14 DAY TRIAL // 2009 might have been a bad year for the videogame industry, with the world wide economic slowdown affecting revenue and sales, but it seems that it might have been a good one for videogaming as a phenomenon.
A new study commissioned by accounting firm Deloitte shows that close to 60% of the households in the United States of America now own a gaming console, up from about 44% in an equivalent study conducted three years ago.
The State of the Media Democracy Survey, Fourth Edition was released to show that those who are aged between 27 and 43 make up the bulk of gamers, with more than 70% of them owning a Wii, an Xbox 360 or a PlayStation, up from 51% three years ago.
Amongst those who are aged between 44 and 62, the percentage also went up from 31 to 44. This increase in the install base of gaming consoles has also led to more videogames being played, which might explain why software titles have been mostly flat this year, while hardware has slowed down significantly.
In the six months before the study was published, all age categories registered an increase in the percentage of people who have played a new game, with the biggest increase being among those aged between 44 and 62. Overall, more than 74% of those under 27 have experienced a new game in the last six months.
Phil Asmundson, the vice chairman and the leader of the Technology, Media & Telecommunications department, said that “The last year has posed serious financial challenges for American families and their media consumption habits have changed as a result. The dramatically increased appeal of the gaming console is noteworthy on two levels. It is further proof of the renewed focus on the television as the home entertainment hub, and it also raises the possibility of the console becoming a significant content distribution channel into the home.”