According to a new report posted by global market research company The NPD Group roughly 82% of children aged between 2 and 17 in the United States are gamers. This amounts to 55.7 million people.
Within this demographic gaming is most popular among those aged 9-11 (roughly 12.4 million) and least popular among 2-5 year olds. 51% of all ‘kid gamers’ play online.
The 12-14 age group spent the most time playing games – spending roughly 10.6 hours a week on their consoles or PCs, with males aged between 9 to 14 being “more inclined” to play online. In addition to females, teenagers between 15 and 17 were “most likely to report spending less time gaming and playing online this year versus last year.”
“The decline in teen usage of video games is likely due to diversifying, maturing interests, which translates into stiffer competition,” postulated analyst Anita Frazier, adding that the data suggests parent-imposed time limits, more school work, activities, and other forms of entertainment “may be contributing to this dip in older teen engagement.”
With regards to what these children are using to game on NPD reported that on average each respondent used 2.5 dedicated gaming systems or devices, with those between 9 and 12 using “about 3 system/devices on average.
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