NPD Says Kids Play Mobile Games As Much As on PC, Consoles

Michael Epstein

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Sep 9, 2013
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NPD Says Kids Play Mobile Games As Much As on PC, Consoles

Are you still one of the holdouts adamant that mobile games are inferior to console and PC? Well pretty soon you're going to be the only one.

According to a new report from the NPD group, the gap between the number of kids playing mobile games versus those using traditional platforms - Consoles and PC - to get their fix is just about closed.

The study, "Kids and Gaming 2013," compared the gaming habits of 3,842 children between the ages 2 and 17 in 2011 versus their habits today. Of those children, 64 percent said they use phones and tablets for gaming, versus 67 percent who said they played games on consoles and PC. Moreover, most kids - 53 percent - who play mobile games said the amount of time they spent playing has increased: Kids today spend an average of seven hours per week playing mobile games, up from five hours in 2011.

Kids polled in 2013 also started getting their hands on mobile devices and games at a younger age than two years ago. On average, kids had started playing mobile games by age eight this year, as opposed to nine two years ago. The NPD believes the average will only decrease from here on in.

According to a statement from NPD analyst Liam Callahan, children are focusing more of their attention on mobile games as tablets and smartphones become more accessible: "Kids are engaged with mobile devices as less expensive tablets and an increasing amount of hand-me-down phones create greater accessibility to these platforms than before," he wrote. "The question becomes whether this mobile usage will continue to grow for 2 to 17 year olds, and if usage will become more prevalent than gaming on consoles and computers as time progresses."

Source: VG247 [http://venturebeat.com/2013/09/10/npd-report-kids-playing-mobile-devices-nearly-as-much-as-consoles-and-pc/]

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Atmos Duality

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Mar 3, 2010
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Not surprising honestly.
More mobility means more opportunity.

However, the quality of those game opportunities is quite poor compared to what a PC or console can offer.

Quantity over quality.
But since popularity only really cares about quantity...
 

Phrozenflame500

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Dec 26, 2012
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Well lets see here:

Places where you can play your console: living room.

Places where you can play your PC: living/computer room.

Places where you can play your mobile: fucking everywhere

This doesn't surprise me at all.
 

MCerberus

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Jun 26, 2013
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NPD, who formerly admitted their data is wrong for not accounting for all of digital sales now announces that mobile games are big. I await their study regarding the color of the sky, or what sound dogs make.
 

Jamash

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Jun 25, 2008
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Are you still one of the holdouts adamant that mobile games are inferior to console and PC? Well pretty soon you're going to be the only one.
Having a large install base of 2-17 years olds doesn't make something superior.

2-17 years olds use more bicycles than cars, that doesn't mean bicycles are the superior form of transport.

There are more 2-17 year olds in eduction than full time employment, that doesn't mean it would be better for everyone to give up work and go back to school.

It shouldn't be surprising that mobile gaming is popular amongst 2-17 years olds. They have less disposable income than adults, tend to have their gaming devices bought for them (often to keep them placated on long car journeys and family holidays) and in the cases of gaming on mobile phones, will have a phone bought for them primarily for reasons other than gaming.

All this mean is mobile gaming is more affordable for people with less or even zero purchasing power, not that it is superior (or even equal) to static gaming on consoles and PCs. Children are playing more mobile games because they're more accessible, not because children are informed consumers who have made a conscious purchasing decision based on the superiority of that platform.

The only advantages mobile gaming have are accessibility, affordability (especially when the devices are free hand-me-downs) and convince/mobility, advantages which diminish as people become adults, earn their own income and have more of their own space and free will.
 

Baresark

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I think the most important point is really that gamers of any age are going to be attracted to gaming opportunities. I completely expect them to even out and fluctuate from year to year about gaming, but I don't expect gaming on consoles and PC's to be completely overtaken consistently.

I think the subtext under the article title misses the point completely. No one said that lots of people weren't gonna game on their phones and tablets. All the games for mobile are essentially shovelware, which this information does not change. Lots of games and disposable time on the go with a convenient device that also allows web surfing, phone calls, and texts... of course people are gonna use it for gaming. I have lots of games on my phone, but that doesn't mean I game on my phone anywhere near what kids with lots of disposable time do. They have access to their mobile devices everywhere, they don't have access to their actual devices made for gaming for most of the day. I think the test would be to see how much time is spent on the devices on things like weekends.
 

WeepingAngels

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My consoles are mostly used for Netflix and Blu Rays. I game mostly on handhelds. It was the DS and the SNES ports/remakes that changed me from a console gamer to a handheld gamer. Being able to get PS1 Classics on the PSP sealed the deal.
 

Bellvedere

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Are you still one of the holdouts adamant that mobile games are inferior to console and PC? Well pretty soon you're going to be the only one.
As far as casual games (and shovelware...) go mobile gaming is very popular. But that's like saying "Are you still one of the holdouts adamant that PC games aren't superior to consoles?" because PC has a more extensive library of RTS titles...

No doubt mobile gaming will continue to grow since games are cheap (or free) and people already carry their phone around with them. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that people spend more time gaming on mobile devices just because so few of them require any significant amount of time to be invested in one sitting. All those tiny pockets of time waiting for things to happen can now be filled with mobile gaming.
 

Clive Howlitzer

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Jan 27, 2011
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Good thing I am not one of those people who pays any attention to statistics with small sample sizes and cherry picked data.
 

Teoes

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Jun 1, 2010
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It's fine - those kids will just grow up and buy their own consoles/PCs when they've got their own scratch.
 

Strazdas

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May 28, 2011
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Judging by what games i see kids play on the bus, i will gladly be the only one left.
 

Tanakh

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Jul 8, 2011
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Michael Epstein said:
64 percent said they use phones and tablets for gaming, versus 67 percent who said they played games on consoles and PC.
Seriously? I thought it would be like 60% for consoles and PC vs 75% for mobile. Yay for PC gaming!

Also nice trolling! You got some good solid bites already.