Recession-hit consumers gaming more than ever - Nielson
But survey shows increased financial awareness is impacting on new game sales as more money goes to the used and rental markets
Games are being played more than ever during the recession, but gamers are spending less money on new titles and more on used and rented ones, according to a new report published by Nielson Games.
Based on research carried out on 2400 gamers - defined as people playing a home console or PC for at least one hour per week - 42 per cent aged 7-54 claim to either be playing, or planning to play, more games this year than last year. 41 per cent say they will play the same amount as last year.
Meanwhile, 35 per cent of respondents say they are spending, or planning to spend, more money on games this year, and 39 per cent say they will spend the same.
This is despite half of the people surveyed saying they have been negatively affected by the global recession.
However, while claims of increased gaming is undeniably positive for the industry, there could be a flip side. That is, money-conscious gamers appear to be spending more of their disposable income on used games and rental services and less on new releases.
Indeed, the sales of used games are calculated to be at an all time high during 2009 when compared to historical data going back to 2006. Some groups showed increases in the average number of used games bought per month of 50 per cent. In May 2009, the average number of used games purchased in the last six months was 3.51, while the total games purchased was 9.75. That gives a used game ratio of 0.36.
In its report, Nielson lends strength to the argument used game sales could be impacting new ones with recent sales figures from US retailer GameStop. The company recorded the first quarter of 2009 as its best ever in terms of sales and earnings on the strength of used game purchases. Sales of used games increased for the company by 31.9 per cent compared to last year, while new game software sales decreased by 2.8 per cent.
There are other reasons new game sales could be on the decrease in 2009. The survey notes subscription rates to video game rental services have grown year-on-year to their highest numbers in 2009. There's also the issue of less blockbuster games. 2008 saw the releases of big sellers such as Super Smash Bros Brawl, Grand Theft Auto IV, Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit, while 2009 has been comparatively quieter. Interestingly though, 34 per cent of the gamers who claimed to be playing more games this year than last cited their reason as "liking the games more this year", despite the lack of blockbuster hits in 2009 so far.
Of the gamers surveyed who expected to be playing and spending less on games this year, the majority stated the simple reason of "I am choosing this kind of entertainment less this year". The respondents most likely to be cutting back for this reason were found to be in the older 35+ demographic.