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40

VIDEO GAMES

40.1 Market Assessment


According to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA, www.theesa.com)
and The NPD Group (www.npd.com), computer and video game sales, including
portable and console hardware, software, and accessories, were $20.2 billion in 2009, a
6% decline from 2008. With a growth spurt following the introduction of a new
generation of game consoles, the video game segment set a sales record of $21.4
billion in 2008, growth of 23% over 2007.
Video game sales accounted for 52% of sector sales, or $10.5 billion. There
were 273.5 million units sold in 2009; distribution was as follows:
• Game console software sales totaled $8 billion, with 176.7 million units sold.
• Computer game sales were $538.4 million, with 23.5 million units sold.
• There was $1.9 billion in portable software sales, with 73.2 million units sold.

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%

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The 6th edition of Who’s Buying Entertainment (December 2009) provides the
following demographic assessment of consumer out-of-pocket spending per household
for video game hardware and software:
Average Household Spending $34

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

Race and Ethnicity


• Asian: $40
• Black: $31
• Hispanic: $30
• Non-Hispanic white and other: $35

Region
• Northeast: $31
• Midwest: $33
• South: $33
• West: $40

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Education
• Less than high school graduate: $19
• High school graduate: $26
• Some college: $42
• Associates degree: $46
• Bachelors degree: $45
• Masters, doctoral degree: $30

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.

40.3 Market Characteristics and Trends


ESA provides the following assessment of the video game market:
• Sixty-seven percent (67%) of American households play computer or video games.
• The average game-player is 34 years old and has been playing games for 12 years.
• The average age of the most frequent game purchaser is 40 years old.
• Forty percent (40%) of all game-players are women. In fact, women over the age of
18 represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (33%)
than boys age 17 or younger (20%).
• More than a quarter (26%) of Americans over the age of 50 play video games, an
increase from 9% in 1999.
• Forty-two percent (42%) of heads of households play games on a wireless device
such as a cellphone or PDA, up from 20% in 2002.
• Eighty-two percent (82%) of all games sold in 2009 were rated “E” for Everyone, “T”
for Teen, or “E10+” for Everyone 10+.
• Parents who have children under 18 with a gaming console in the home are present
when games are purchased or rented 93% of the time.
• Sixty-four percent (64%) of parents believe games are a positive part of their
children’s lives.

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

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(www.pewinternet.org) provided insight into video game use in America.
Teens, Video Games and Civics, which studied children ages 12-to-17, reported
that 99% of boys and 84% of girls were video-game players. The most popular genres
are racing, puzzle, sports, action, and adventure. Among teens, much game playing is
social, with most playing games with others at least some of the time.
Video game playing frequency among teens is as follows:
Boys Girls
• Several times a day: 19% 13%
• About once a day: 20% 18%
• 3-to-5 days a week: 27% 21%
• 1-to-2 days a week: 23% 23%
• Every few weeks: 8% 15%
• Less often: 4% 10%

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.

40.4 Video Game Advertising


Video game advertising has been, and is projected, as follows (sources:
PricewaterhouseCoopers [www.pwc.com] and Wilkofsky Gruen Associates
[www.wilkofskygruen.com]):
• 2006: $ 300 million
• 2007: $ 500 million
• 2008: $ 650 million
• 2009: $ 750 million
• 2010: $ 880 million

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• 2011: $1.00 billion
• 2012: $1.10 billion
• 2013: $1.19 billion

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.

40.5 Market Resources


Entertainment Software Association, 575 7th Street NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC
20004. (202) 223-2400. (www.theesa.com)

Newzoo BV, Joop Geesinkweg, 2091096 AV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.


+31 (0)20 663 5816. (www.newzoo.com)

The NPD Group, 900 West Shore Road, Port Washington, NY 11050. (516) 625-0700.
(www.npd.com)

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Copyright of Entertainment, Media & Advertising Market Research Handbook is the property of Richard K.
Miller & Associates and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without
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