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VIDEO GAMES
Newzoo (www.newzoo.com), a Dutch analyst firm, placed the 2009 U.S. video
game market at $25.3 billion, distributed as follows:
• Consoles: 59%
• PC games: 17%
• Game portals: 11%
• Massively multiplayer online games: 8%
• Mobile: 4%
40.2 Demographics
According to a 2009 assessment by Nielsen GamePlay Metrics (www.nielsen.com),
videogame console usage by age is as follows:
• 2-to-5: 7%
• 6-to-11: 20%
• 12-to-17: 25%
• 18-to-24: 18%
• 25-to-34: 17%
• 35-to-44: 8%
• 45-to-54: 4%
• 55 and older: 1%
Age of Householder
• Under age 25: $42
• 25-to-34: $48
• 35-to-44: $53
• 45-to-54: $40
• 55-to-64: $19
• 65-to-74: $ 8
• 75 and older: $ 4
Household Income
• Under $20,000: $16
• $20,000 to $39,999: $20
• $40,000 to $49,999: $35
• $50,000 to $69,999: $39
• $70,000 to $79,999: $48
• $80,000 to $99,999: $49
• $100,000 and above: $61
Type of Household
• Married couples, no children: $17
• Married couples, oldest child under 6: $28
• Married couples, oldest child 6-to-17: $85
• Married couples, oldest child 18 or older: $63
• Single parent with child under 18: $50
• Single person: $17
Region
• Northeast: $31
• Midwest: $33
• South: $33
• West: $40
Based on the above data, the most frequent consumers of video game hardware
and software are households with children and teenagers. Households with parents
aged 25-to-44, most with children at home, spend the most. This age group controls
55% of household spending in this market. Married couples with school-aged children
at home spend more than twice the average on video game hardware and software.
Even single parents are some of the best customers of video game hardware and
software, spending 46% more than average on this category.
The video game market is highly cyclical – a growth spurt usually follows the
introduction of new generations of consoles, then subsides after most game-playing
consumers have made their purchases of the new consoles and compatible games.
Each generation of video game consoles is characterized by more sophisticated
controllers. The current conventional game controller has more than a dozen buttons
and two joysticks. The Nintendo Wii has seen huge success, in part, through delivering
new experiences with innovative devices for connecting to and controlling games.
Two recent studies conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project
According to Adults and Video Games, published by the Pew Internet &
American Life Project, 53% of all American adults play video games of some kind,
whether on a computer, on a gaming console, on a cellphone or other handheld device,
on a portable gaming device, or online. The following are findings of the study:
• Age is the biggest demographic factor in game play by adults. Younger adults are
significantly more likely than any other game group to play games, and as age
increases game play decreases. Independent of all other factors, younger adults
are still more likely to play games.
• Among older adults 65+ who play video games, nearly a third play games everyday,
a significantly larger percentage than all younger players, of whom about 20% play
everyday.
• Age is also a factor in determining an individual’s preferred game-playing device.
Gaming consoles are the most popular for young adults: 75% of 18-to-29 year old
gamers play on consoles, compared with 68% who use computers, the second most
popular device for this age group.
• Computers are the most popular type of gaming device among the total adult
gaming population, with 73% of adult gamers using computers to play games,
compared with 53% who are console users, 35% who using cellphones, and 25%
using portable gaming devices.
Advertising in video games takes several forms. The most subtle approach to
in-game advertising is product placement. Marketers placing in-game ads include
American Express, Coca-Cola, and Proctor & Gamble, as well as a majority of the
major film and entertainment studios.
Virtual marketing involves the placement of ads within games, or “immersive”
advertising. In this format, in-game ads are elements of the game itself, either by
display or interactive in nature.
Promotional placement in the popular Sims games, from Electronic Arts (EA),
dates to 2002, when McDonald’s signed an agreement to place virtual burgers in the
game. The Sims, a virtual family designed by players, have become increasingly brand
conscious. For instance, players can buy a disc of H&M-branded clothing for their Sims
avatars.
The NPD Group, 900 West Shore Road, Port Washington, NY 11050. (516) 625-0700.
(www.npd.com)