The NPD Group is reporting that since 2009, the population growth of kids ages 2-17 increased 1.54 percent in the U.S., while the gaming population of that age group has grown 12.68 percent. This means that over 90 percent of kids ages 2-17 (approximately 64 million) are gaming in the U.S., an increase of 9 points when compared to 2009.
The fastest growth among children gamers has been among kids ages 2-5, with an increase of 17 points in gaming incidence when compared to 2009. The other segments driving the growth of children gamers are females and teens ages 15-17.
“Year-to-date through August 2011, kids comprised 44 percent of new physical software dollar sales, representing a vitally important consumer segment for the games industry,” said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group. “Knowing how kids are spending their gaming time and dollars in both traditional and non-traditional outlets is key to staying relevant to this highly engaged audience.”
Mobile devices have seen a drastic increase in the amount of gaming activity over the past few years. For instance, since 2009 gaming on mobile devices is up from 8 percent to 38 percent, while gaming on traditional portable gaming devices went up more modestly, from 38 percent to 45 percent.
The availability of iOS and Android devices has driven game consumption among kids, along with the large amount of content available on these platforms. While mobile apps gaming has grown, kids and their parents spent more than five times as much on physical games as they did on mobile gaming apps for smartphones and other app-capable devices in the past 3 months.
