Downloadable games: better than the movies according to IDC, IDGE

Not all the battles being waged in the current console wars rely on big, hard-selling game titles. In a recent survey conducted by IDC and IDG Entertainment, revenues from online console downloads are fast becoming the standard ammunition that Internet capable consoles are using to draw in gamers to the fold.

Billy Pidgeon, IDC’s program manager for games research, put out some numbers analyzing the booming popularity of online capable video game consoles. He estimated that by 2008 over 37 million console units will be installed in North America with online capability.

Currently, the online gaming industry has jumped up from US$ 133 million in 2006 to a whopping US$ 583 million this year. Downloadable content from Xbox Live, the PlayStation Network, and the Virtual Console has boomed over the past year. While sales from software titles are still very positive, Pidgeon sees the potential of downloadable content as the “the industryÂ’s most exciting growth opportunity in this hardware cycle”.

Also, IDGE separated the gamers into five interesting categories based on their attitudes towards gaming, as well as their social characteristics, and purchasing habits:

• Core Gamers: Core Gamers choose gaming as their main form of entertainment and want to maximize their time gaming. They prefer gaming over going to the movies or out to dinner.
• Status Gamers: Status Gamers are proud of their gaming skills and enjoy being the first to try the newest and hottest titles. They also like to discuss their gaming experiences at school or work.
• Social Gamers: Social Gamers view gaming as a communal experience. They prefer to play games with people they care about, forming a social link, and coordinate social functions around gaming.
• Active Gamers: Active Gamers prefer games where movements are reflected in the game and allow gamers to get out of their chairs. They use gaming as a physical release.
• Casual Gamers: Casual Gamers use gaming as an emotional release and as a way to play different roles. Casual gamers view gaming as a secondary form of entertainment and don’t feel the necessity to be the first to try a new game.

Which, poses another interesting question – which gamer are you?

Not all the battles being waged in the current console wars rely on big, hard-selling game titles. In a recent survey conducted by IDC and IDG Entertainment, revenues from online console downloads are fast becoming the standard ammunition that Internet capable consoles are using to draw in gamers to the fold.

Billy Pidgeon, IDC’s program manager for games research, put out some numbers analyzing the booming popularity of online capable video game consoles. He estimated that by 2008 over 37 million console units will be installed in North America with online capability.

Currently, the online gaming industry has jumped up from US$ 133 million in 2006 to a whopping US$ 583 million this year. Downloadable content from Xbox Live, the PlayStation Network, and the Virtual Console has boomed over the past year. While sales from software titles are still very positive, Pidgeon sees the potential of downloadable content as the “the industryÂ’s most exciting growth opportunity in this hardware cycle”.

Also, IDGE separated the gamers into five interesting categories based on their attitudes towards gaming, as well as their social characteristics, and purchasing habits:

• Core Gamers: Core Gamers choose gaming as their main form of entertainment and want to maximize their time gaming. They prefer gaming over going to the movies or out to dinner.
• Status Gamers: Status Gamers are proud of their gaming skills and enjoy being the first to try the newest and hottest titles. They also like to discuss their gaming experiences at school or work.
• Social Gamers: Social Gamers view gaming as a communal experience. They prefer to play games with people they care about, forming a social link, and coordinate social functions around gaming.
• Active Gamers: Active Gamers prefer games where movements are reflected in the game and allow gamers to get out of their chairs. They use gaming as a physical release.
• Casual Gamers: Casual Gamers use gaming as an emotional release and as a way to play different roles. Casual gamers view gaming as a secondary form of entertainment and don’t feel the necessity to be the first to try a new game.

Which, poses another interesting question – which gamer are you?