Late last week, Nielsen Entertainment released its third annual Active Gamer Benchmark Study, and the results indicated that 56% of the 117 million Active Gamers in the U.S. in 2006 played online, and that 64% of these online gamers are women.
Men still outnumber women in overall video game play by more than two-to-one.
Active gamers are defined as gamers who are at least 13 years of age and say that they play games on a gaming device for at least one hour per week. The surveys for the study were conducted from July 3rd to July 9th of 2006 with 2,200 Active Gamers. An “immersive behavioral analysis,” a “qualitative” focus groups were employed to “get a better understanding of the gamer and their thoughts, emotions and social groups,” according to Nielsen.
Gaming is becoming more of a social experience according to the study, which found that Active Gamers spend up to five hours a week playing games with other gamers, with teens leading the way by playing approximately seven hours a week socially.
Teenagers are still the largest group (40%) of Active Gamers, but in excess of 15 million (almost 8%) are at least 45 years of age.
“The expansion of next generation hardware and technology in the marketplace is simultaneously delivering new ecosystems of social exchange, interactive entertainment, media experiences and advertising models. We see everyday how important online gaming is in terms of connecting people and bringing communities of gamers together. From a simple battle in Halo to a more immersive communal experience, online gaming has the power to unite gamers across the street and/or around the world,” said Emily Della Maggiora, Senior Vice President of Nielsen Interactive Entertainment.
The study also found that PC-based online gaming is fighting back to prominence. Part of this is due to the fact that casual gamers can find appealing games online, and because broadband’s increasing spread has helped Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG) offer players ways to associate in ways that are not currently possible with consoles and handheld devices.
PC-based systems are the platform of choice for 64% of Active Gamers. In terms of gaming consoles, Sony’s PlayStation 2 takes the biggest share of the pie with a 59% portion. Microsoft’s Xbox has 33% of the market, while Nintendo’s GameCube has 30%, and Xbox 360 has 15% of Active Gamers.
“With next-generation gaming building steam, what will drive Active Gamers to these advanced console platforms will be the desire for better graphics and richer game play experiences,” the study said.
Most Active Gamers own a console and another gaming device. The cross-ownership between consoles and handheld devices jumped to 16%, which is more than twice the 7% figure in 2005. This is attributed to the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP devices, which have grown in prominence during the past year.
Active Gamers average 14 hours per week on consoles, but they oftentimes play up to 17 hours a week on their handheld gaming devices.
Approximately 24% of Active Gamers play games on their mobile phones.
About $16 of the $58 Active Gamers spend per week on entertainment goes to video games, while about a quarter of their weekly spare time is spent playing video games.
Source:
http://sev.prnewswire.com/entertainment/20061005/
NYTH09105102006-1.html
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