NPD Group Reports Numbers of Gamers and Average Hours Spent Playing Per Week

Core Gaming 2014, the latest report from The NPD Group, states there are 34 million core gamers in the U.S. spending an average of 22 hours per week playing video games.

These core gamers are defined as individuals who play video games five or more hours per week on a PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC, or Mac. They play action, adventure, fighting, flight, massively multiplayer, racing, real time strategy, role-playing, shooter, or sport genres.

While core gamers are most likely to play on consoles and computers, phones and mobile devices are also a popular method of play by two-thirds of these gamers, according to the data. In addition, close to 70 percent of core gamers play multiplayer games either regularly or occasionally, and 74 percent would opt for the physical format over digital if the price were the same. The preference for digital is up 5 percentage points to 26 percent this year.

About the author

Phil Guie

Phil Guie

Phil Guie is an associate editor at Adventure Publishing Group. He writes and edits articles for The Toy Book and The Licensing Book. Phil also serves as lead editor for The Toy Book Blog and The Toy Report newsletter, and manages social media for The Toy Book. But of course, Phil’s pride and joy are his weekly reviews for The Toy Insider, in which he writes about video games, movies, and other cool things. His hobbies include comics, baking, fidgeting, and traveling to off-the-beaten places and making new friends.

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