36% of US plays downloaded games

Digital distribution becoming more common, 16% of population has ditched physical media for games entirely.

Digital distribution is increasingly becoming an accepted, and in some cases demanded, way for Americans to get their games, according to NPD Group data released today from its Exploring Digital Gaming report.

Based on a recent survey of more than 6,000 people in the US ages 13 and older, the group reported that 36 percent of the US population plays downloaded games on either a computer, console, or dedicated handheld gaming device like a 3DS or PlayStation Vita. A little less than half of that group has abandoned physical media entirely, as 16 percent said they only play digitally distributed games.

As for preferences, gamers were generally split. When both physical and digital versions of a game are available for the same price, 25 percent of respondents said they would take the digital version, compared to 30 percent who would opt for the physical copy. The remaining 45 percent were unsure of their preference.

The PC is far and away the most popular platform for digital distribution, with 90 percent of the NPD’s “digital gamers” reporting that they downloaded games for the computer. On the other hand, only 28 percent of digital gamers download games for consoles. And while two-thirds of console gamers said they download titles multiple times a year, only 14 percent do so on a monthly basis.

NPD analyst Liam Callahan said the digital movement has also driven more impulse purchases.

“Most digital players, regardless of device, don’t plan their purchases,” said Callahan. “They purchase simply when they find something they like. But primary console players do have a greater tendency to purchase at or before the time of release relative to PC players. As more consumers purchase the new consoles (Xbox One, PlayStation 4), we expect to see greater digital spending from digital console gamers as consumers indicated that purchasing these consoles will most likely increase their digital spending.”

 

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Nintendo games on iOS?

Nintendo Is “Experimenting” With Bringing Games To IOS

Nintendo has been finding themselves between a rock and a hard place in recent years when it comes to handheld gaming versus mobile gaming, as is Sony with their PS Vita.

While the DS, 2DS and 3DS are great devices and are enjoying great sales, it could always be better. Smartphones and tablets have been taking potential profits away from their portable consoles little by little over the past few years.

The belief by many is simple, who wants to carry an additional device dedicated to gaming when our phones have everything we need already? Well I guess it really depends on the type of consumer/gamer you are and where you are going. If it’s a quick commute, maybe a quick round of Angry Birds, Candy Crush or my favorite Nimble Quest is enough but most gamers do not consider these types of games as true deep playing games along the lines of, lets say a Zelda or Mario Kart for 3DS on the go are.

To remedy (somewhat) this problem, Nintendo is looking at various experimental ways they can add their brand on mobile devices but, and here is the tricky part..not take sales away from their own devices. A catch 22.

In a recent interview, Reginald “Reggie” Fils-Aime, president/chief operating officer of Nintendo of America, suggested a shift in Nintendo’s current strategy. Fils-Aime explained that while the ultimate goal will be to draw gamers to Nintendo hardware, the company is aware of the need for expansion. “We recognize that there are a lot of smartphones and tablets out there, and so what we’re doing is we’re being very smart in how we use these devices as marketing tools for our content.” He went on to say, “We’re also doing a lot of experimentation of what I would call the little experiences you can have on your smartphone and tablet that will drive you back to your Nintendo hardware.”

Fils-Aime was also quick to point out “We believe our games are best played and best enjoyed on our devices,” so it’s unlikely that Donkey Kong 3D and Mario Kart 8 will be available in full mode on a future iOS.

Many consumers and analysts are suggesting that Nintendo get out all together from the console market and focus on the great games they make just as Sega has done. But as John Brownlee a writer for Cult of Mac suggests and I tend to agree:

“Many people will wonder why Nintendo doesn’t just give-up, and just start releasing games for iOS, but that’s too cynical. Nintendo is, in many ways, Japan’s Apple, tightly integrating hardware and software to create a magical experience. Telling them to just give up on hardware is like telling Apple to start licensing iOS to competitors and stop making iPhones. But Nintendo does need to be smarter about what a gaming console even looks like in a world saturated with smartphones, and it looks like they have finally started.”

Xbox One beats PS4 sales at Walmart, Target.

