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NPD: Mobile is now the most popular platform for gaming among children aged 2-17

N

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
They're also spending more time on mobile and more money digitally in general.

CNET said:
The computer was once a dominant platform for kids who wanted to play video games. But those days seem to be long gone.

Smartphones and tablets are now the most popular devices used for gaming among children in the age range of 2 to 17, according to a report released Wednesday by the NPD Group. The report, titled "Kids and Gaming 2015," found that 63 percent of kids said they play games on a mobile device.

On the flip side, 45 percent of kids use a home PC for gaming, a drop of 22 points since 2013. The decline is most prominent among children ages 2 to 5. Video game consoles are also losing ground -- used by 60 percent of kids surveyed compared with 67 percent in 2013.

...

Time spent on mobile devices has also risen. Around 41 percent of the kids surveyed by NPD said they spend more time playing games on mobile devices than they did a year ago, with the average amount of time per week growing to six hours.

...

Finally, the amount of money kids spent on digital games over the past three months climbed by $5 to $13. However, physical games are still in the lead, scooping $27 on average over the same period. And two out of ten kids polled said they spend more money on games and in-app purchases than they did a year ago.
Click to expand...
Source: http://www.cnet.com/news/kids-now-pick-mobile-devices-over-pcs-consoles-for-gaming-npd-group/
 
V

Vincent Grayson

Member
I wonder how these kids spend money on mobile. Are people buying them gift cards, or have they somehow convinced their parents to let them use credit cards?

I know my girls are playing 100% free when it comes to mobile, because there's not a chance in hell I'm opening up the possibility of them spending money on that shit.
 
S

StoppedInTracks

Member
Outside Japan mobile gaming is the new handheld gaming.

I am 100% fine with that.

Just wished there were more full price ($20-$30), long (40-60 hours) RPGs on the mobile platform w/o any shitty IAP attached.
 
T

t26

Member
Vincent Grayson said:
I wonder how these kids spend money on mobile. Are people buying them gift cards, or have they somehow convinced their parents to let them use credit cards?

I know my girls are playing 100% free when it comes to mobile, because there's not a chance in hell I'm opening up the possibility of them spending money on that shit.
Click to expand...

You can get itune/google play cards at just about every store, 7-11, Target, etc. If they have money they will figure it out.
 
S

silvermember

Banned
StoppedInTracks said:
Outside Japan mobile gaming is the new handheld gaming.

I am 100% fine with that.

Just wished there were more full price ($20-$30), long (40-60 hours) RPGs on the mobile platform w/o any shitty IAP attached.
Click to expand...

OR

A more valid argument is that you are not the target audience for mobile developer. Not saying you think you are.
 
S

SliceSabre

Banned
Soon gonna be time to pour one out for consoles and handhelds. Guess I'll have to transition to PC one day.

Mobile is simply too popular with the younger generation not to mention mobile is making money hand over fist with all those cheaply made match 3 games.
 
P

pinkurocket

Member
Not surprising. People have mobile devices for reasons other than gaming, more often than not it's a secondary feature on a smartphone. However for most people it's good enough that they don't feel the need to invest in a dedicated gaming device.
 
J

Jotamide

Unconfirmed Member
As long as mobile starts improving I don't see a problem with that. Unfortunately, the big hits still are just nothing more than colourful scams devoid of any gameplay where the ultimate goal is to squeeze every cent out if the player. Games like Monument Valley deserve all my money and support, Clash of Clans? Not really.
 
C

casinoman921

Member
Kind of a no-brainer. Everyone has smartphones now and with all the free games on it of course they'll play them.
Spending more money on mobile is the bigger deal here.
 
K

Kill3r7

Member
Not surprising, any parent out there could tell you as much. It will be fascinating to see what this generation does 10-15 years down the road.
 
NoPiece

NoPiece

Member
Vincent Grayson said:
I wonder how these kids spend money on mobile. Are people buying them gift cards, or have they somehow convinced their parents to let them use credit cards?

I know my girls are playing 100% free when it comes to mobile, because there's not a chance in hell I'm opening up the possibility of them spending money on that shit.
Click to expand...

It's a lot easier for a kid to beg their parents for a $.99 or $2.99 purchase than a $59.99 purchase. Even when the small transactions add up to >59 over time.
 
S

SomedayTheFire

Member
It's definitely the lowest entry barrier to gaming and touchscreens are so intuitive its really amazing watching a child interact with a touchscreen.
 
C

Commanche Raisin Toast

Member
Considering nearly every child I've seen out in public in the last handful of years has seemingly been given a tablet as a babysitter of sorts, this doesn't surprise me.

It's not like the data can show how much of the gaming is intentional or just to pass time or because there aren't any alternatives the adults would purchase for them.
 
