NPD details gamer demographic research

The NPD Group has published its Games Segmentation report, detailing seven different gamer demographics and habits - revealing, among other things, that only 10 per cent of PlayStation 2 owners also own a PlayStation 3.

In the report, the estimated 174 million gamers are broken down into seven groups: 3 per cent are "Extreme gamers"; nine per cent are "Avid PC gamers"; 17 per cent are "Console gamers"; 14 per cent "Online PC gamers"; 15 percent are "Offline PC gamers"; 22 percent are "Young Heavy gamers"; and 20 percent are "Secondary gamers'.

Young Heavy gamers - the largest group at over 38 million people - play for above average amounts of time on every videogame system but show a strong preference for portable games platforms. Six out of every ten Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable owners fall into the category of young heavy gamers.

The report also details the cross-platform gaming habits of PlayStation owners. PS3 owners were found to be more likely to own other next-generation consoles when compared to Wii and Xbox 360 owners, however only 10 per cent of PS2 owners also own the PS3. While 45 per cent of PlayStation Portable owners also own a DS, only 21 per cent of DS owners also own a PSP.

The growth of digital distribution is reflected in the report, with 14 per cent of games purchased in the past three months through digital downloads, with Avid PC gamers making 27 per cent of their purchases through digital means.