InfoScout finds Microsoft systems take 61% share of console sales at retailers on Black Friday.

The Xbox One was the best-selling game hardware at Walmart and Target on Black Friday, according to retail research firm InfoScout. According to a post on the company blog, Microsoft’s new console accounted for 31 percent of console sales at the retailers on Friday, outpacing the PlayStation 4’s 15 percent share, which was only enough to make it the fourth best-selling system of the day.

The Xbox 360, bolstered by a $99 sale price at Walmart, was the second-best-seller of Black Friday, accounting for 30 percent of systems sold. The PS3, which was less heavily discounted at $149, was third with a 15 percent share of consoles sold. Nintendo brought up the rear, with the Wii U accounting for just 6 percent of sales, while the original Wii scraped out a 1 percent share.

InfoScout attributed much of the Xbox family’s success to supply constraints on the PS4 and the deeply discounted Xbox 360 price. According to a survey of Black Friday receipts from 5,000 InfoScout panelists, the Xbox One was the sixth best-selling item at Walmart, behind a trio of TVs, an HP laptop, and a $300 16GB Apple iPad Mini, which ordinarily sells for $320.

 

Xbox One sells 1million units “worldwide” on day one

Microsoft confirms that the launch of the Xbox One was the best Xbox launch for the company yet.

Following the big launch of the Xbox One at midnight last night, Microsoft has just happily announced that the new console sold through 1 million units across 13 markets during its first 24 hours on sale. This marks a new record for the Xbox business, the company said. Supplies are also now limited. “Xbox One is now sold out at most retailers. We are working to replenish stock as fast as possible to meet the unprecedented demand from our customers,” Microsoft said.

“We are humbled and grateful for the excitement of Xbox fans around the world,” said Yusuf Mehdi, Corporate Vice President of Marketing and Strategy, Xbox. “Seeing thousands of excited fans lined up to get their Xbox One and their love for gaming was truly a special moment for everyone on the Xbox team. We are working hard to create more Xbox One consoles and look forward to fulfilling holiday gift wishes this season.”

Microsoft also mentioned some tidbits about gameplay milestones in the new games. In the last 24 hours, over 60 million zombies have been killed in Dead Rising 3, over 3.6 million miles have been driven in Forza Motorsport 5, over 7.1 million combos were put together in Killer Instinct, and over 8.5 million enemies have been defeated in Ryse: Son of Rome.

Sony’s PS4 also sold a million units in its first day, but it’s worth noting that the console still hasn’t shipped in Europe, unlike Xbox One. PS4 will launch across the pond on November 29.

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Almost Half of All Americans Over 50 Play Video Games

The NPD Group recently conducted a survey on the behalf of the ESA, which is the industry trade group that represents the game publishers and is responsible for the organization of E3 every year. Their study looked to see what percentage of people over the age of 50 played games and how often they played those games. The NPD Group conducted the survey among 1,800 participants age 50 and older and counted games played on smartphones, video game consoles, portable game consoles, computers or any other game systems.

Out of those respondents, 48% of those adults over 50 reported that they play games. In addition to that, 80% of these gamers reported that they played on a weekly basis and about 45% of the gamers reported that they played daily. In addition to these statistics, the NPD Group study found that they prefer games that mimic traditional forms of game play. The most popular games were card or tile games, puzzle or logic games. The least popular were trivia, word and board games, however first person shooters, real time simulators or role playing games were not taken into account.

The majority of the gamers played at home and most gamed play was done during the later hours of the day. Also, among those that have children in the household, they stated that 63% said that their children influence which games they buy and 62% said their children help them learn about the latest games and game technology.

The NPD Group conducted the survey for ESA among a U.S. representative sample of approximately 1,800 gamers age 50 and older. Survey respondents said they play video games on at least one system or device, such as a smartphone, video game console, portable game console, computer, or other game system.

These findings merely confirm that gaming is not just for kids or young adults, but rather all ages and the games that people prefer will change with time. We can most likely expect that the 50 yearolds in 10 or 20 years will be playing a lot more RTS, FPS and MMORPGs than their parents did at that age.

 

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