoki/viewtopic.php?t=486

6 games at $50 each 
http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2005Mar/bga20050330029799.htm

$50 on a new video game
http://collegian.kenyon.edu/article.php?id=2481


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Price Differences

?Average prices for video games at Target Corp., Toys R Us Inc. and
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. were 5 percent to 10 percent higher than online
retailer Amazon.com, whose prices before shipping were the lowest
among the top eight video game retailers.?

?Target's average prices were 9.5 percent higher than Amazon's,
excluding shipping. Toys R Us sold games at a 9 percent premium to
Amazon and Wal-Mart's premium was 6.2 percent, while Circuit City
prices ran 5.4 percent higher.?

Wal-Mart is currently the No. 1 seller of new video games, with about
23 percent market share.

MSNBC: June 29, 2005
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8409492/


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


1UP.COM 2005 USER STUDY HIGHLIGHTS

Video gamers own 69 video games and play video games 20 hrs/week

PC gamers own 35 PC games

63% plan to purchase a new gaming device in the next year
 
They plan to buy: 
Sony PSP 75% 
Sony PS3 68% 
Xbox 360 58% 
Nintendo Revolution 38% 
Nintendo DS 27%

VIDEO GAMERS: 
Plan to purchase 4 more games in the next 60 days 
Plan to spend $142 on video games in the next 60 days 
Rent 3 games /month from retail stores (of those 88%who rent) 
 
PC GAMERS: 
Bought a PC game in the last 60 days 
Plan to spend $55 on PC games in the next 60 days
 
http://gamegroup.ziffdavis.com/online/online.qfacts.html


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The PEW INTERNET & AMERICAN LIFE PROJECT provides a free report titled:
Gaming technology and entertainment among College students
Date: July 2003
(14 pages)
Download here:
http://www.pewtrusts.com/pdf/pew_internet_gaming_0703.pdf


-----------------
FEE BASED REPORTS
-----------------

Video Game Market
RocSearch 

March 1, 2005
22 Pages 
http://www.marketresearch.com/product/display.asp?productid=1103586&SID=79115056-320455863-397342599


Games Consoles in the United States
Datamonitor 
March 3, 2004
15 Pages 
http://www.marketresearch.com/product/display.asp?productid=1039658&SID=79115056-320455863-397342599


Other reports:
http://www.npd.com/dynamic/store.fun.content.html

--------------------------------------------------------------------


Search terms used:
Video gamers
Video game market demographics
Video gamers poll OR survey
Video Game Purchase Frequency
video game ownership

I hope the information provided is helpful.

Best regards,
Bobbie7
Comments  
Subject: Re: Video Game Market Statistics
From: rxmr-ga on 30 Jun 2005 10:17 PDT
 
Here is an older (year 2000) free report that breaks down some key
info you are looking for.  I hope this helps.  Good luck.

http://www.cybersurvey.com/reports/

Here are the details:

The Gaming Market in the US - Overall Summary

    * Overall Gaming Market Summary
    * Size of Overall Game Market-Households
    * Size of Overall Game Market: Players
    * PC Gamer Demographic Profile
    * Video Game Console Gamer Dmographic Profile
    * Online Gamer Demographic Profile
    * Software Sales Estimates by System
    * Video Game System Sales
    * Software Sales: Publisher Share
    * Sales Projections - Video Game Consoles
    * Quarterly Sales - Gaming PCs
    * Quarterly Sales PC Game Software
    * Publisher Share - PC Game Software Sales
    * Projected Publisher Share PC Game Software Sales
    * Favorite Game Sites of Online Gamers
    * # of Households System Overlap
    * Household Demographics - Console Game HHs
    * Household Demographics - PC Game HHs

Console Gaming Market

    * Introduction / Methodology
    * Video Game System Household Penetration Number of Households Owning
    * Household Penetration By Region/Household Composition
    * Demographic Profile of Video Game Households
    * Median Mousehold Income By System
    * # of Households Owning By System
    * Market Share # of Units
    * Video Game System Sales
    * Purchase Intent Video Game Systems
    * Adult Head of Household Purchase Intent by System
    * Next Generation Video Game Systems
    * Next Generation Systems Purchase Intent
    * Next Generation Systems Likely to Ever Purchase
    * Next Generation Video Game Systems
    * Video Game Software Market Share # of Working Games
    * Software Sales Estimates By System
    * Sales Estimates By Software Publisher
    * Where Video Games are Played
    * Game Player Profile All Primary Gamers
    * Video Game Rentals
    * Number of Games Rented - PlayStation and Sony Dreamcast
    * Rental Cost - PlayStation and Sony Dreamcast
    * Rental Volume - Top Rentals

