PORT WASHINGTON, NY, July 10, 2007 – At 2 percent, Heavy Gamers are the smallest gamer segment, yet they purchase more than six times as much per individual and eight times more than the average gamer in the last quarter on video games (console, portable and PC) than the largest segment, Avid PC Gamers, according to The NPD Group’s recent report, Gamer Segmentation II.
The report provides detailed analysis into six gamer segments by key behavioral and demographic metrics. According to the report, of the 191 million gamers who personally play games on PC/Mac or video game system, 33 percent are Avid PC Gamers, 22 percent are Secondary Gamers, 20 percent are Avid Console Gamers, 15 percent are Mass Market Gamers, 8 percent are Casual Kid Gamers and 2 percent are Heavy Gamers.
Heavy Gamers dominate with the highest frequency of use, both overall (39.3 hrs/wk of game play on any system) and by system type (23.9 hrs/wk playing consoles, 1.9 hrs playing portables and 13.6 hours playing PC/Mac). After Heavy Gamers, Avid PC Gamers spend the most time on PC/Mac gaming (10.4 hrs/wk), while Avid Console Gamers lead in console use (8.9 hrs/wk) as well as portable use (0.8 hrs/wk).
Heavy Gamers purchased the most titles (13.1 in the past three months), while Avid Console Gamers purchased 1.9 titles, and Mass Market Gamers purchased 2.0 titles.
“Heavy gamers have always been a focal segment for the games industry because they're so deeply invested in gaming,” said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group. “The potential for industry growth lies with the other, larger groups, and getting them increasingly involved in gaming over time.”
The theme of expanding beyond the “core” continues to be pronounced in today’s gaming landscape, moving beyond the demographics and characteristics typically associated with Heavy Gamers and into more casual and mainstream gamers. For example, those spending the least amount of time on gaming on a weekly basis are buying at least one game per quarter, while females make up between 16 percent and 50 percent of each segment.
THE CONTINUING RISE OF DIGITAL DOWNLOADS AND ONLINE GAMING
While Heavy Gamers are most likely to purchase video games digitally, Avid PC Gamers are more inclined than Heavy Gamers and most other segments to digitally download more than half to all of their VG game purchases.
More than 1 in 5 Secondary Gamers report that they will “definitely” download micro-transactions and more than 3 in 5 Heavy Gamers are likely to download micro-transactions. This points to opportunity in the area of downloadable content, supported not only by gamers’ likelihood to download but also their willingness to pay between $5.72 to $10.92 per micro-transaction, depending on content type and gamer segment.
Online gaming is high across the board, not just among the most active segments with Heavy Gamers at 83 percent and Avid PC Gamers at 74 percent, but also among segments that are less engaged in gaming overall such as Secondary Gamers at 58 percent and Casual Kid Gamers at 38 percent. The same holds true for top-box micro-transaction download likelihood: After Heavy Gamers (63-percent) and Avid Console Gamers (53 percent), Casual Kid Gamers are tied with Avid PC Gamers in third place for likelihood to download micro-transactions (41 percent and 40 percent, respectively).
Methodology
The report is based on online survey responses from 11,638 members of NPD’s online consumer panel. These respondents, ages 6 to 44, are qualified users of a PC/Mac or video game system for gaming. The survey data is weighted to represent the population of individuals ages 6 to 44 in the U.S. The following key variables were used to create the gamer segments: Ownership; Use; Frequency; Purchase. Fieldwork was conducted from January 11-29, 2007.
Gamer Segmentation II differs from Gamer Segmentation I in a number of ways, including the addition of the PlayStation 3 and Wii video game consoles, the addition of PC/Mac ownership and usage, respondent qualification based on personal use of system and not personal/household ownership and use, and segmentation based on hours played on systems with online capabilities.
About The NPD Group, Inc.
The NPD Group is the leading provider of reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 1,600 manufacturers, retailers, and service companies rely on NPD to help them drive critical business decisions at the global, national, and local market levels. NPD helps our clients to identify new business opportunities and guide product development, marketing, sales, merchandising, and other functions. Information is available for the following industry sectors: automotive, beauty, commercial technology, consumer technology, entertainment, fashion, food and beverage, foodservice, home, office supplies, software, sports, toys, and wireless. For more information, visit www.npd.com.