12 September 2009
Josh

57% of kids ages 2-12 play videogames. Households with kids account for 45% of total industry sales

The NPD Group has released a new study called “Kids & Cross-Entertainment Behaviors Report”. This follows on the heels of the U.S. overall monthly industry sales falling 16% year-to-year to $908.7 million in August.

The report details the importance of kids to the videogame industry as a whole and gives some interesting statistics, like the following:

* Kids 12 and under accounted for 24% of game industry sales for the first half of 2009.
* Households that have kids under 12 account for 45% of total videogame industry sales.
* 57% of kids ages 2 to 12 play videogames.
* 62% of kids ages 2 to 12 use a computer for leisure activities outside of school work.
* There are 53.4 million kids ages 12 and under in the U.S.
* Kids under 12 account for 17% of the population of the United States.
* 75% of the tween group (which I guess is between 10 and 14) play videogames.
* 81% of the tween group use a computer for leisure activities outside of school.

Overall, the NPD Group suggests that game publishers and developers would be wise to more aggressively target these specific kid and tween groups, as there is still significant room for growth. And this could be a huge help during such a recession where the overall industry is trending downward sales-wise.

Via GameSpot, Image via Digital Journal

12 September 2009 15:13
Darklurkr23

I started playing very early I remember Mortal Monday and all that early stuff. I think it was around 90-91 (I’d be 3/4) when I started. Get those numbers higher kids!

13 September 2009 06:13
Amy

Wow you got started early Darklurkr23, good on you! I didn’t get my first game system, the NES, with Super Mario Bros. until I was 8 years old.

14 September 2009 13:36
Josh

Hey guys, it’s great to hear about your gaming beginnings as youngsters! I got my start around the age of 4 with Super Mario Bros.! My cousin originally had the NES and then I got one. I specifically remember playing it while still sleeping with my parents. I’d get up out of bed, play for a little while while my dad was getting ready for work. After playing I’d turn it off and go get a piece of sliced cheese and eat it while I went back to bed with my mom.

So SMB was my first videogame!

18 September 2009 15:50
Fightgamer

I was 4, when I got my first game: Super Mario Bros, I always played it only when my parents were around. I would never play it alone. But as funny as it might sound, we never talked about graphics, we never compared game graphics. Only criteria we had, was how much fun game brought to you! It was beautiful. Playing games was something I really liked. I miss good old times! Of course, things started to change,… Computer; Playstation, 2, 3
Today we play games better in everything (graphics, sound, story, …), but there is only few games which can reach me and my heart, the way those games did many years ago.