NPD study finds 63% of US play videogames

According to an NPD Group study, 63 per cent of the US population plays videogames.

The report, entitled Expanding the Games Market, found that the "heaviest" gamers are males ages 18-34.

Of the people who said they played videogames, 30 per cent claimed to have played more frequently this year than last, with 40 per cent spending about the same amount of time playing games each year.

The majority of gamers claimed that they saw playing videogames as a way to relieve stress. Both "light" and "heavy" gamers valued gaming as a family activity.

As far as casual gamers are concerned, the NPD study found that this group is made up of people on the upper and lower ends of the age spectrum and include a high representation of females.

"The new type of game experiences brought to the market over the past several years are succeeding in reaching a broader audience," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

"The challenge for the industry is that consumers are a fickle group, and with the great variety of options pulling at their limited free time, they're going to be easily distracted unless something really compels them to stay with gaming."