So often seen as the exclusive haunt of hormonal and reclusive teenagers, videogames could well be seen in a whole new light after new studies revealed that games players have great family interaction, enjoy better social lives, and even make more money than those who avoid the popular pastime.
The findings of the studies, one emanating from Canada and one from America, fly in the face of typical stereotypes portraying gamers as overweight teenage couch potatoes leading a largely sedentary lifestyle while wholly devoted to their console of choice.
Some of the statistics unearthed by the Entertainment Software Association of Canada study suggest that one in two Canadians is a gamer and has actively played a software title within the last month, while half of the country’s game-playing demographic is female, over 80 percent indulge in a world of videogames for around 7.1 hours per week, and the average age of a Canadian gamer is actually 40.
“Family gaming is becoming a big part of Canadian families’ pastime. Mom, dad and the kids are all playing together,” enthused Nicole Helsburg, spokeswoman for the Entertainment Software Association of Canada. “Those who grew up playing games have taken that into their adult lives and are now embracing that as a way to spend time with their kids.”
Similarly, an American study conducted by Ipsos MediaCT on behalf of leading videogame Web site IGN concluded that some 55 percent of those polled were married, while 48 percent had children, and 57 percent of parents played videogames on a regular basis with the children, reports the Ottawa Citizen.
And, when separated from the game pad and/or keyboard, the American study found that young and single gamers are considerably more socially active than those who do not game. Specifically, unattached gamers players are twice as likely to be dating, are almost 10 percent more likely to be spending time with their friends, and 11 percent more inclined to partake in sporting activities.
Perhaps surprisingly given gaming preconceptions, the American study discovered that regular videogames players also matched those who do not game when it comes to the time per week they spend with their heads in a good book.
From a professional standpoint, the study also revealed that the average income of a U.S. household closely associated with videogame entertainment is around $79,000 USD, while households without videogame access make approximately $55,000 USD.
According to Adam Wright, director of research for Ipsos MediaCT, its study “underscores the fact that gaming has become a mainstream medium in this country that appeals to people from all walks of life.”
The Entertainment Software Association of Canada study was conducted across 652 Canadian adults and 100 children aged between six and 13. The two-stage IGN study covered both online and single-player respondents and was spread across more than 3,000 American citizens.
Thursday 30 October 2008
Wednesday 15 October 2008
Mobile games market consolidation
"Analysis of the UK's ELSPA mobile games chart shows the increasing power of the Big Three publishers - EA Mobile, Gameloft and Glu - and the utter dominance of branded mobile games.The number of games charting in the ELSPA Top 10 hasn't changed much over the years: in 2005 45 games charted, compared to 44 in 2006 and 2007. However, pretty much everything else has.For example, in 2005, 42 per cent of the games that appeared in ELSPA's monthly Top 10 list were own-IP titles. In 2006, this plummeted to 11 per cent, and then 9% in 2007.Meanwhile, in 2005 eight publishers had more than three games appear in the chart: Iomo (7), Digital Bridges (6), Mforma (6), Gameloft (5), Sumea (5), Macrospace (4), iFone (3) and Jamdat (3).By 2007, the top three charting publishers were EA Mobile (12), Glu Mobile (9) and Gameloft (7). Those three publishers accounted for 63.6 per cent of the games that charted last year. All this, remember, is based on sales across all the UK's mobile operators.Is that a bad thing? Your view largely depends on how big a publisher you are (or working with). However, the brand to own-IP ratio is more troubling, since it indicates that the hit-driven mobile games industry isn't having many hits with its own IP.Although based purely on UK sales, our research is also a stark reminder of the problems facing mid-tier publishers when it comes to driving on-deck sales.In 2005, Mforma and Sumea had six and five charting titles respectively. In 2007, by now rebranded as Hands-On Mobile and Digital Chocolate, neither company had a single game appear in the ELSPA chart." Pocket Gamer
Jetix Europe & Wildbrain debut series online
"Jetix Europe will team up with Wildbrain on a new short-form series that will premiere on its website across Europe in early 2009. Wildbrain's Team Smitereen will be the first new short-form series that Jetix will debut in Europe as an exclusive premiere on its websites. Users across Europe will be able to access the new content with new eps being regularly updated on the Jetix sites in Germany, the UK, Spain, Italy, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Hungary and Poland. The slapstick tween comedy was created by The Dan Clark Company and will debut exclusively on the new look Jetix websites beginning early 2009." Kidscreen October 2008
Real world bust means virtual world boom
"Worldwide, economies are slowing and consumers are worried sick about their future.
