Complain about a product or service

Kids Spending More Time Playing Video Games

Boys spend more time, gravitate towards console-based games

October 26, 2007     Spanish

• Can Active Video Games Help Prevent Obesity? • Effectiveness Of Activity-Promoting Video Games Measured • Final Fantasy Suit Alleges Hidden Fees, Penalties • California Petitions Supreme Court To Enforce Video Game Law • Study Suggests Video Games Are Addictive • Video Games Blamed For Poor Family Relationships • Researchers Study Wii's Impact on Fitness • Kids Burn More Calories Playing Active Video Games • Study Questions Effect of Violent Video Games • Active Video Games No Substitute for Exercise • Why Are Men More into Gamesmanship? • Study Measures Impact of Media Violence • Manhunt 2: Pushing the Limit of Gore and Violence • Kids Spending More Time Playing Video Games • Parents Urged To Monitor Kids' Video Games • Fight Over Manhunt 2 Could Get Nasty • The Addictiveness of Virtual Violence • Study: Video Games May Sharpen Vision • Mayo Clinic Study Endorses Concept Behind Nintendo's Wii • Researchers Find Video Games Addicting • Report Finds Progress in Keeping Violent Video Games Out of Kids' Hands • Researcher Urges Parents To Reconsider Giving Video Games • Violent Video Games Leave Teens Emotionally Aroused --- Hardware & Programs • Is Nintendo's Wii Really Good Exercise? • Nintendo Wii: The Buzz Goes On • Nintendo Says It Can’t Meet Wii Holiday Demand • Injuries Grow Along With Wii Popularity • Nintendo's Wii Spreads Mayhem as Wiimote Goes Flying • Nintendo Sued Over Broken Wii Strap • Nintendo Recalls Straps For Wii Controller • Gamers Favoring Wii over PS3 • Nintendo Purchasers Complain of Gamesmanship • Nintendo, Sony Offer Competing Visions Of Video Games • PlayStation 3 Takes the Field • PlayStation 3 Brings Big Bucks on eBay • Gamers Complain "Dead Rising" Fatal to Microsoft Xbox

Think your kids spend too much time playing video games? You could be right.

From toddlers to tweens to teens, more than one-third of kids in the United States are spending more time playing video games today than they did a year ago. And according to a report from The NPD Group, this trend is particularly pronounced for online game play.

According to the report, PCs dominate as the top system used for gaming by kids of all age groups. They also dominate in terms of number or years used for gaming, with the average child starting to use a PC for gaming at age 6 and continuing on through age 17, which is longer than any other gaming system measured.

The study, which analyzes the dynamics of kids ages 2 to 17 in the video gaming space, sheds light on system ownership and use, distribution of time, genres, sources of information for finding out about new games, purchase dynamics, parental involvement, and more.

The gaming lifecycle starts with kid-oriented systems, moves into PCs for gaming, and continues with Plug & Play and the more established gaming systems. Then, at about age 10, cell phone gaming begins, and the gaming lifecycle culminates with Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable, and the three next-generation console systems (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii)

Among all kid gamers, approximately half are light users (5 hours per week or less) and the other half are medium, heavy or super users (6 to 16 or more hours per week) -- the implication being that light use and casual content should not be linked exclusively to a younger user base.

Boys are more inclined to play video game systems, especially consoles, while girls are more inclined to play games on PCs, cell phones and kid-oriented systems. Despite girls starting strong on kid systems, however, they eventually fall off the gaming wagon.

“When kids get to the 6 to 8 year-old age range is when we see them turn into more serious gamers,” said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group. “Not only does the amount of time they spend playing games increase the most dramatically, but they migrate from using ‘kid’ systems to using more portable and console systems as well. This appears to be a critical age at which to capture the future gamers of the world.”

Although males and older kids are more likely to spend more time per week on gaming, the most significant jump occurs from ages 2 to 5 to ages 6 to 8. At this time, kids become more serious about gaming, reflected by spending 3 more hours a week, or 75 percent more time than they used to. Time spent on gaming plateaus at ages 12 to 17 at about 10 hours per week.

Among kids ages 2 to 17 who play games online, an average of 39 percent of time is spent playing games online as opposed to offline. The average time spent gaming online is statistically higher among females, kids ages 15 to 17 and super users (those who spend 16 hrs/wk or more on gaming).

However, it seems there is a disconnect between girls, older users and super users. Although these three groups are all in the same category of spending a higher percent of their gaming time on online, somewhere along the way girls, especially older girls, drop off.

At 91 percent, the vast majority of online gaming among kids ages 2 to 17 is free. Boys and kids in higher income households are more likely to fall into the minority group (9 percent) that pays to play. In addition, the older the child, and the more time that child spends on gaming per week, the more likely that child is to pay for games.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Share		Follow us on Twitter.