NPD Report: 82% of American kids are gamers, teen numbers decline
A new report complied by the NPD Group has estimated that 82 percent (55.7 million) of kids in the US ages 2-17 play games.
Broken down, 9.7 million are ages 2-5, 12.4 million are ages 9-11, kids between 12 and 14 report spending 10.6 hours a week playing.
Teens between 15 and 17 years of age and females report the least amount of time spent playing.
"The decline in teen usage of video games is likely due to diversifying, maturing interests, which translates into stiffer competition for their mind and wallet share," said NPD's Anita Frazier. "In addition to competition from other areas of the entertainment space, more school work, activities, and parent-imposed time limits on gaming are factors which the data suggests may be contributing to this dip in older teen engagement."
Could also have something to do with cars, girls, and beer. But maybe that's what the report meant with the "diversifying, maturing interests" bit.
Full thing below the break.
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*AMONG AMERICAN KIDS AGES 2-17, 82 PERCENT REPORT THEY ARE GAMERS*
*PORT WASHINGTON**, NEW YORK –* According toKids and Gaming 2009 , the most recent report from leading market research company, The NPD Group, among all kids in the U.S. ages 2-17, 82 percent, or 55.7 million, are current gamers. Of these gamers, 9.7 million are ages 2-5, representing the smallest segment, while 12.4 million are ages 9-11, and represent the largest segment.
At 10.6 hours per week, gamers ages 12-14 are spending the most time playing video games, with the time spent playing dropping off among older teens, ages 15-17. Teens 15-17 and females are the groups that are most likely to report spending less time gaming and playing online this year versus last year.
"The decline in teen usage of video games is likely due to diversifying, maturing interests, which translates into stiffer competition for their mind and wallet share," said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group. "In addition to competition from other areas of the entertainment space, more school work, activities, and parent-imposed time limits on gaming are factors which the data suggests may be contributing to this dip in older teen engagement."
According to the report, across all age groups, kids use an average of 2.5 systems or devices for gaming, with kids ages 9-11 and 12-14 using the most (each about 3 system/devices on average). Gaming on non-traditional gaming devices such as cell phones and PDMPs becomes more popular as kids get older and peaks among older teens ages 15-17.
When it comes to online gaming, over half (51%) of kid gamers play games online, and are more inclined to be male, ages 9-14.
*_Methodology_*
The report is based on online survey responses from over 5,000 members of NPD’s online consumer panel ages 2-17 (respondents age 2-12 were captured via surrogate reporting). Respondents had to report that they currently, personally play video games on a PC/Mac, video game system or device used for gaming. Final survey data was weighted to represent the U.S. population of individuals age 2-17. The survey data is weighted to represent the U.S. population of individuals ages 2 and older. Fieldwork was conducted from September 10-17, 2009.
*_About The NPD Group, Inc. _*
The NPD Group is the leading provider of reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 1,700 manufacturers, retailers, and service companies rely on NPD to help them drive critical business decisions at the global, national, and local market levels. NPD helps our clients to identify new business opportunities and guide product development, marketing, sales, merchandising, and other functions. Information is available for the following industry sectors: automotive, beauty, commercial technology, consumer technology, entertainment, fashion, food and beverage, foodservice, home, office supplies, software, sports, toys, and wireless. For more information, contact us