Sony Playstation 	Nintendo 64 	Sega Dreamcast

    * Sony Playstation - Household Demographics
    * Sony Playstation - % Share Game Players
    * Sony Playstation - Primary Player Profile
    * Sony Playstation - Other Games Systems Owned
    * Sony Playstation - Software Genre Share
    * Sony Playstation - "Favorite" Game Genre
    * Sony Playstation - "Favorite" Game
    * Sony Playstation - Software Acquisitions
    * Sony Playstation - Estimated Share of Sales by Publisher
    * Sony Playstation - Source of Games Purchased
    * Sony Playstation - Purchase Intent - Game CDs
    * Sony Playstation - Games Most Likely to Purchase
    * Sony Playstation - Projected Software Sales in Units by Publisher

	

    * Nintendo 64 - Household Demographics
    * Nintendo 64 - % Share Game Players
    * Nintendo 64 - Primary Player Profile
    * Nintendo 64 - Other Game Systems Owned
    * Nintendo 64 - Software Genre Share
    * Nintendo 64 - "Favorite" Game Genre
    * Nintendo 64 - "Favorite Game"
    * Nintendo 64 - Software Acquistions
    * Nintendo 64 - Estimated Share of Sales by Publisher
    * Source of Games Purchased
    * Nintendo 64 - Purchase Intent - Game Cartridges
    * Nintendo 64 - Games Most Likely to Purchase
    * Nintendo 64 - Projected Units by Publisher

	

    * Sega Dreamcast - Household Demographics
    * Sega Dreamcast - % Share Game Players
    * Sega Dreamcast - Primary Player Profile
    * Sega Dreamcast - Other Game Systems Owned
    * Sega Dreamcast - Software Genre Share
    * Sega Dreamcast - "Favorite" Game Genre
    * Sega Dreamcast - "Favorite Game"
    * Sega Dreamcast - Software Acquistions
    * Sega Dreamcast - Estimated Share of Sales by Publisher
    * Sega Dreamcast - Source of Games Purchased
    * Sega Dreamcast - Purchase Intent - Game Cartridges
    * Sega Dreamcast - Games Most Likely to Purchase
    * Sega Dreamcast - Projected Units by Publisher

PC Gaming Market

    * Introduction
    * PC Penetration U.S. Households (# of homes owning)
    * Demographic Profile PC Households
    * Demographic Profile Households Change Over Time
    * # of PCs in Home
    * DOS vs. Apple/Macintosh
    * CPU IBM/Compatibles % Share of Working PCs
    * CPU # of Units
    * Random Access Memory % Share of Working Units
    * Clock Speed
    * Operating Systems
    * Desktop vs. Laptop
    * CD-ROM Drives
    * Modems
    * Modem Speeds
    * DVD Drives
    * Number of Home PC Users
    * PC Use # of Hours Per Week
    * Weekly PC Use Over Time By Household Composition -All PC Homes
    * Weekly PC Use Over Time By Household Composition - HHs with Children
    * Weekly PC Use Over Time By Household Composition - HHs with Teens
    * Weekly PC Use Over Time By Household Composition - HHs with No Children
    * PC Use (share of use)
    * PC Use Trends
    * Home PC Use % of Time Spent
    * Hours Spent Online
    * Who is Using PCs For Gaming? (by age)
    * Who is Using PCs (by gender)
    * Game Software Installed
    * Games Genre Share
    * Favorite Game Genre
    * Favortie Game Titles
    * Favorite Game Titles by Publisher
    * PC Hardware Purchasing Trends
    * PC Hardware Source of Purchase
    * Cost of New Systems (median price paid)
    * Game Shoftware Purchased
    * Game Software by Title
    * Software Share by Publisher
    * Source of Purchase Game Software
    * Trends in Software Retail Channels
    * Purchase Intent Hardware (unit projections)
    * Game Software Projected Purchases
    * Projected Share of Software Sales By Manufacturer
    * CD-ROM Penetration U.S. Households
    * Demographic Profile CD-ROM Households
    * Type of CD-ROM PC
    * Operating Systems
    * CD-ROM PC Configuration Chip
    * CD-ROM PC RAM
    * CD-ROM PCs Clock Speed
    * Desktop vs. Laptop

Online Gaming Market

    * Multiplayer Online Gaming Households
    * Number of Online Gamers
    * Time Spent Playing Online Games
    * Hours Spent Per Week Playing Online Games
    * Household Spending On Online Gaming Per Month
    * Quarterly Revenue Trends Online Gaming
    * Average Price Per Hour of Play
    * System Profile of Online Gamers
    * Modem Speed of Online Gamers
    * Favorite Game Sites of Online Gamers
    * Top 10 Favorite Games of Online Gamers
    * Top 10 Multi-Player Online Games
    * Ownership of Game Consoles by Online Gamers
    * Co-ownership of Media Technology by Online Gamers
    * Demographic Profile of Online Gamers
    * Game Console Impact on Online Gaming
Subject: Re: Video Game Market Statistics
From: blitz_2005-ga on 30 Jun 2005 11:23 PDT
 
Hi rxmr-ga,

Thank you for the link, it is quite helpful!

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