40% of US gamers are women, Entertainment Software Association says. 65% of American households play computer and video games. 38% of American homes have a video game console. The average game player is 35 years old. One out of four gamers are over age 50. Women age 18 or older represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (33%) than boys age 17 or younger (18%). 41% of Americans expect to purchase one or more games 2008. 94% of parents are present when games are purchased or rented. 88% of parents report always or sometimes monitoring the games their children play. 63% of parents believe games are a positive part of their children’s lives.
US video hardware and software sales up 53% un June 2008
US sales of video game hardware and software rose 53% in June 2008 when compared to June 2007, NPD reported. For the first half of 2008, the US video game industry has generated $8.3 bln in sales. This is a 36% increase in sales from the same period a year before. “Metal Gear Solid 4” claimed the top slot as June’s best-selling game.
87% of PS3 owners watch BluRay movies
87% of PlayStation 3 owners have watched BluRay movies on PS3’s built-in BluRay player, Entertainment Merchants Association reported.
Video games to reach $68.3 bln by 2012
Video game industry is expected to shoot from $41.9 bln in global sales 2007 to $68.3 bln in 2012, a compound annual growth rate of 10.3%, PriceWaterhouseCoopers reported. Online and wireless games will grow the fastest at 16.9% and 19%, respectively. Online will jump from $6.6 bln 2007 to $14.4 bln in 2012, while wireless games go from $5.6 bln to $13.5 bln in the same frame. Video game advertising sector, which will go from the $1 bln level in 2007 to $2.3 bln in 2012, a 16.7% annual growth rate. PC games will fall 1.2% a year from 2007’s $3.8 bln to $3.6 bln in 2012. The U.S. also will lag a bit compared with global growth, with overall video game revenue growing by 7.9% annually, from $12.1 bln in 2007 to $17.7 bln in 2012.
Video game sales reached $1.12 bln in May 2008
US sales of video game hardware and software were $1.12 bln in May 2008, up 37% from May 2007. “Grand Theft Audio 4” the best-selling title for the month, NPD said. In 2008 US video games industry has generated $6.6 bln in sales, topping total 2007 annual revenue.
Casual games generate $2.25 bln annually
One-third of people ages 6 to 44 have played online casual games, according to NPD Group. Globally, casual games on PCs, game systems and handhelds, played online and off, generate about $2.25 bln annually, according to the Casual Games Association.
Video game hardware and software sales up 47% in April 2008
Americans spent $1.23 bln on video games, hardware and accessories in April 2008, up 47% from April 2007. Total hardware sales grew 26% to $426.2 mln, with the Wii selling 714,200 units, followed by the handheld Nintendo DS at 414,800. Software sales surged to $654.7 mln from $389.4 mln in April 2007. Grand Theft Auto IV was April’s best-selling game. In the US, GTA IV sold about 2.9 mln units in April 2008 for the Xbox 360 and the PS3. Of this, nearly 1.9 mln copies went to the Xbox, NPD says.
25% of Americans have an HDTV set
5.5 mln households brought home an HDTV set for the first time during the 2007/2008 holiday and Super Bowl season in 2008. 25% of US households or 28 mln now have at least one HDTV set, that up from a penetration of 20% in September 2007. Among those who purchased their HDTV set in the past year, 18% say they did so to connect it to a high definition video game console like Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. 24% of those who do not currently own an HDTV set feel it is important they will be able to watch the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in HD, another driver that could lead to higher than normal Q2 TV sales, a quarter typically known for its slow TV purchase activity.
Video game hardware, software sales up 57% in March 2008
US sales of video game hardware and software rose 57% in March 2008 YTY, NPD reported. Sales of gaming hardware, software and accessories hit $1.7 bln in March 2008. Super Smash Bros Brawl was the top-selling game with 2.7 mln copies sold.
$1.33 bln of gaming hardware and software sold in the US in February 2008
US video game sales jumped 34% in February to hit $1.33 bln, according to NPD Group. Game hardware sales rose 19% during February 2008 to $480 mln. Nintendo DS was the best-seller with 587,600 units, followed by the Wii at 432,000. The Xbox 360 sold 254,600 units.
Game sales reached $669 mln in North America in January 2008
Sales of game software in North America reached nearly $669 million for January 2008, up 47% from the same period last year, according to NPD Group. Nintendo Wii continued to lead in sales for next-generation consoles with 432,000 units sold. Call of Duty 4 from Activision was the top-selling game title for the 4th month in a row.
Game software sales up 21% in Germany in 2007
German games software sales grew 21% to 1.36 bln euros ($2.1 bln) in 2007. Sales of PC games slipped 3% to 458 mln euros. Games for mobile devices were the fastest-growing segment of the market, with sales rising 65% to 360 mln euros as more casual gamers entered the market, BIU reports.
