Gamers Are Younger, and Prettier, These Days

If you're one of those parents who now realizes they should have staked some shares in Nintendo, Sony and, of course, Microsoft a few years back, when you began buying video games for your children, you can take solace that without your support, those game makers wouldn't be running to the bank with billions.

That's not actually comforting, though, I guess. Hindsight and a nickel doesn't get you anywhere, but if you are curious about whether your family fits into the current gaming trends, NPD Group research is reporting a few interesting facts about the American household and the video game wave that's washed into living rooms, playrooms and bedrooms.

First off is this startling statistic: homes with kids 12 and younger represent 45 percent of the video game industry dollar sales. Yes, you read that right. The young players themselves account for 24 percent of video game industry unit sales, states NPD Group's Kids & Cross-Entertainment Behaviors report.

One reason they're responsible for nearly a quarter of sales is that they have the most time on their hands, obviously; an average of 68 leisure hours per week.

The last time I had that much free time, I was in labor, I think.

In the age group of 2 to 12 years old, 57 percent play video games and 62 percent use a computer.

The research firm also noted that there are 53.4 million kids 12 years and under, representing 17 percent of the population.

When it comes to the teen years, even more are gamers, with 75 percent playing games and 81 percent using the PC for non-school reasons.

So not only is the younger generation not even close to being tapped as a market, and lots of teenagers still not playing, it also seems more girls than ever are getting into the game.

An earlier NPD report noted a 5 percent jump for females in games requiring consoles this year over last year. The research firm noted that the popularity of the Wii system is likely a main reason for the demographic spike.

You know what this really tells us? There's still time to grab some stock and make some money down the road.

Photo courtesy of Nintendo