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Demographics point to a decidedly male market willing to shell out big bucks in pursuit of its hobby. According to the NPD Group, a market research firm based in Port Washington, N.Y., 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. Paid, casual gaming sites that offer unlimited video game play of a variety of games, like Pogo.com or RealOne Arcade, reached sales of $52 million in 2005, with about 1 million paid subscribers.
According to research conducted by Ziff Davis Game Group, a division of Ziff Davis Media, the average gamer spends $300 every three months on gaming. Ziff Davis publishes three gaming magazines—Electronic Gaming Monthly, Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine and Computer Gaming World—in addition to the online gaming site 1UP.com. Its data shows that the average gamer is male, with a median age of 26 and a household income of $50,500.
“The single biggest investment that a gamer has to make is on the console or gaming PC,” says Rey Ledda, vice president of marketing for Ziff Davis’ Game Group. “The next generation of consoles—Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 3—will be priced from an unconfirmed $250 for the Wii, to a rumored $600 for the PS3. Xbox 360 games cost an average of $60 each. PS3 games are expected to cost between $59 and $99 each; Nintendo’s Wii games are expected to cost about $49.99 each.”
This adds up to a hefty investment. Ziff Davis’ 2006 Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) Subscriber Study reports 84 percent of readers own four or more consoles; and 74 percent indicate they are likely to purchase a new console in the next 12 months. Additionally, they plan to purchase four games within the first three months after they purchase their new console.
Targeting the Core Gamer
Gamers often are divided into two categories: core and casual. A core gamer typically plays 20 hours per week and has purchased at least four games in the past six months. Casual gamers play half as often as core gamers and purchased less than one game in the past six months.
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