The NPD Group Reports Total U.S. Consumer Spending On PC Games
Reached $1.4 Billion In 2005
Research Designed to Better Capture Sales of Digital Downloads
and Online Subscriptions
PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, May 25, 2006 According to recent
research conducted by leading consumer and retail information
company The NPD Group, total U.S. consumer spending on PC Games
reached $1.4 billion in 2005. Of this total, online subscriptions
to PC games and gaming web sites were estimated to account for $344
million. The research, which was designed to better capture sales
of digital downloads and, for the first time, online subscriptions,
also addressed gamer demographics, such as the ages of online and
casual game subscribers.
The NPD Groups research indicates that paid game-specific
subscriptions, such as those allowing online play of massively
multiplayer games like World of Warcraft, reached approximately
$292 million in 2005, with about 1.4 million paid subscribers. The
research also found empirical evidence of a growing trend in online
subscriptions.
Laptop Battery According to the research, paid casual gaming sites, such as
those allowing users unlimited play of a variety of games from
services like Pogo.com or RealOne Arcade, reached sales of $52
million in 2005 with about 1.05 million paid subscribers, while
casual online gamers pay an average of just under $5 per month.
There are fewer paid casual game subscribers than there are
game-specific subscribers, with the highest percentage of gamers in
both categories being in the 25-34 age range, at 30 percent and 29
percent, respectively.
Online travel spending in the U.S. during the 2005 holiday season (November 1 through December 31, 2005) totaled $8.6 billion, percent increase on last year. Last year U.S. consumers spent $7.4 billion during this period, according to comScore Networks. For the full year consumers spent $60.9 billion, percent increase on the previous year. Total Internet spending for the full year 2005, including travel, reached $143.2 billion, up 22 percent over the $117.2 billion spent online in 2004.
Thinkpad While The NPD Groups retail tracking service shows what appears
to be a decline in PC game sales, critical developments in the PC
games industry, specifically the Internet, is fundamentally
changing the PC software industry, said Anita Frazier, industry
analyst, The NPD Group. With the increase in high speed Internet
access, not only are users purchasing their games online, they are
also willingly paying additional recurring fees over and above the
price of the game to subscribe to services that let them play with
others online.
reported earlier tonight on the latest NPD numbers for the year of 2004 and they're sky high. Sales of video games, PC and game systems combined, totaled a whopping $7.3 billion in 2004. That number is software only, it doesn't take any hardware or accessory sales into account.
Microsoft The casual game space continues to show potential by broadening
the PC game audience, giving companies the opportunity to drive
revenue from non-traditional audiences. For example, the ratio of
female to male online gaming subscribers varied greatly when
comparing game-specific to casual gaming, with only 29 percent of
females being game-specific subscribers versus 49 percent found to
be casual game subscribers. Age is also an important factor, with
87% of casual game players being 25 or older, while 55% of
game-specific subscribers are 34 or younger.
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Group has reported record profits, off of bad consumer debts increasing by 30% to .17 billion.
Laptop Computers About This Study
The online gaming estimates referenced in this release were
developed from a one-time custom study conducted by NPD over the
fourth quarter of calendar year 2005. Over its 13 weeks in the
field this survey collected data concerning online subscription
behavior from nearly 60,000 respondents. These responses were
projected to be representative of the online-capable individuals
aged 13+ in the US. Estimates have been benchmarked against actual
subscription volumes obtained from select publishers in an effort
to generally compensate for any consumer reporting bias. The
estimates reported in this release are annualized solely from the
data collected during Q4 2005 and as such do not account for events
from the first 3 quarters of calendar year 2005.
Broken down, the data showed that console video game sales reached $5.3 million, PC game sales totaled at $1.1 billion and portable game sales were close behind finishing the year at $1 billion. About 248 million games were sold in 2004, beating the previous year's number of 239.3 million.
Laptop Computer About The NPD Group, Inc.
Since 1967 The NPD Group has provided reliable and comprehensive
consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries.
Today, more than 1,400 manufacturers and retailers rely on NPD to
help them better understand their customers, product categories,
distribution channels and competition in order to help guide their
businesses. Information from The NPD Group is available for the
following major vertical sectors: apparel, appliances, automotive,
beauty, consumer
electronics, food and beverage,
foodservice, footwear, home improvement, housewares,
imaging, information technology,
music, software, toys, video
games, and wireless. For more information, visit
www.npd.com.
About Pinnacle Systems According to The NPD Group, Pinnacle Studio is the number one consumer video editing software, based on U.S. retail unit and dollar sales from October 2005 through November 2006. Pinnacle Systems, Inc., owned subsidiary of Avid Technology, Inc., is an industry leader in video editing solutions, TV tuners for the PC, and digital media adapters for the consumer market. The company's product lines include Pinnacle PCTV, Dazzle, Pinnacle ShowCenter, Pinnacle Mobile Media and its flagship Pinnacle Studio line. For rmation, visit www.pinnaclesys.com.
Desktop Computer Source: NPD Group, Inc.
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