Despite all the doom and gloom, one tiny sector is offering a glimmer of hope: virtual worlds. Companies such as Gaia Interactive and Habbo are expecting a boost as consumers reduce spending on real-world goods and luxuries and console themselves with so-called virtual goods--digital copies of products that can cost just pennies, allowing users to indulge their materialistic fantasies without spending much.
"As the 'real world' gets worse, virtual worlds get better," Gaia Chief Executive Craig Sherman told Forbes.com in an e-mail. "As things get worse, people spend more time at movies or spend more time on a site like Gaia Online, which provides a relatively inexpensive respite from the offline world." Gaia, which targets U.S. teens and twenty-somethings, had more than 7 million unique visitors in September.
Teen-focused virtual world Habbo boasts a similar outlook. While there is some concern the down economy will reduce the site's ad sales, 85% of Habbo's revenue is derived from virtual goods transactions. The site's 2.5 million U.S. users spend an average of $18 a month, and the average time spent on the site has doubled to 40 minutes per session in the past year, says Executive Vice President Teemu Huuhtanen. He expects the number of unique users--currently 10 million globally--to grow as the site introduces new services and activities.
Kid-focused virtual worlds like Club Penguin and Neopets have boomed over the past two years, becoming an attractive investment niche for large media companies. These sites provide a way for kids to interact with a media property--say, Nickelodeon's legion of characters--in an environment that is cheaper on a per hour basis than seeing the latest flick in the theaters.
EVE Online, a science fiction-themed massively multiplayer game, is going gangbusters. The subscription-based virtual world has gone from 220,000 users to nearly a quarter of a million since the beginning of the year. EVE's on-staff economist Eyjo Gudmundsson expects the game's growth to continue over the next six months--particularly as people look for more inexpensive forms of entertainment. The basic EVE subscription cost is $14.95 per month.
Gudmundsson cautions, though, that virtual worlds that are directly linked to the real world may fall victim to some real-world economic frustrations.
Indeed, the number of registered and active users of Second Life, a virtual world that simulates real-world experiences, have flattened out, says Parks Associates analyst Michael Cai. But this might not be a reaction to the economy; it could be due to consumers shifting to other virtual worlds. Cai predicts that corporations will start using Second Life or custom 3D virtual worlds to hold meetings and cut travel costs." FORBES October 2008
Despite all the doom and gloom, one tiny sector is offering a glimmer of hope: virtual worlds. Companies such as Gaia Interactive and Habbo are expecting a boost as consumers reduce spending on real-world goods and luxuries and console themselves with so-called virtual goods--digital copies of products that can cost just pennies, allowing users to indulge their materialistic fantasies without spending much.
"As the 'real world' gets worse, virtual worlds get better," Gaia Chief Executive Craig Sherman told Forbes.com in an e-mail. "As things get worse, people spend more time at movies or spend more time on a site like Gaia Online, which provides a relatively inexpensive respite from the offline world." Gaia, which targets U.S. teens and twenty-somethings, had more than 7 million unique visitors in September.
Teen-focused virtual world Habbo boasts a similar outlook. While there is some concern the down economy will reduce the site's ad sales, 85% of Habbo's revenue is derived from virtual goods transactions. The site's 2.5 million U.S. users spend an average of $18 a month, and the average time spent on the site has doubled to 40 minutes per session in the past year, says Executive Vice President Teemu Huuhtanen. He expects the number of unique users--currently 10 million globally--to grow as the site introduces new services and activities.
Kid-focused virtual worlds like Club Penguin and Neopets have boomed over the past two years, becoming an attractive investment niche for large media companies. These sites provide a way for kids to interact with a media property--say, Nickelodeon's legion of characters--in an environment that is cheaper on a per hour basis than seeing the latest flick in the theaters.
EVE Online, a science fiction-themed massively multiplayer game, is going gangbusters. The subscription-based virtual world has gone from 220,000 users to nearly a quarter of a million since the beginning of the year. EVE's on-staff economist Eyjo Gudmundsson expects the game's growth to continue over the next six months--particularly as people look for more inexpensive forms of entertainment. The basic EVE subscription cost is $14.95 per month.
Gudmundsson cautions, though, that virtual worlds that are directly linked to the real world may fall victim to some real-world economic frustrations.
Indeed, the number of registered and active users of Second Life, a virtual world that simulates real-world experiences, have flattened out, says Parks Associates analyst Michael Cai. But this might not be a reaction to the economy; it could be due to consumers shifting to other virtual worlds. Cai predicts that corporations will start using Second Life or custom 3D virtual worlds to hold meetings and cut travel costs." FORBES October 2008
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