New NPD Report lays out Gamer purchasing, playing, and ownership patterns

Sep 15, 2009 by Dan Taylor    13 Comments    Posted under: Games, News, Technology

Leading market research firm, The NPD Group has recently released a report from their Gaming Device Profiles sub-unit, stating that 41 percent of all gamers rely on word of mouth as a source of their video game information. The survey includes data sampled from owners of a variety of gaming platforms, including portable gaming devices, and consequently this word of mouth data varies from owner to owner.

However, collectively, the majority reported relying on what friends and others had to say about their favorite games. In second place with 31 percent, was actual hands on time with the actual game(s) in question. Least influential in gamers’ purchasing decisions? Online and Magazine ads, incentives/coupons, and social networking sites ranked least influential in the survey, barely garnering a 5 percent response.

“When it comes to developing successful games and targeting marketing and promotions, each gaming platform has its own unique challenges and opportunities to consider,” said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group.

Cross Ownership

There once was a time when fanboy-dom ruled, and if you were a Sega player, that’s what you played, and did NOT own a Nintendo. With the introduction of the Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3, gamers are no longer satisfied with one console, and often own at least one, sometimes two, additional gaming consoles. 32 percent of all US gamers own a Nintendo Wii. 26 percent of these Wii owners also own Microsoft’s Xbox 360, 14 percent, a PlayStation 3.

In the number two slot, 20 percent of all US gamers own an Xbox 360. Of these gamers, 42 percent reported owning a Wii, with only 18 percent own a PlayStation 3.

Rounding out the Top 3, PS3 owners make up the minority, with only 10 percent of US gamers calling the PS3 their console of choice. Of this minority, 42 percent report owning a Wii, 34 percent, an Xbox 360.

Who’s Playing?

Placed side by side, the top 3 consoles are being played the most (by a slim majority) by males. The NPD report recorded that 56 percent of the top 3 console players were male, 44 percent female. The largest percentage of gamers fall into the 2-12 age group, with 24 percent, the 25-34 year old group making up 20 percent, and the 35-44 year old age segment taking 17 percent.

What are they playing?

Online

Mimicking the current trend in online game play, in regards to genre, 51 percent of Wii users reported that Card/Puzzle/Arcade/Word games were their favorites. The Xbox 360 and PS3 saw similar results, 39 percent and 42 percent, respectively. However, while these are some large numbers, Shooters took the #1 spot in most commonly played online game genre played by Xbox 360 and PS3 users, with 59 percent and 57 percent of the vote, respectively.

Offline

While certain data correlations can be derived from the above information in regards to overall preferences by console ownership, age, and genre type, when it comes to offline play, here, each console struts it’s own individual feathers. For Wii owners, family-oriented games topped the list, with Racing and Sports games coming in at a close second/third. Xbox 360 owners saw Family-oriented and Action/Adventure titles in a tie as their number one game(s) of choice of offline gameplay. Finally, PS3 owners reported Action/Adventure games, as well as Racing titles as their pixels of choice.

“This report helps to debunk the commonly held belief that casual-type genre games are primarily enjoyed by less serious gamers. This clearly shows that PS3 and 360 users also participate with these genres quite often, even if shooters remain the most commonly played online genre,” said Frazier.