In-game ads generated $295 mln in 2007
$2.25 bln spent on casual games in 2007
Casual gaming is a $2.25 bln industry, and is growing 20% each year, according to the Casual Games Association. Each month, more than 200 mln people play casual games online. And while serious gamers tend to be young men, casual gamers are more evenly split: 48.3% are male, and 51.3% are female.
Game sales down 6% in January 2008
January 2008 gaming sales of $1.1 bln were down 6% below January 2007, according to the NPD Group. The Nintendo Wii sold 274,000, followed by the Sony PlayStation 3 (269,000) and the Microsoft Xbox 360 (230,000).
30.2 mln Wiis by year-end 2008
The global installed base for the Nintendo Wii will rise to 30.2 mln units in 2008, up from 18 mln in 2007. This will put the Wii ahead of the Xbox 360’s total of 25.7 mln units in 2008, iSuppli says. The installed base for the Nintendo Wii will grow to 37.7 mln units by 2011, rising at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 20.3% from 2007. In 2011, the installed base of the PlayStation 3 will exceed that of the Wii, iSuppli predicts. The PlayStation 3 will reach an installed base of 38.4 mln units in 2011, rising at a CAGR of 39% from 10.3 mln in 2007. The Xbox 360 by 2011 will grow to 32.3 mln installed base units, rising at a CAGR of 15.4% from 18.2 mln in 2007.
84% of kids play games
Playing games for kids is the most prevalent activity on the four key devices: 84% are gaming on a computer, videogame system, portable digital music player (PDMP) or cell phone, according to NPD. Also, more than 50% are listening to music, and one-third are communicating with images or interacting with various video formats. 46% of kids download ring tones/ring tunes, 43% of them sharing pictures/images account for 46% and 43%.
4.3 mln XBox 360 consoles sold in Q4 2007
Microsoft sold 4.3 mln Xbox 360 video game consoles in Q4 2007. A total of 17.7 million Xbox 360s had been sold worldwide since it first went on sale in late 2005, Microsoft said.
10 mln XBox Live subscribers
Microsoft announced that it reached the 10 mln subscriber mark for Xbox Live. Annual subscription fees are about $50.
Gaming sales in Japan reached $6.3 bln in 2007
Enterbrain found hardware and software gaming sales in Japan totaled $6.3 bln in 2007, up 10% from the previous year. Nintendo DS was the top-selling portable machine, with 7.1 mln units sold in 2007. Nintendo Wii sold 3.6 mln copies in 2007.
US gaming sales to reach $17.9 bln in 2008
US gaming industry sales are seen rising to $17.9 bln in 2008, up 13% from an estimated $15.8 bln in 2007, the CEA said. That compares with a 22% increase from 2006 to 2007. Video game industry hardware sales jumped 50% to $6.6 bln in 2007, but are anticipated to shrink to $6.4 bln in 2008. Software sales are expected to rise to $11.5 bln in 2008, up from $9.1 bln in 2007. That was a 7.6% increase from 2006, CEA said.
80% of Nintendo DS owners are 8-16 years old
80% of Nintendo DS owners are 8 to 16 years of age, while Sony PSP players tend to be 16 to 24 years old, according to Wedbush Morgan.
Video games to generate $48.9 bln by 2011
Video-game industry is expected to generate more than $17 bln in revenue in 2007 and $48.9 bln by 2011, Turner Investments says.
Video game hardware and software sales up 52% in November 2007
Total US sales of video-game hardware and software hit $2.63 bln in November 2007, up 52% from $1.74 bln in November 2006, NPD said.
In Q3 2007 Nintendo generated more gaming revenue than Sony
Worldwide revenue for Nintendo DS and Wii gaming software amounted to $1.2 bln in Q3 2007, up 31.4% from $943.6 mln in Q2 2007 and more than double the $611 mln from the Q3 2006. Sony in Q3 2007 generated $1 bln in gaming software revenue for its PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2 and PSP players. Microsoft posted revenue of $317.8 mln for Xbox and Xbox 360 software. In Q2 2007, Sony generated $1 bln in gaming software revenue for its gaming platforms, while Microsoft was at $271.9 mln, iSuppli says. Wii software revenue is expected to rise to $1.1 bln worldwide by Q4 2008, managing a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 29.6% from $66 mln in Q1 2006. For those expecting the Nintendo DS to go away anytime soon, the portable gaming device will keep on ticking, with its software revenue reaching $1.2 bln by Q4 2008, rising at a CAGR of 12.6% from $333.2 mln in Q1 2006.