NewZoo put out a new report that looked at how well massive multiplayer online games (MMO) are doing over in the UK. It turns out that they’re quite popular with around 8.75M Brits 13 and older playing them. That’s about an eighth of the population.
Almost 90% play free-to-play MMOs, but 2 million people pay up front to play MMOs. The overlap is larger when comparing browser and client MMOs with 66% playing both browser and client MMOs which require you to download the game. Contrary to Germany but in line with the US, more money is spent in total on pay-to-play MMOs than on free-to-play MMOs, due to a higher monthly budget spent per person. Total spend on MMO games in the UK amounts to £220 million, up 30% compared to 2009.
MMO games versus Console games
Acording to the Newzoo MMO Games Market Report 2010, console games are by far still the most popular, attracting over 25 million players. The difference is smaller when zooming in on the young male demographic. 49% of males between 16 and 25 play MMO games versus 76% for consoles. Overlap with consoles is significant: 48% of Microsoft Xbox 360 players also play MMOs, identical to the share of PlayStation 3 players spending time on MMOs. Almost half of these people also spend money on MMOs, confirming the appeal to the “core” gaming audience.
Demographics of players and payers
Of all MMO players aged 13 year and up, 64% are male. This share goes up to over 70% for the players who spend money. The majority (53%) of MMO gamers are older than 25. The paying free-to-play MMO gamer is slightly younger with 47% being above the age of 25. In the US, paying MMO gamers are significantly older. The differences between payers and players can be found on various characteristics. An example being that Discovery Channel and SkyOne are significantly more popular amongst paying free-to-play MMO players than with people playing the same games but not paying.
“Traditional games publishers have been slow to adapt to the move towards free-to-play browser gaming however, as this report shows, the market is growing exponentially” said Oliver Kern, Head of Online Strategy at Jagex Games Studio. “We have been creating browser MMO’s for almost a decade and we are confident that the popularity of these games will continue to go from strength to strength.”
The Newzoo MMO Games Market Report 2010
The Newzoo MMO Games Market Report is based on an in-depth analysis and industry benchmark of data from the International Gamers Survey 2010 performed in the US, UK, Gemany, France, Netherlands and Belgium using independent national representative panels of over 10,000 respondents. The report will comprise key data to be used for market-sizing as well as marketing towards MMO playing consumers. The report will be available Monday, November 22, 2010 and can be acquired online for €990 euro (£840) via Newzoo.com.
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