Gamers Spend Money…and LOTS of it
It’s madness I tell ya the cost of maintaining a good old fashioned geek lifestyle. I mean who knew that pounds of cheetos and numerous pints of soda would amount to so much.
GameStrata, the leading online community for gamers, today released results from a survey of North American video game enthusiasts showing that over their peak gaming years of 18-48 the average gamer spends more than $30,500 on games and gaming hardware. Just ask Rick Chapelle.
“With forecasters estimating this year’s sales will reach nearly $23 billion, it’s clear that gaming is the fastest-growing sector in the entertainment industry,” said Barry Dorf, COO of GameStrata. “The best part is that the trend doesn’t show any signs of slowing. In spite of predictions of a sluggish economy, gamers continue to invest their time and money into electronic entertainment.”
A strong correlation between the frequency of digital purchases and Xbox 360 ownership suggests that the Xbox 360 is the preferred console for the consumption of digital content. Additionally, online multiplayer capabilities are more important than ever, with the vast majority of respondents claiming they prefer to spend most of their time gaming with others on Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network (PSN).
“The overwhelming majority of gamers are spending their time online with friends, building their reputation and online personas,” said Dorf. “Video games are becoming so much more than a momentary diversion; gaming is becoming yet another means of community building.”
The move toward the microtransaction revenue model is also a notable trend, with 85% of respondents confirming the purchase of a virtual good in the last month. And with nearly 40% of the respondents confirming that they play 6-10 hours online per week, it’s clear that console manufacturers have more than Cell chips and motion-sensitive controllers to worry about. A simple, easy to navigate online infrastructure is crucial to the success of console development.
Reaching new levels of social interaction may explain the fact that an overwhelming percentage of social gamers purchased online goods. Though most gamers are already likely to purchase virtual goods online, participating in a social network and seeing friends update their games and systems may expedite the process and help gamers make buying decisions faster.
Said Dorf, “The survey results show that social networks need only adapt to the persistent and competitive elements of any genre to penetrate its user base … the viability of future gaming centric social networks is very strong.”
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June 25th, 2008 at 8:40 am
This is why im now trading in games towards new ones Blockbuster for the win!!!
June 25th, 2008 at 8:46 am
That pic is a riot
June 25th, 2008 at 9:10 am
i still have a lot of games i want to sell yea. haha.
June 25th, 2008 at 9:19 am
This is precisely why I use gameaccess.ca (which is basically the same as gamefly). I feel really bad about not supporting certain games by not buying them but I try and save my money for the several games a year that are most worth my money.
June 25th, 2008 at 10:30 am
Dave Chapelle rulez! and boy do we spend too much
June 25th, 2008 at 11:08 am
I love the pic.
June 25th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
XBOX 360 preferred as the console of choice? hahaha. Don’t kid yourselves. Come on, PS3 also make up a huge amount of download content. Maybe the 360 was included because of the need to PAY to play online or download stuff, as opposed to the PlayStation Network. But what goes into account for this dollar amount. Games, game cards, software/hardware purchases, fast food (our food of choice), Haircuts, game-inspired tattoos, convention tickets, Halloween materials to try and look like Solid Snake, only to FAIL, gas usage for travel (needed for buying games). haha. They need to release the details of their research, other than that it’s just a number. I easily spent about $1,200 this month. MGS4 PS3 bundle, PS Eye, Nintendo DS for my girlfriend, plus tons of games for it. Service Plans as well. Oh well. I guess I’ll just be another statistic.
Oh hey, did you guys hear about the Jack-In-The-Box promo starting tomorrow? If you take a gas purchase receipt, they will give you TWO FREE TACOS. yea, TWO FREE TACOS, schweet.
My friends and I will be road trippin’ from one Jack In The Box to another, with all the receipts we’ve saved up. There’s about 6 JITB in our area. Hahaha then we’re gonna have some fun playing Metal Gear Online (MGO).
Don’t forget, it’s tomorrow. TWO FREE TACOS DAY!!!
here’s a link (for proof purposes):
http://jackinthebox.com/twofreetacosday/index.php?Campaign=MW-TFT-MB
June 25th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
thx for the taco info Tom
June 25th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
LOL @ Deac.
June 25th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
wow Deac you are so wrong for that PIC!
Yes we spend for the games and LOVE Em’!!!!
Gaming & Gamerz FTW
Muahahahaha
June 25th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
I’m RICK JAMES biatch!
June 26th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Deacon, thank you for that pic.
June 26th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
With the ever climbing prices it’s hard not to spend a good portion of your cash on games. Say I want 2 new 360 games in one month, that’s already over a hundred dollars.
June 27th, 2008 at 12:16 am
lol no prob Grip
COG Town.