MMOGs Account for 15% of All Time Spent Playing Games

John Funk

U.N. Owen Was Him?
Dec 20, 2005
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MMOGs Account for 15% of All Time Spent Playing Games



A study shows that of all the time spent playing games by all the gamers in the United States and Europe, 15% of that time is spent inside an MMOG - but the breakdown may surprise you.

Blizzard's Rob Pardo's belief that the success of World of Warcraft has expanded the MMOG market [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/96113-Blizzards-Rob-Pardo-Talks-Five-Years-of-Warcraft] really does almost seem like a no-brainer, but it's interesting to see some numbers. A new survey commissioned by Gamesindustry.com called "Today's Gamers MMO Focus Report" surveyed 13,000 respondents aged eight years and older and found that of every 100 hours the group spent playing games, 15 of those were in an MMOG.

That's interesting in and of itself, but the individual stats are even more intriguing. American gamers played MMOGs 14% of the time at an average of 5.5 hours per week (more than 4.9 hours per week for console gamers and 4.8 hours per week for "casual game portal players." Mainland European gamers were similar, with Belgians clocking in at 16% time played in MMOGs, French and Dutch at 15%, and the Germans at 13% - but intriguingly, it looks like MMOGs aren't that popular in the UK, where they made up just 8% of hours played.

You might not be surprised to find that two-thirds of MMOG users are male, but you may be surprised to learn that the largest age group was not 18-to-25-year-olds playing World of Warcraft, but rather 8-to-12-year-olds playing Club Penguin and Disney Toontown - at least in the States. Gamers aged 13 to 19 were the biggest group in France and Germany, and even older in the Netherlands, the UK, and Belgium.

Anywhere from 35% to 40% of MMOG users in Europe pay to play via subscriptions, a number that is slightly higher in the States - but respondents worldwide indicated that the "most important source of information" about MMOGs was not TV, magazines, or gaming websites but rather one's friends. In other words, if your friends all tell you that a given game is great, you're more likely to play it than if I'm telling you it's great. Which kind of goes without saying.

If you've got 4,950 euros to burn, you can purchase the full report here [http://www.gamesindustry.com/company/542/service/1870].

(Via IndustryGamers [http://www.industrygamers.com/news/mmos-account-for-15-of-all-time-spent-playing-games-in-us-and-europe-finds-report/])

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Teh_Doomage

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Jan 11, 2009
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That is an interesting Survey...also, that's pricey to get the full report.

But I guess it could be interesting to certain parties.
 

John Funk

U.N. Owen Was Him?
Dec 20, 2005
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TheNamlessGuy said:
WHAT?! WOW ISN'T THE MOST POPULAR GAME?!

I feel very much better now...
Uh, generally free-to-play games are an entirely different category. Since with them, it's easier to, say, just create an account for your kid (with Club Penguin), play it once, and then never touch it again. So it's much harder to get accurate numbers there.
 

Amnestic

High Priest of Haruhi
Aug 22, 2008
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MMOGs aren't that popular in the UK, where they made up just 8% of hours played.
That's actually kinda surprising. Especially considering some of the stuff I've read on the WoW forums over the years concerning "English Only" servers and shite like that.

but respondents worldwide indicated that the "most important source of information" about MMOGs was not TV, magazines, or gaming websites but rather one's friends.
This isn't as surprising. Word of mouth has always been an excellent advert for any medium be it film, book or game. I know I'd be more likely to look at a game if my friends recommended it to me.

Edit: Funk, is that your druid in the picture by the way?
 

tehroc

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I could understand this maybe a few years ago, but MMO Gaming has grown very bland as of lately. Single player or coop games have grown more on me as of late. The gameplay is usually better with a more focused narrative. Downside of course with single player and coop is the game usually ends but that's why I am a Gamefly subscriber.

I've read SOE's Free Realms has been massively successful also.
 

Anarien

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Mar 30, 2007
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TheNamlessGuy said:
But wasn't the survey about what they play on a regular basis?
Yep, so it's silly to discount it for having a free tier.

Also, (no offense to the little kids) but Club Penguin is really, really boring...
My five year old cousin loves Club Penguin. But obviously a lot of adults would find it overly simplistic.
 

Anarien

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tehroc said:
I could understand this maybe a few years ago, but MMO Gaming has grown very bland as of lately.
Oversaturation is part of it. Especially with F2P titles. Every other day some new title is coming over from Asia or starting in here. Production has gotten somewhat cheaper and the microtransaction business model has gained traction.

There's also a lot of similarity between choices (even amongst diverse settings and lore). Which also explains why what a person's friends play has such a huge influence.

