The NPD Group: Watch out Teens! Adults Rule Mobile Gaming (for Now, Anyway)

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--According to The NPD Group, a leading consumer and retail information company, in an average month more than 29 million consumers play video games on their mobile phones and more than 7 million download games to mobile devices. These days, however, you’ll find more adults than teens interacting with mobile games. In fact, consumers between the ages of 25 and 34 not only download more games than any other age group, but also play them more and are more likely to plan to purchase additional games in the future.

In 2006 29 percent of games were downloaded by consumers aged 25 to 34, followed by those aged 18 to 24 (27 percent), and teens between the ages of 13 and 17 (15 percent). NPD noted a similar trend in relation to game playing activity. Half of mobile gamers between the ages of 25 and 34 and the same percentage of those between the ages of 18 and 24 report playing a game on their mobile device at least once a day. By comparison, just 41 percent of teens exhibited similar behavior.

While these numbers offer an interesting snapshot of current mobile gaming activity, the main reason teens have not surpassed their adult counterparts comes down to the numbers of mobile downloads and game play: compared to adults, there simply are not as many teen cell phone subscribers as there are adult subscribers. When NPD compared the share of game downloads to the share of subscribers in each age group, the data reflect that teens, as a group, are in fact the most likely to download games.

“While teens definitely have a higher incidence than adults for mobile gaming, they still play second fiddle to their older counterparts in overall game play and downloading,” said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group. “And while it’s true that adults currently control the lion’s share of mobile game downloads and play, as more teens enter the mobile subscriber base we’ll see these numbers start to reach parity.”

Methodology: The NPD Group offers an in-depth and comprehensive examination of consumer spending and usage of mobile games. This monthly tracking service combines NPD’s extensive knowledge of the traditional gaming market with rich analysis and insight into mobile gaming consumers’ product satisfaction, ownership and future purchase intent. Based on an ongoing monthly survey of approximately 75,000 U.S. consumers, this data is calibrated with U.S. Census statistics to represent the population of individuals between the ages of 13 and 44. For more information about NPD’s offerings in this business sector, visit http://wireless.npd.com.

About The NPD Group, Inc.

The NPD Group is the leading provider of reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 1,600 manufacturers, retailers, and service companies rely on NPD to help them drive critical business decisions at the global, national, and local market levels. NPD helps our clients to identify new business opportunities and guide product development, marketing, sales, merchandising, and other functions. Information is available for the following industry sectors: automotive, beauty, commercial technology, consumer technology, entertainment, fashion, food and beverage, foodservice, home, office supplies, software, sports, toys, and wireless. For more information, visit www.npd.com.