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
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Game Player Data
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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
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Sales & Genre Data
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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
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2005 SALES, DEMOGRAPHICS AND USAGE DATA
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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
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?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
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Video game consoles
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The dominant consoles in 2004 were:
Microsoft Xbox
Nintendo GameCube
Sony PlayStation 2
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Handheld game consoles
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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
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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
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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
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?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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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/
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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
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FEE BASED REPORTS
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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
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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 |