What I find interesting about all these findings is how kids are playing from such a young age and in devoted numbers. Not just for the marketing possibilities, but merely for the growth of MMO gaming.
 

John Funk

U.N. Owen Was Him?
Dec 20, 2005
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Amnestic said:
MMOGs aren't that popular in the UK, where they made up just 8% of hours played.
That's actually kinda surprising. Especially considering some of the stuff I've read on the WoW forums over the years concerning "English Only" servers and shite like that.

but respondents worldwide indicated that the "most important source of information" about MMOGs was not TV, magazines, or gaming websites but rather one's friends.
This isn't as surprising. Word of mouth has always been an excellent advert for any medium be it film, book or game. I know I'd be more likely to look at a game if my friends recommended it to me.

Edit: Funk, is that your druid in the picture by the way?
That she is. Level 70, of course.

Sigh, I miss my Earthwarden.
 

PsiMatrix

Gray Jedi
Feb 4, 2008
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CantFaketheFunk said:
...but intriguingly, it looks like MMOGs aren't that popular in the UK, where they made up just 8% of hours played.
Actually that's not so intriguing when you realise that NONE of them advertise in the UK aside from Mr Night Elf Mohawk [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqJE5TH5jhc].
 

Eldarion

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Sep 30, 2009
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CantFaketheFunk said:
Amnestic said:
MMOGs aren't that popular in the UK, where they made up just 8% of hours played.
That's actually kinda surprising. Especially considering some of the stuff I've read on the WoW forums over the years concerning "English Only" servers and shite like that.

but respondents worldwide indicated that the "most important source of information" about MMOGs was not TV, magazines, or gaming websites but rather one's friends.
This isn't as surprising. Word of mouth has always been an excellent advert for any medium be it film, book or game. I know I'd be more likely to look at a game if my friends recommended it to me.

Edit: Funk, is that your druid in the picture by the way?
That she is. Level 70, of course.

Sigh, I miss my Earthwarden.
ALLIANCE SCUM!!!!!!

err......sorry

<-------blood elf warlock. lvl 75
 
Feb 13, 2008
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TheNamlessGuy said:
WHAT?! WOW ISN'T THE MOST POPULAR GAME?!

I feel very much better now...
Me and you both. WoW is...and I know I'm amongst a large amount of WoW-lovers here...a dreary hotch-potch of MMO ideas that has somehow achieved world domination status in similar way to The Da Vinci Code. I'm not saying that it's bad or dull or that people can't enjoy it; but after playing some of it's cousins, I can honestly say it doesn't hold any pull for me at all.
 

Chipperz

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Apr 27, 2009
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PsiMatrix said:
CantFaketheFunk said:
...but intriguingly, it looks like MMOGs aren't that popular in the UK, where they made up just 8% of hours played.
Actually that's not so intriguing when you realise that NONE of them advertise in the UK aside from Mr Night Elf Mohawk [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqJE5TH5jhc].
Hell, many of them don't even bother being released over here, and the ones that do don't get support - World of Warcraft and NCSoft are the only timecards you can reliably buy round here...
 

Amnestic

High Priest of Haruhi
Aug 22, 2008
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Dark Templar said:
CantFaketheFunk said:
Amnestic said:
MMOGs aren't that popular in the UK, where they made up just 8% of hours played.
That's actually kinda surprising. Especially considering some of the stuff I've read on the WoW forums over the years concerning "English Only" servers and shite like that.

but respondents worldwide indicated that the "most important source of information" about MMOGs was not TV, magazines, or gaming websites but rather one's friends.
This isn't as surprising. Word of mouth has always been an excellent advert for any medium be it film, book or game. I know I'd be more likely to look at a game if my friends recommended it to me.

Edit: Funk, is that your druid in the picture by the way?
That she is. Level 70, of course.

Sigh, I miss my Earthwarden.
ALLIANCE SCUM!!!!!!

err......sorry

<-------blood elf warlock. lvl 75
What're you gonna do, comb your hair at us? Watch out when you pick up that heavy staff, you might break a nail! Get back to dressing up your voidwalker all pretty like, pansy. :p
 

Loop Stricken

Covered in bees!
Jun 17, 2009
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Indeed, I spend perhaps... well recently I spent about 100% of my gaming time on MMOs 'cos I'd finished everything else.

Thank God for Assassin's Creed II.
 

Nunka

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Oct 10, 2007
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CantFaketheFunk said:
If you've got 4,950 euros to burn, you can purchase the full report here [http://www.gamesindustry.com/company/542/service/1870].
I'm assuming that's actually 4.950 euros... you know, the whole European comma-decimal switcheroo thing.

If not, wow. I guess information is expensive.