It's the most playful time… of the year…

As just released by the ESA

Washington, DC – December 11, 2013 – Approximately 79 million Americans intend to purchase video games during the holiday season, according to new market research and analysis released today by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA).

The report, “Holiday Purchasing Study 2013,” found that nearly 30 percent of those who said they intend to buy games and game-related items as gifts also plan to spend more on these items than last year. This demand is driven by a strong line-up of video game releases, and the launch of new next generation video game consoles, including the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Wii U.

“With a new generation of consoles and growth in expanding genres such as mobile and social games, video games continue to be among the most sought after holiday purchases this season,” said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of ESA, the trade association representing U.S. computer and video game publishers. “This new research underscores the industry’s ability to continually innovate and anticipate consumer demand, making it an economic engine, especially during the holidays.”

Other key findings in the report:

  • Video games and related items are among the top five categories of gifts that Americans plan to buy this holiday season;
  • Physical games and next generation consoles are among the top three categories of video game items most likely to be purchased by gamers; and,
  • Consumers aged 25 to 44 are planning to spend an average of $219 on video games and game-related content.

The NPD Group conducted the survey for ESA among a U.S. representative sample of approximately 3,000 individuals over the age of 13. Survey respondents said they currently play video games on at least one system or device, such as a smartphone, video game console, portable game console, computer, or other game system.

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Angry Birds Peace Treaty

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the video is not THAT funny, but watched by over 2 million people and since it’s about a game that has been played by more than 40 million people* – I thought I’d share it…

* 12 million played the full version and 30 million the light version.

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Games still the most popular apps on smart phones

>Research done by Nielsen amongst 4.000 US Smartphone users shows that games are still the most popular downloads.

Interesting to see that social networking websites (Facebook & Twitter I guess) are more popular than ‘communication apps’ like Voice over IP (Skype) and Instant Messaging (MSN). Also the weather and news is high in the list.

The charts speak for themselves I guess 😉

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An update on iPhone apps & games in two pictures

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Jobs: iPod Touch is a games machine | Casual games | News by Casualgaming.biz

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Jobs: iPod Touch is a games machine | Casual games | News by Casualgaming.biz: “Steve Jobs has stated in the clearest terms yet that Apple is to market its iPod Touch as a dedicated games device – and considering how the company has so successfully dominated the MP3 and mobile phone markets, the news will surely be met with concern at both Nintendo and Sony.

Jobs also confessed that last night’s price drop for the device positions it directly at the mass-market – a sector that to date Nintendo has courted with great success.

“Originally, we weren’t exactly sure how to market the Touch,” Jobs told The New York Times. “Was it an iPhone without the phone? Was it a pocket computer? What happened was, what customers told us was, they started to see it as a game machine.

“We started to market it that way, and it just took off. And now what we really see is it’s the lowest-cost way to the App Store, and that’s the big draw.

‘So what we were focused on is just reducing the price to $199. We don’t need to add new stuff. We need to get the price down where everyone can afford it.””

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