|
|
 |
|
Viewing report
|
|
|
|
Video Games in the United States 2008
Mintel, July 2008, Pages: 123
Scope and Themes
What you need to know
Definition
Data sources
Consumer survey data
Abbreviations and terms
Abbreviations
Terms
Executive Summary
Key themes and findings
Video game sales are hot despite troubles in PC gaming
Industry is highly competitive, innovation driven
Wal-Mart, Game Stop are the preferred retailers
A handful of companies dominate video game sales
PR, and community based marketing and promotion
Highlights from the consumer research
Market Size and Forecast
Key points
Console games are expensive, inspiring new business models
U.S. sales
Figure 6: Total U.S. sales and forecast of video games at current prices, 2002-12
Figure 7: Total U.S. sales and forecast of video games, at inflation adjusted prices, 2002-12
Competitive Context
Game software revenue surpasses music and movies and is growing faster
Figure 8: U.S. sales of video games, music & movies, 2005 and 2007
Competition from gaming and non-gaming leisure pursuits
Figure 9: Favorite leisure activities, by gender, March 2007
Figure 10: Favorite leisure activities of male adults and teens, March 2007
Figure 11: Favorite leisure activities of female adults and teens, March 2007
Competition for share of spending
Figure 12: Products teens spend allowance on, by gender, 2005 and 2007
Free PC gaming
Figure 13: Gaming platforms used, and types of game played, by age, May 2008
Segment Performance
Key points
Game segments complementary, yet new consoles steal focus
Online and wireless options broader and more prevalent
Free gaming business models help curtail PC gaming growth
Segment growth and change in share 2005-07
Video games sales, by segment
Figure 14: U.S. sales and forecast sales of video games, at current prices, by segment, 2002-12
Figure 15: U.S. sales of video games, share and growth by segment, 2006 and 2008
Segment Performance—Console Games
Key points
Console game sales are cyclical and hit driven
Handheld games sales are strong
Console game sales
Figure 16: U.S. sales and forecast sales of console and handheld games, 2002-12
Figure 17: U.S. unit sales of console and handheld games, share and growth by segment, 2005 and 2007
Segment Performance—PC Games
Key points
PC gamers have alternatives to packaged software
PC game sales
Figure 18: U.S. sales and forecast sales of PC games, 2002-12
Segment Performance—Online Games
Key points
Online capabilities
Figure 19: Internet service, and presence of a personal computer, 2003-07
Many different business models
A star is born
Online game sales
Figure 20: U.S. sales and forecast sales of online games, 2002-12
Segment Performance—Mobile Phone Games
Key points
Growth is substantial, but barriers loom
One in four teens and one in six adults plays mobile games
Wireless game sales and subscribers
Figure 21: U.S. sales and forecast sales of wireless games, 2002-12
Figure 22: U.S. wireless game subscribers, 2002-12
Retail Channels
Key points
Video game buyers shop in person
Potential of downloadable games has not yet been reached
Online downloading for casual games more established
Figure 23: Purchase methods for buying video games, May 2008
Market Drivers
New consoles drive sales
Figure 24: U.S. sales of video game consoles and software (excluding handhelds), 2005-07
Franchises keep delivering
Figure 25: Selected worldwide best selling console games, by franchise and generation
Holiday sales
Figure 26: U.S. console (including handheld) software sales in 2007, by month
WOM central to sales
Figure 27: Information sources for games, by gender, May 2008
Figure 28: Social gaming, by gender, May 2008
Used games/rentals
Community-based outlets promote interest
Figure 29: Attitudes to game marketing, by gender, May 2008
Figure 30: Impact of marketing/branding and association with game tournaments, May 2008
Figure 31: Impact of marketing/branding and association with game tournaments, by presence of children, May 2008
Free gaming as a driver for future sales
Figure 32: Gaming platforms used, and types of game played, by age, May 2008
Battle of the bulge and fitness
Leading Companies
Overview
Online gaming
Console gaming—exclusive platform vs. cross-platform
