A whopping 67 percent of Americans at least 2 years of age and older (211.2 million people) play video games using at least one type of technology – and more than half use multiple platforms, according to the NPD Group.
American gamers spend an average of 12 hours each week – around 16 percent of overall leisure time – fragging, questing, or otherwise enjoying the digital world.
The top ways to game:
- Mobile — 90 percent using a smartphone, tablet, or both
- PC gaming – 52 percent (both personal computers and laptops included)
- Game consoles – 43 percent
- Handheld – 9 percent
The mobile gaming market seemingly exploded in the past few years, with significant attention drawn towards the vertical. However, the push towards gaming across multiple platforms has become increasingly disruptive as of late.
As noted by Dr. Heather Nofziger, Head of Consumer Research at EEDAR (an NPD-owned company):
“Over the past several years, mobile gamers have been a key segment for the games industry to target with marketing spend because of the sheer size and diversity of the audience, as well as the amount of time invested in gaming on this platform. While there continues to be opportunity for growth in mobile, the real potential for growth lies with getting the other groups increasingly involved in gaming across platforms that they may not have considered using for gaming in the past.”
Understanding the gaming market is critical for advertisers, game developers, and other companies trying to cash in on the lucrative multi-billion-dollar company. Regardless of what type of gamer you are, there certainly is something out there for everyone.
