NPD: 82% of US kids are gamers

Research organisation The NPD Group has released results of its latest survey, entitled Kinds and Gaming 2009, revealing that 82 per cent of 2-17 year olds in the US classify themselves as gamers.

However, in the older age range, particularly among females, the results indicate a reduction in the amount of time spent playing games compared to last year.

The numbers point to around 55.7 million kid gamers in the US in total, of which 9.7 million are between the ages of two and five - the smallest segment - while 12.4 million are between nine and eleven - the largest segment.

The 12-14 age range is the group spending the most amount of time per week on games at 10.6 hours, while across all the age groups kids have access to 2.5 platforms each on average.

"The decline in teen usage of videogames is likely due to diversifying, maturing interests, which translates into stiffer competition for their mind and wallet share," said Anita Frazier, industry analyst at The NPD Group. "In addition to competition from other areas of the entertainment space, more school work, activities, and parent-imposed time limits on gaming are factors which the data suggests may be contributing to this dip in older teen engagement."

The survey, which interviewed over 5000 members of the company's consumer panel, also found that over half of the respondents played online, with the 9-14 male demographic contributing the most.