A few companies account for the majority of revenues/unit sales
Mergers
Unit sales by company for console and handheld games
Figure 33: Sales of console games (including handheld games) by publisher, 2006 and 2007
Figure 34: Leading U.S. console titles for Wii, XBox 360 and PS3 by publisher/title (totals), to date, June 2008
Handheld games
Figure 35: Leading (selected) U.S. handheld titles for DS, PSP and GBA, by publisher/title (totals), to date, June 2008
PC games
Online gaming
Leading MMOGs
Figure 36: Leading MMOGs Worldwide, by number of subscribers and by publisher/title, 2007/08
Casual games
Wireless games
Figure 37: Verizon Wireless top mobile games introduced in 2007
Brand Qualities
Nintendo
Electronic Arts (EA)
Activision
Microsoft
Blizzard Entertainment
Innovation and Innovators
Nintendo
Electronic Arts
Activision/Guitar Hero III
Sony/Konami
Jagex/Runescape
Casual games sector
Advertising and Promotion
Overview
Advertising themes
Ads with game clips predominate
Figure 38: Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures television ad, 2008
Figure 39: Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core television ad, 2008
Figure 40: The Sims 2 Expansion Pack television ad, 2008
Some ads are akin to movie trailers
Figure 41: Grand Theft Auto 4 television ad, 2008
Figure 42: Metal Gear Solid 4 television ad, 2008
Figure 43: Call of Duty 4 television ad, 2008
Humor and dramatizations help convey the gaming experience
Figure 44: Battlefield: Bad Company television ad, 2008
Figure 45: World of warcraft television ad, 2007
Figure 46: Madden NFL ’08 television ad, 2007
Figure 47: Guitar hero television ad, 2008
Wii promotes its controller
Figure 48: Big brain academy Wii degree television ad, 2007
Figure 49: Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix Wii television ad, 2007
Figure 50: MarioKart Wii television ad, 2008
Figure 51: Nintendo Brain age 2 television ad, 2007
Usage
Four in ten adults play, only two in ten buy
Playing
Figure 52: Adults and teens who own or play video games, key demographics, January-November 2007
Nearly all teen boys play video games
Figure 53: Teens who play video games, key demographics, May 2006-June 2007
Buying
Figure 54: Incidence of adults purchasing video games, by age, January-November 2007
Figure 55: Incidence of adults purchasing video games, by presence of children, January-November 2007
Buying for others
Kids drive sales
Women’s gaming nights
Figure 56: Last video game purchase bought for whom, by gender, January-November 2007
18-24s most likely to buy for themselves
Figure 57: Last video game purchase bought for whom, by age, January-November 2007
Incidence of buying for children holds, even for households without children
Figure 58: Last video game purchase bought for whom, by presence of children, January-November 2007
Genre Preferences
Genre preference vary dramatically by gender and age
Figure 59: Type of games played, by gender, January-November 2007
Figure 60: Type of games played, by age, January-November 2007
Teen girls keen on arcade/classic, racing, strategy, and puzzle games
Figure 61: Type of games played by teens, by gender and age, May 2006-June 2007
Volume and Value of Purchasing
Adults buy twice as many games as they rent
Figure 62: Number of games per capita bought or rented, adults by gender, January-November 2007
Grandpa and me gaming nights
Figure 63: Number of games per capita bought or rented, teens and adults by age, January-November 2007
Boys 12-14 buy and rent more than any other age group,
Figure 64: Number of games per capita bought or rented, teens by gender and age, May 2006-June 2007
Spending on video games
One in five adults bought a game in the past 12 months
Figure 65: Per capita spending on video games, by gender, January-November 2007
25-44s spend the most
Figure 66: Per capita spending on video games, by age, January-November 2007
Usage Among Children
Boys are a committed customer group; girls may be underserved
Figure 67: Video games in relation to other entertainment, children by age and gender, January-November 2007
Boy and girl players play online games at about equal frequency
