14 DAY TRIAL // The latest reports from sales tracking group NPD claim that the US gaming population has grown to 72% in 2007, compared to 64% in 2006. Offline play still wins the battle against online play, with only 42% of those who spend their time enjoying a video game doing it online. Another interested aspect revealed by the study is the fact that only 2-3% of the total own multiple consoles - and things are quite unlikely to change in the near future, having in mind that no new consoles are planned to be released.
When it comes to online play percentages, the PC systems beats the crap out of the consoles, holding 90% of the market. As strange as it might seem, only 10% of the online gamers are aged 18-24, with kids aged 2-12 driving about 40% of online gaming.
The online console war is won by the Xbox 360 owners - with 50% playing on XBL and they really love it, since they are spending more time online than PC or PS3 gamers. Still, the average time spent online by the players is 20 hours per week, which means close to 3 hours per day, which further means that gamers DO have a social life and they're not spending all their spare time playing. And they are definitely not autists, they don't have the Aspergers syndrome or any other silly disease or something, as some scientists claim.
Anita Frazier, NPD analyst said: "Despite the buzz in the industry regarding online gaming, it is still relatively small compared to offline gaming. There is still a large, untapped market for gaming in general and online gaming in particular."
Yes, we agree with that. WoW can't hold all the gamers in the world. Maybe Age of Conan will be as successful as World of Warcraft and the numbers will change. But that... only time can tell.