Only 6% of Consumers Download Content on Consoles

Logan Westbrook

Transform, Roll Out, Etc
Feb 21, 2008
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Only 6% of Consumers Download Content on Consoles



Connecting to the internet is a growing part of our console experience, but figures suggest that grabbing content on a 360 or PS3 is far from common.

Research conducted by the NPD group has found that only 6% of American consumers have used a console to download content. NPD believes that these figures represent an "untapped market" for digital services and connect products.

The numbers aren't just low on consoles either. Only 15% of consumers have used their PC or Mac to download content and only 4% used a smartphone. According to NPD VP and senior entertainment analyst Russ Crupnick, the majority of people who use internet-enabled devices are still performing fairly basic tasks like internet browsing and reading email. Rather than being a worrying statistic however, Crupnick thinks it simply represents currently untapped opportunities to further extend the scope of digital media.

"The promise of the connected experience is coming," said Crupnik. "As prospective Blu-ray owners want their players to come with connectivity, and half of game consoles are already connected. The doors are also opening wider for music, video, gaming and other forms of entertainment."

I must admit that that 6% figure looks low, but when you consider that it's supposed to represent all US consumers, not just those who own a console, it makes a lot more sense. If you were to take a hundred random people and ask them if they'd downloaded something on a console, six people saying yes sounds about right.

Source: Gamasutra [http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/30654/NPD_Only_6_Of_US_Consumers_Have_Downloaded_Content_Through_Game_Consoles.php]


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oranger

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May 27, 2008
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Well, that's what happens when the majority of the stuff on the PSN is either crappy DLC or shovelware. No one trusts it.
 

Eclectic Dreck

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Sep 3, 2008
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Nukeforyou said:
I find it hard to believe that the numbers are that low on PC with steam
Given the shear number of people who have a computer, I don't find it strange at all. I have met but one person thus far who even knows what Steam is on my campus and that particular section of humanity represents the population most likely to play video games in general.
 

Kyte

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Dec 10, 2009
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Maybe if they made the prices more reasonable I wouldn't scoff at every piece of DLC I see out there.
 

Daveman

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Jan 8, 2009
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I recently got an Xbox and I didn't realise you could get sky on it. Since then I've watched about 30 movies on demand off it. I don't know if that counts as it is streamed rather than downloaded but it just seems so awesome.

But anyways, DLC is always disappointingly over-priced. Also maybe I'd buy the MW2 map packs on steam if they had just fixed all the massive problems with the game such as lack of dedicated servers and... well actually that's enough reason.
 

Nukeforyou

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Mar 26, 2010
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Eclectic Dreck said:
Nukeforyou said:
I find it hard to believe that the numbers are that low on PC with steam
Given the shear number of people who have a computer, I don't find it strange at all. I have met but one person thus far who even knows what Steam is on my campus and that particular section of humanity represents the population most likely to play video games in general.
if they asked everyone who even owns a pc that question the result would be wrong.
It seems like asking everyone in a full baseball stadium who plays baseball professionally and then reporting 6% of people actually play pro baseball
 

Hoplon

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Mar 31, 2010
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Yeah, this isn't 6% of Xbox and PS owners, it's 6% of consumers, that entire 6% could represent 50% of the people that own the consoles or more, it doesn't even state if they checked if people owned on first.

it's a frankly useless figure.
 

Buizel91

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Aug 25, 2008
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Is this for DLC as well? i find it hard to believe with all the COD players and Halo players around...

and not just them, I'm on about any popular game on consoles, them figures seem pretty low...
 

Wolfram23

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Mar 23, 2004
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These numbers definitely aren't telling the whole story!

Firstly, ok consoles... well, the download content sucks, frankly. I have a PS3, and I have downloaded 2 games for it and they were both very mediocre. Otherwise I've downloaded some demos and that's it. If I want a full, good, game I need the BluRay.

PC, ok so 15% of PC and Mac users have downloaded content. This is an extremely skewed result. If you solely look at GAMER computers, it's probably more like 80%. If you include Workstations... well, why would a workstation download stuff? Do they include Adobe Reader updates as downloads?

As for smartphones... I'm sorry but no. Everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY who has an iPhone has downloaded at least 1 app. Bam, that's a HUGE market share.

These results can't be right.
 

Tomster595

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Aug 1, 2009
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Yea, I download stuff on my consoles very very rarely. It's just kind of a hassle, and usually overpriced.
 

Radelaide

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May 15, 2008
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arc1991 said:
Is this for DLC as well? i find it hard to believe with all the COD players and Halo players around...

and not just them, I'm on about any popular game on consoles, them figures seem pretty low...
I'm assuming content just refers to DLC only. The numbers couldn't possibly be so low if it was including games as well. Or maybe I'm just an idiot. It's early and my head is full.
 

GodKlown

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Dec 16, 2009
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Considering how much money they made on the map packs for the MW franchise, that 6% is apparently a bigger number then they lead us to believe. Either that or I really suck at math again.
With 360, it seems if a game has a lot of DLC available over a year, they just end up packaging it into a disc and selling it on shelves anyway, keeping the gamer from having to wait to download it piecemeal. Take GTA4 for example and how they released the Lost and the Damned with the Ballad of Gay Tony together on a disc. People prefer a physical copy as it has been proven before, as hardware has a knack for failing and you don't have a backup. And it can be such a pain in the ass to re-download content from what I've heard from friends when their consoles take a huge steamy dump. I know of one person who had that happen to them, and they weren't allowed to retrieve their DLC content, so instead MS just gave them a refund for all of it. Wow thanks... getting the money back instead of what was already paid for helps to get it back faster. But I suppose that is better than them telling you tough luck.
 

Therumancer

Citation Needed
Nov 28, 2007
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Ironically they don't seem to consider the option that maybe people just aren't into the idea of everything going digital like the industry is. Really when you ask the "how does it benefit us" question, the handfull of benefits that can be mentioned are outweighed by not actually owning anything, not even a disc with the information. Add DRM to the equasion on a lot of that content... and well..
 

Xan Krieger

Completely insane
Feb 11, 2009
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I just think they need to put DLC on discs and sell it that way. I especially think they should do it with stuff that's on Steam, I know quite a few things I'd get if they sold it like that.
 

Jfswift

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Nov 2, 2009
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I'm not even going to read all of that. I'll tell you right now (and hope some game/entertainment company actually reads this)

Downloading games/movies/etc takes FOREVER!!

seriously, if it wasn't so damn slow i'd buy more games. The only reason I put up with it on steam is because they offer discounted prices and goodies alot of the time for new or prepurchases.
 

BehattedWanderer

Fell off the Alligator.
Jun 24, 2009
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Whooo-hoo! I'm part of that 6%! I download content through my console! Yay!

Although, I wouldn't mind seeing the error rate for this survey. Factoring in legal downloads of media on a computer would probably make that spike, between Video on Demand services and music stores with updated libraries. I would call that content, wouldn't you?
 

Unrulyhandbag

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Oct 21, 2009
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what is "downloaded content"? pretty sure almost everybody who owns a PC has downloaded something.

If it just means digital services for money then maybe, given that publishers of everything seem to think charging the same for a physical copy and a digital copy is the right way to do things it wouldn't surprise me in nobody bought stuff.

Has anybody seen the price of E-books and online served films, outrageous. Music albums sold for the same as physical discs. Added to that even 'HD' served media is lower quality than DVD video.

If you don't have to pay for a cover, physical media, shipping cases and shipping then where's the cost coming from? Server bandwidth costs nothing like as much as those things so why should people pay over the odds?

Console DLC is no better, £2.00 for a costume for sackboy? get bent, £0.50 at best.