Figure 68: Frequency of online gaming by kids, by age and gender, January-November 2007
Boys spend their allowance on games
Figure 69: Choices for allowance spending by kids, by age and gender, January-November 2007
Teens and Video Games
Teen boys buy/receive twice as many games as teen girls
Figure 70: Average number of games bought and received by teens, by gender, April 2008
Teen boys spend 12 hours per week gaming
Figure 71: Average hours spent playing video games per week, teens by gender, April 2008
Teen platforms played
Figure 72: Game platforms owned or played by teens, by gender, May 2006-June 2007
Interests differ by gender
Figure 73: Gaming platforms used, and types of game played, teens by gender, April 2008
Marketing to Teens
Teen boys give WOM a voice
Figure 74: Teen attitudes toward new games and info sources about new games, by gender, April 2008
Figure 75: Teen attitudes toward new games and info sources about new games, by age, April 2008
Teens keen on variety
Figure 76: Teen attitudes to games, by gender, April 2008
Attitudes Among Adults
Half of men the primary gamer in the household
Figure 77: Adults’ attitudes toward video games, by gender, May 2008
Fun for the whole family
Figure 78: Parenting and gaming, by gender, May 2008
Encouraging Non-gamers to join the Fun
Figure 79: What would motivate non-players to play video games, by age, May 2008
Figure 80: What would motivate non-players to play video games, by household income, May 2008
Interest in ‘Exergaming’
Figure 81: Interest in ‘exergaming’, by gender, May 2008
Race and Ethnicity
Key points
Usage
Figure 82: Participation in video gaming, by race/ethnicity, January-November 2007
Figure 83: Gaming platforms used, and types of game played, by race/ethnicity, May 2008
Figure 84: Game related activities, by race/ethnicity, May 2008
Figure 85: Game platforms owned or played, by race/ethnicity, January-November 2007
Genre preference
Figure 86: Type of games played, by gender, January-November 2007
Buying and renting games
Figure 87: Number of games bought or rented per capita, by race/ethnicity, January-November 2007
Spending
Figure 88: Spending on video games, by race/ethnicity, January-November 2007
Kids
Figure 89: Frequency of online gaming by kids, by race/ethnicity, January-November 2007
Figure 90: Choices for allowance spending by kids, by race/ethnicity, January-November 2007
Information sources
Figure 91: Information sources for games, by race/ethnicity, May 2008
Attitudes and motivations
Figure 92: Attitudes to new games, by race/ethnicity, May 2008
Converting the non-gamer
Figure 93: What would motivate non-players to play video games, by race/ethnicity, May 2008
Interest in ‘exergaming’
Figure 94: Interest in ‘exergaming’, by race/ethncity, May 2008
Appendix: Type of Games Played
Figure 115: Gaming platforms used, and types of game played, by gender, May 2008
Figure 116: Gaming platforms used, and types of game played, by household income, May 2008
Figure 117: Gaming platforms used, and types of game played, by presence of children, May 2008
Interest in ‘exergaming’
Figure 118: Interest in ‘exergaming’ by household income, May 2008
Figure 119: Interest in ‘exergaming’ by presence of children, May 2008
Appendix: When Games are Purchased
Key points
Figure 120: When do you buy a new game, January-November 2007
Figure 121: When do you buy a new game, adults and teens by age, January-November 2007
When teens purchase games
Figure 122: When do you buy a new game, by teen age and gender, May 2006-June 2007
Buy/acquire/rent
Figure 123: Gaming bought/acquired/rented by platform, May 2008
Appendix: Additional Teen Consumer Tables
Customers who bought this item also bought
Video Games - Global Strategic Business Report
Casual Gaming - Games for Everyone
Video Games: Where to now?
Video Game Advertising
Electronic Gaming in the Digital Home: Game Advertising
Toys and Games - Global Outlook
Gaming in the Interactive World in the United States 2009
Online Gaming in China: Web Games Lead the Next Wave
Video Game Market - Changing Competitive Equation
Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2008-2012 - Video Games
The Market for Portable Video Games
UK Computer Games Retailing 2008
|
|
|
|
