Gamertell

The gaming population is on the rise, making up 72% of the entire US population, according to a new NPD report that was released last Wednesday (April 2, 2008). That figure is for the year 2007 and is up 64% from 2006.

NPD found that 58% of all the people who play video games like playing them online. Many gamers dream of owning more than one console if not all three. But only 3% of those surveyed own more than one console. Here is confirmation that being a multi-console owner is financially saddling, certainly if you happen to be a starving video game writer.

The report has also revealed that gamers play all types of online PC and console games including casual, role-playing, racing and combat games. Online gamers made up 40% of the US population in 2007 but the figure has already shot up to 42% in the first three months of 2008. Xbox Live might have taken online console gaming to a whole new level but it still has a long way to go as 90% of online gamers use a PC for online gaming.

The marketing research firm also gave an age-based breakup of the online gaming demographic: “Four out of 10 online gamers are ages 2-17, driven heavily by kids ages 6-12. Kids ages 2 to 12 are driving more than 25 percent of online gaming, while 18-24 year olds only represent 10 percent of online gaming.”

Anita Frazier, a NPD analyst, said in a statement that there is a huge untapped market for “gaming in general and online gaming in particular.” According to her, online gaming is still in the shadows of offline gaming despite the hype.

Read [Ecommerce Times] Site [NPD Group]