Gamers are playing games on their cellphones more than ever. The amount of U.S. gamers getting their video game fix on their phones increased four points to seventy-once percent this year, according to market research firm NPD Group's latest report, "Gamer Segmentation 2014." According to the NPD, this is the only platform for video games that had an increase in usage this year.
Looking at segmentation by type of use, Avid Omni Gamers, people who play on multiple platforms, was the only segment that had growth in the U.S. Avid Omni Gamers grew 6 percentage point to 22 percent of gamers, replacing Casual Gamers as the second largest segment compared to the ranking in last year's report. Free & Mobile Gamers remains the largest segment, at 29 percent of the U.S gaming population. The rest of the type segemnts include Casual Gamers, Core Console Gamers, Family Gamers and Social Gamers. These segments all declined one or two points compared to last year.
Avid Omni gamers and Free & Mobile gamers segments used phones as their top gaming platform in 2014. Casual Gamers and Social Gamers preferred the PC. For Core Console Gamers and Family Gamers, consoles were the number one platform.
According to the report, the average amount spent by gamers has increased in 2014. Gamers spent in the past three months an average of $48 on physical games and $16 on digital games for 2014, an increase from $45 on physical and $11 on digital games in 2013. Gamers are also spending more time each week playing games, increased from the activities of Core Console Gamers, Avid Omni Gamers, Casual Gamers and Family Gamers.
"Across both digital and physical formats, spending has increased from last year for consoles, portables, and digital gaming apps, which is great news when also combined with the fact that gamers are spending more time playing games," said Liam Callahan, industry analyst at The NPD Group, in a statement. "Being able to understand the segments that are driving the changes in behavior towards purchasing and time spent gaming is fundamentally important to navigate this complex time in the gaming industry."
The survey behind the report was conducted online in April 2014 by members of NPD's online panel. The survey was taken by 6,606 people, ages 2 and up. For those under age 18, a parental guardian was required for approval and assisted to finish the survey. The result of the survey wre then weighted to be representative of the U.S. population.
Photo: Michele Ursino
