Consumer data from Newzoo’s International Gamers Survey 2010 shows that Apple’s iOS devices have entered the major league of the portable gaming market.
Of the 77 million Americans playing games on mobile phones and portable Apple devices, 40.1 million do so on the iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. That is comparable to the number of Nintendo DS and DSi gamers aged 10 years and up: 41.0 million. Sony’s PSP is used by 18.0 million Americans.
Two-thirds of PSP and iPad gamers play games on their portable device at least three days a week compared to approximately fifty percent for the DS, DSi, iPhone and iPod Touch. The share of paying players is significantly higher for the Nintendo (67%) and Sony devices (66%) compared to iPod Touch / iPhone (45%) and iPad (32%).
Said Peter Warman, Managing Director at NewZoo, “The simultaneous rise of direct downloads, social gaming, free-to-play MMOs and Apple devices all driven by digital distribution and spending small amounts of money at a time are accelerating the shift towards connected devices and platforms.”
Nintendo and Apple overlap
The majority of the 160 million Americans playing computer games do so on multiple platforms depending on time of day, social setting and mood. This is illustrated by the fact that almost 14 million of Nintendo DS/DSi gamers (34%) also play games on an iPod Touch and vice versa. The data also shows that nearly 90% of people playing games on the iPad has experience playing on an iPhone or iPod Touch.
Playing versus paying
A lower average game price, typical for the Apple devices compared to portable consoles, does not automatically result in people spending less on average per month. Still, the DS/DSi and PSP consoles have a clear lead over Apple’s devices with 53% (DS/DSi) and 59% (PSP) of payers spending more than 10USD a month compared to 38% for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The relatively new iPad boasts the highest percentage: 72%.
Peter Warman, MD of Newzoo comments: “Recent growth in the sales figures of the iPod Touch could be an indication that people are increasingly seeing Apple’s portable devices as game platform. The youth seems to be moving from trying their parents device to buying an iPod Touch for themselves. Being able to start off playing free games is a key advantage of iOS and Android devices and comparable to successful social gaming and MMO business models . But in the end… Nintendo has Mario.”
Europe
The gap between number of Nintendo DS/DSi gamers and iOS gamers is larger in key EU markets than in the US:
- UK: 8 million iOS gamers, 13 million DS/DSi gamers, 4.5 million PSP gamers.
- Germany: 7 million iOS gamers, 10 million DS/DSi gamers, 2.5 million PSP gamers
- France: 5.5 million iOS gamers, 12.5 million DS/DSi gamers, 4 million PSP gamers
- Netherlands: 0.8 million iOS gamers, 2.8 million DS/DSi gamers, 0.6 million PSP gamers
- Belgium: 0.6 million iOS gamers, 1.5 million DS/DSi gamers, 0.5 million PSP gamers
In general the share of paying players is comparable to that in the US but gamers are spending less on average per month.
The International Gamers Survey 2010 provides in-depth and up-to-date consumer market data on the hottest topics, (online) platforms and business models in the games market. Main platforms are social networks, casual game websites and mobile devices (including iPod, iPhone and iPad). It also includes an update on other game platforms: consoles, MMOs and PC games (boxed products and downloads). The surveys have been performed in the US, UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Belgium involving more than 10,000 respondents from national panels representative of the total online population of 10 years and older (field work June 2010). Newzoo delivers reports and provides its clients with access to all data for their own analyses. Launch clients of this years survey include Microsoft, RTL Group, RealGames/Zylom, SpilGames, King.com, France Telecom and Gamepoint.
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