People who play games on smartphones or tablet computers in the United
States now outnumber "hardcore gamers" devoted to videogame consoles,
according to NPD Group findings released Wednesday.
"The size of key
gamer segments are shifting, with mobile gamers now representing the
largest gamer segment, edging out core gamers, which was the largest
segment in 2011," NPD said in a release.
Ranks of US videogame
players decreased by nearly 12 million, or five percent, from last year
to 211.5 million, according to a "Gamer Segmentation 2012 The New Faces
of Gamers" report.
"Given the long life-cycles of the current
(videogame) consoles and the increasing installed base of smartphones
and tablets, it's not surprising to see a slight decline in the core
gamer segment," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.
"It's the revenue
contribution of the core gamer segment that continues to outpace all
other segments and remains vital to the future of the industry."
The
number of "mobile and digital gamers" grew while the other five
segments of the market measured in the NPD report registered declines.
Other gamer categories included personal computer gamers and families.
"Looking
across the total gaming audience, we see a tremendous impact from
mobile gaming, particularly on smartphones and tablets," said Frazier.
NPD
reported that the percentage of gamers who played mainly on smartphones
or other mobile devices grew from nine percent to 22 percent of US
gamers, while the core gamer group slipped to 21 percent of the total.
A
separate "digital gamers" category was comprised of players that use
the gamut of hardware from personal computers and consoles to mobile
gadgets but who acquire content online in forms such as applications or
software downloads.
Ranks of digital gamers grew four percent to
become 16 percent of the overall population of US players, and members
of that group were the most voracious when it came to acquiring games,
according to NPD.
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