NPD releases online gaming report

NPD Group logo - Image 1Even with all the hype surrounding the current-generation platforms, the NPD group says these game systems haven’t been able to tap into the online gaming market. The most recent reports suggest that PC online gaming is still the dominant medium, while consoles come in a far second. The study also says a lot of people don’t seem keen on owning more than one game system. More details after the jump.

Xbox 360, PS3, Wii - Image 1

Video game industry tracking group NPD has released the results of its analysis titled “Online Gaming 2008”. The report shows that game console-based online gaming is catching on a bit slowly, and ownership of multiple game platforms is at minimum levels.

The NPD report says that the US population’s participation in gaming has risen from 64 percent in 2006 to 72 percent last year. The industry’s online gaming sector is made up mostly by PC gamers, with 90 percent saying they use the platform for this type of electronic entertainment. Only 19 percent said they use consoles and handhelds for the same thing. Mobile phone users accounted for three percent of the respondents.

Of all non-PC online gamers, Xbox Live users were the most active, with one of two console owners using the service. The NPD says that 40 percent of all online gamers, PC or console, are aged two to 17. Only 10 percent were aged 18 to 24.

Lastly, the NPD reports that owners of current-generation platforms have not been too eager to get more than one system. Only three percent of the total gaming population said that they have more than one kind of console, while only two percent said that they own all three.

We’ll keep you posted for more news related to this. Expect analysts and other experts to give their digestion of this report in the days to come.

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