Older Consumers Adopt Handheld Gaming

New devices capture market share for games-on-the-go.

Portable gaming devices experienced a growth year, with a major boost over the 2004 holiday season, followed by another lift in Q1 2005. The GamerMetrics report from IGN Entertainment (IGN) utilizes statistics collected from IGN’s portal, and shows expansion in handhelds’ “mindshare” within the gaming space. Mindshare is reader interest recorded on IGN’s portals.

Mobile Gaming Mind Share
Click to see Mobile Gaming Mind Share chart

The longstanding dominance of Nintendo’s GameBoy family was broken with the launch of the company’s own DS gaming system, though they still push the GameBoy Advance SP for younger gamers. At the end of Q1 of this year, Sony launched a competitive handheld, the PlayStation Portable (PSP). Other platforms in the market, including the Nokia nGage and cell phones with the capability to play games, have a smaller share of the portable universe. Projected numbers show interest in the next-generation systems, DS and PSP, dominating through the end of 2005. The DS is expected to build slightly higher mind share in Q4.

“Historically, handhelds, being dominated by the Nintendo GameBoy, was focused on the youth market,” Job Lawrence, product manager of IGN’s GamerMetrics, told ClickZ Stats. “People who grew up with games as kids are now in their thirties, which matches our audience demographic.”

Mobile Mindshare Will Steadily Increase in 2005
Click to see how the mobile mind share will steadily increase in 2005

Multiple handheld platforms are projected to create more competition for console and PC platforms according to IGN, with a share raising from 24 percent in Q1 2004 to a likely 36 percent of the gaming market by the fourth quarter. Sales and interest for the Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo GameCube consoles are tapering, as these are reaching the end of their lifecycles. However Microsoft is about to announce details of their next system, which could launch in time for the holidays and draw attention.

“What we see is less of a cannibalization of the console market from dedicated handheld systems, and more of a complimentary effect,” comments Jay Horwitz, senior analyst at Jupiter Research. “For most gamers, handhelds are not substitutes for consoles.”

The GamerMetrics report is collected from user behavior tracked on IGN’s properties including the IGN.com and GameSpy editorial sites, download portal FilePlanet, and a recently launched program to provide ads in games across all platforms.

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Whitepapers

US Mobile Streaming Behavior
Whitepaper | Mobile

US Mobile Streaming Behavior

5y

US Mobile Streaming Behavior

Streaming has become a staple of US media-viewing habits. Streaming video, however, still comes with a variety of pesky frustrations that viewers are ...

View resource
Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics for Media Groups
Whitepaper | Analyzing Customer Data

Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics for Media Groups

5y

Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics f...

Data is the lifeblood of so many companies today. You need more of it, all of which at higher quality, and all the meanwhile being compliant with data...

View resource
Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people
Whitepaper | Digital Marketing

Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its peopl...

2y

Learning to win the talent war: how digital market...

This report documents the findings of a Fireside chat held by ClickZ in the first quarter of 2022. It provides expert insight on how companies can ret...

View resource
Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Experience Economy
Report | Digital Transformation

Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Experience Economy

1m

Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Exp...

Customers decide fast, influenced by only 2.5 touchpoints – globally! Make sure your brand shines in those critical moments. Read More...

View resource