The NPD finds console and PC gaming still king among kids, but for how long?

The NPD Group has found more kids play console and PC games than mobile, but that's likely to change next year. Over the last four years, the number of children playing games on tablets and smartphones has increased by a factor of eight, while console and PC gaming in the same space has seen a steady decline.

While 67% of children still play console and PC games, 64% are now onto their mobile devices, which the average child receives at only eight years old, according to NPD's findings. The group also found that kids are playing longer ever week, with smartphone gaming up to seven hours a week among children now compared to only five in 2011. Liam Callahan, an analyst at NPD said kids were embracing change and adopting new devices and technologies.

"Kids are engaged with mobile devices as less expensive tablets and an increasing amount of hand-me-down phones create greater accessibility to these platforms than before. The question becomes whether this mobile usage will continue to grow for 2 to 17 year olds, and if usage will become more prevalent than gaming on consoles and computers as time progresses."

The study was based on the feedback of about 4,000 kids, which NPD defines as a person between the ages of 2 and 17.

Thanks, VentureBeat.