MAJORITY OF GAMERS RELY ON WORD OF MOUTH AND HANDS-ON PLAY AT FRIENDS’ AND RELATIVES’ HOMES TO OBTAIN INFORMATION ON VIDEO GAMES

PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, September 14, 2009 - According to Gaming Device Profiles, a series of new platform-specific reports from leading market research company, The NPD Group, 41 percent of all gamers report that they rely on word of mouth to obtain information on video games.

While this varies from one platform to another, all current generation platforms, including portables, rely on word of mouth above all other information sources, followed by hands-on play at friends' and/or relatives' homes at 31 percent. Magazine and online ads, as well as incentives/coupons and social networking sites are the least influential to gamers, with as little as five percent of all gamers using the latter for information.

The reports look beyond video game sales, uncovering new game development, distribution, and merchandising opportunities by offering insight into the types of consumers most likely to use particular console services, and what activities they perform on those consoles, across all gaming platforms. They look at gaming platform ownership and usage penetration, owner and user demographics, purchasing habits, micro-transactions, and more.

“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*
According to the reports, among Wii owners in the United States (who represent 32 percent of all gamers), 14 percent also own a PlayStation 3, and 26 percent own an Xbox 360. Among PlayStation 3 owners (who currently represent 10 percent of all gamers), 42 percent own a Wii and 34 percent own an Xbox 360. However, among Xbox 360 owners (20 percent of all gamers), 42 percent own a Wii, but only 18 percent own a PlayStation 3.

Gamer Demographics
When looking at those personally playing video games on the current generation video game consoles (Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360), 56 percent are male and 44 percent are female, with the largest percentage of gamers being in the 2-to-12 year old age group (24 percent), followed by the 25-to-34 year old group at 20 percent, and the 35-to-44 year old group at 17 percent.

Online versus Offline Genre Preference
The three current-generation consoles follow the same gaming trend in online play by genre, with 51 percent of Wii users claiming Card/Puzzle/Arcade/Word games is their most commonly played genre.  This genre of game is also popular with  Xbox 360 and PS3 online gamers(39 percent and 42 percent, respectively), but Shooters ranked as the most commonly played  for online gameplay among 360 and PS3 users, at 59 percent and 57 percent, respectively.

Offline gaming is significantly different for all three platforms, with Family-oriented games topping the list for Wii, followed by Racing and Sports games. For Xbox 360, Family-oriented and Action/adventure tie at number one as the most commonly played genres for offline gameplay. For PlayStation 3 gamers, Action/adventure and Racing top the list of commonly played genres to play offline.

“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.

Methodology
NPD fielded an online survey that was completed by 20,893 Consumer Panel members ages 2 and older. Responses for individuals age 13 and older were captured directly, and responses for 2-to-12 year olds were captured by “surrogate reporting,” whereby a parent/guardian brings the child to the computer to answer questions, and the child then answers either with or without assistance. Final survey data was weighted to represent the U.S. population of individuals ages 2+. In keeping with efforts to provide the most accurate data available, this data has been re-weighted with finer precision to more properly align the sample with U.S. Census. This survey was fielded from Jan. 7, 2009 – January 27, 2009.

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 1,700 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, contact us, visit http://www.npd.com/, or follow us Twitter at https://twitter.com/npdgroup.