Report: U.S. Video Gamers Now Outnumber Moviegoers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 22, 2009 - 9:22am.

Port Washington, N.Y. - The percentage of American video game players (63%) now outnumbers those who have gone out to the movies in the past six months (53%), according to a survey conducted by market research firm NPD Group. The survey found that one in three gamers bought a console or portable game over the past 12 months -- up 7% on the prior year, while 10% of U.S. consumers played video games on a social network, and 5% paid to download a video game from the Web -- up 2% from last year.

"As with video and music, sales of physical gaming products still account for the bulk of consumer spending on video games, but digital downloads and other delivery and game-play formats are also rising in popularity," said NPD analyst Russ Crupnick.

"Video games account for one-third of the average monthly consumer spending in the U.S. for core entertainment content, including music, video, games," added NPD game industry analyst Anita Frazier.

"While a portion of that share stems from the premium price of console games, we're also seeing an overall increase in the number of people participating in gaming year-over-year."

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