N

nubbe

Member
You get a pretty good smartphone for €50 nowadays
and the games are just there and F2P

You get your fix from it, why spend €200 on a dedicated system where games cost €40

and all your friends probably have a smartphone and access to the same games so the social drive is in your pocket
 
S

SwiftDeath

Member
StoppedInTracks said:
Outside Japan mobile gaming is the new handheld gaming.

I am 100% fine with that.

Just wished there were more full price ($20-$30), long (40-60 hours) RPGs on the mobile platform w/o any shitty IAP attached.
Click to expand...

I assure you, inside Japan mobile gaming is the new handheld gaming as well. Regardless of how well the 3DS has sold there, the amount of money made from Mobile gaming relative to the population is insane compared to other countries.
 
G

Griss

Member
Feels like this happened in 2011/12 in Ireland at least.

Don't know any parents whose kids don't play on mobile. The train commute was full of them for the last 5 years. Never once saw a handheld, either.
 
T

True Fire

Member
It's not really that surprising. Almost every single teenager has a smartphone, and smartphones are capable of playing games. The number of little kids I've seen with iPhones is also pretty startling.

A lot of parents also use mobile as a replacement for
parenting
those plastic kiddie toys that we used to play with. I wouldn't call a 2 year old playing vocabulary games a "gamer."

Console numbers are down because of the Wii's audience transferring to mobile. The Wii had an unprecedented user base anyway, so things are going back to the way they were before.

Anyway, Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo have a solid 10 years to research this generation's behavior before they mature to games with more depth. Consoles will be fine.
 
T

timlot

Banned
Phff, 33yo still haven't found a mobile game that I put more time in than this back in the day...
latest
 
F

farisr

Member
I can see that, especially since kids are getting tablets and phones so early nowaday, and start off by playing learning games on those. Every kid in my nephew's grade 1 class has a smartphone.
 
L

Leynos

Member
And this pains my heart. I almost never let my daughter use my phone to play games on, and instead have her play on my GBA, DS, 3DS, PS3, or Wii. If I had my CRT, I would also have my Genesis hooked up.

Sad as this may be, I understand why it is so - everyone has a smartphone, or two, and most people don't care enough about games to buy a dedicated device. These poor kids will grow up thinking that cell phone games are it, not knowing that much better
and expensive
games are out there.
 
JordanN

JordanN

Banned
sörine;179731757 said:
RIP consoles. Also RIP NPD.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's even close.

I say this because look at N64 and Gamecube. Both consoles were pushed as, or negatively effected, because Nintendo was seen as being "too kiddy". It kinda proved true when all the 16+ games did better on a Playstation or a Xbox, whereas Nintendo's kid focused games didn't actually enhance any market share for them.

Now, there are many other factors why those consoles failed but I think it speaks volumes that kids alone have never been the reason why consoles primarily sell. Or rather, it hasn't been the reason for consoles selling since perhaps the early 90's.

Even SEGA sort of dropped the "only for kids" angle with the SEGA Genesis and pretty much abandoned it going Sega Saturn and forward.
 
H

hosannainexcelsis

Member
True Fire said:
It's not really that surprising. Almost every single teenager has a smartphone, and smartphones are capable of playing games. The number of little kids I've seen with iPhones is also pretty startling.

A lot of parents also use mobile as a replacement for
parenting
those plastic kiddie toys that we used to play with. I wouldn't call a 2 year old playing vocabulary games a "gamer."

Console numbers are down because of the Wii's audience transferring to mobile. The Wii had an unprecedented user base anyway, so things are going back to the way they were before.

Anyway, Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo have a solid 10 years to research this generation's behavior before they mature to games with more depth. Consoles will be fine.
Click to expand...

Most of these kids aren't going to "graduate" to "real" gaming platforms. Dedicated gaming machines and even PCs are too much hassle to deal with for many compared to the ease and omnipresence of smartphones.
 
C

CTLance

Member
udivision said:
I guess that's what happens when everyone has a phone.
Click to expand...
Yup. That's pretty much the core reason for this. Why buy extra hardware when you can just shell out a little bit of extra monies when you buy your kid a mobile phone, plus an occasional google/iTunes card. And it's all "downhill" from there.
 
M

Markoman

Member
This is the end, beautiful friend
This is the end, my only friend, the end
Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
I'll never look into your eyes, again

platz-5-planet-der-affen-1968-10303.jpg
 
TGO

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
They surveyed 2 year olds?
Wait what are 2,3,4,5,6,7 year olds.....children doing with mobiles?
 
Bolivar687

Bolivar687

Banned
I wish CNET had a deeper breakdown of the report, since that 2-17 age window is enormous and the article suggests that the 2-5 age is skewing some of those figures, especially the decline of PC.
 
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